To me, everything about your kitchen says "quality" and traditional -- all of it -- the cabinets, countertop, floors, and cabinet hardware. It's really quite charming. For me, the major problem is poor quality lighting. Invest in a skylight if the home is a single story. Install under cabinet led lights. Thank goodness there is no expensive backsplash so you would only have sheet rock repair to take care of after running the electrical. Add recessed cans in the ceiling. I agree about increasing the size of the crown molding and also add a light rail. These don't have to match. They could be a darker stain than the cabinets or black. The floor needs several beautiful bright traditional runners. I would spend the $$$ on a new backsplash since it will be awhile before you'll remodel and would make a huge difference in updating that space. To save your back, invest in some pull out trays. Quikdrawers.com and Barker cabinets are both good companies that can take care of that. Are your drawers full extension? If not, you'll be much happier in that kitchen having full extension drawer slides again. That hulking black fridge is probably dominating the space. A CD fridge in stainless would make a huge difference. Look for one on CL. That is where I found mine for my remodel after about a month of daily scanning. And congrats on your lovely new home.

Thank you lizbeth and k9arlene for your thoughts. @lizbeth: I appreciate your kind words on the house. Thanks for your vote on the railings, and for helping me once again on my home. I see that the darker stair railings do draw your eye to the door more. DH has mocked it up as a brown to match the door. In real life, we won't likely get a brown that matches the door as well as the mock-up shows. The metal railings only come in so many colours. The door is a stained door, and the man door is painted metal. We can paint the man door brown, but it won't look the same as the main door. I will ask DH to mock-up the darker door to see. As per having the picket railings on both sides of the steps, I don't believe there is a safety issue (please let me know if I am missing the safety concerns). There is a full wall on the left side (left as you up steps) so the pickets are not needed for safety. However, they may look better if the two sides are symmetrical. @k9arlene: Thanks for your question. If we did a different kind of deck railing it would block the gable window and gable door. The glass railings, while not allowing privacy as you stated, prevent the house behind from being screened. Our build has been long. At one point, we had a gable roof on the garage (not the flat roof that we have now). Sadly, we had to tear down the newly framed gable roof as it blocked the window/door behind and did not look right (too tall of a garage in your face). Carol

Really nice house and lot. Like the cedar trellis decoration idea. Is anyone in your home interested in gardening or DIY projects? If you've ever wanted to build more storage space or work space in the garage, now could be the time to do that by cutting a doorway in the middle of that space currently without siding and adding a slide/barn door that leads to the new space. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/88101736443381440/ You could add clear green house shed sloped roofing with wall to wall base cabinets along the new outside wall and with storage above a work counter. If you want a larger space, You could build the space with a flat roof -- and, perhaps, a faux balcony above; or You could make the roof over the new space a smaller forward facing gable. The new siding could be any siding you like with the current exterior walls of your home and, importantly, you could add windows to any kind of small addition, adding light to the garage when the connecting door is opened.

I agree about the shutters. And I would remove the window boxes and planters. Take a hard look at the house and figure out what specific things bother you. Overall, I think it’s a beautiful home, except for the shutters which feel like an add-on to me. The landscaping might be a little dated. You could consider something with more organic lines. Maybe a flower garden that winds its way through the front yard and looks like a lake or river of flowers. I saw a home with a slope that looks like your first pic, and their front yard flower yard flowed down to the edge of the property. The neighbors were always asking the owner for flowers. This is not the best pic but it gives you an idea of the kinds of lines you could do down the slope. Vary the widths of the flower garden and put as many colors and flower types in there as you want. Use better mulch. Unless you prefer something more formal or don’t want to deal with a flower garden.