The house is lovely. The existing shrubbery all need to be removed. Good landscaping will make all the difference.

Its a sweet cottage. I would consider taking out the front steps and railing and making stone steps that coordinate with the stone paths. This will be an investment but will be well worth it. Also the light fixtures need to be changed for something larger. To complete add pots on each side with colorful flowers. The black shutters and white paint is classic as is the stone and keeps it looking very classical. Best wishes!

IMO the shutters need to go the combo of those plus the grids on the windows and the shutters inside make the windows very busy.When you get to the actual renovation forget the grids and choose black windows if you like the modern farm house look. The landscaping is also too much for a small house to handle . I see no point in matching stone work until you have a plan in place for the changes you wan to make later.

A really charming home that needs some decent landscaping other than evergreen hedges.

I think the brown shutters make the home look a little drab.

Lanterns or square planters would look nice placed on the front entrance once the stairs and landing get painted.

These greige shutters are a bit less harsh for your home.

some ideas:

Landscaping is the only thing I would work on during the interim. That & new lighting flanking the front door. I’d defer everything else until the major renovation.

That house has a lot of curb appeal as-is. Gardengal has a great point--the landscaping around the house gets pretty well destroyed when you do an exterior remodel.

Thanks to computer imaging we can see if removing the shutters helps or hurts.

Personally, I think they add charm, not "busyness." IMO, the latter describes a collection of mismatched things, whereas the shutters are a coordinated, matching set of things.

I think the picture would be improved if the house was a subdued "color" and the trim was white. When everything is white, it looks a little cheaper and more barracks-like.

To be sure, a new foundation planting scheme is needed. (Will try to get back to you later on that. Wish you had pictures that show the flanking space from the same camera point of view ... the camera would merely pivot to catch an overlapping shot.)

Wow, I am absolutely blown away by the responses and willingness to help by all...Thank you.

Some really great advice. I love the ideas to update the lighting to a more appropriate size, eliminating the railing, painting the porch, throwing some potted plants and/or laterns ...all very easy with potentially large impact. And landscaping is a must :-)

With us not sure plans on the future renovation (gut job) I am hesitant to invest in a stone front porch. Though I love the idea of making it larger and more usable.

I'm still struggling a bit with having a strong opinion on shutters, door color, and window color. Yardvaark and Dig Doug Designs, thanks for the renderings. IMO without the shutters it seems very “plain”. I like the idea of potentially a subdued shutter like BeverlyFLADeziner mentioned - but also waiver with something with a bit more pop of something like a black or dark navy color?

I don't like it without the shutters. There are some who don't like shutters on most houses, and there are definitely home styles for which shutters are incongruous, but not every home looks good with plain windows either.

It is a darling house. You will be amazed at what a difference it will make to remove the old and poorly shaped matching shrubs when replaced with more of a varied planting.

I like DigDoug's design (I always do!). I always like to see a larger front stoop. I also like the way the door is made more important by painting the trim a color -- perhaps you could also add just a bit more trim to give it more presence (nothing fancy or ornate though).

You might consider a low fieldstone, somewhat curvy wall across the front to help hide the foundation then plant in and in front with varying shapes textures and sizes of evergreens, flowering shrubs and perennial flowers.

Your inspiration photo has no shutters but has dark window trim and door. Consider that instead of Yardvaark’s all white building as a fair comparison.

Until you decide on exterior renovations or not, don’t do extensive replanting. I might remove the layer of shrubs against the house leaving the lower, outer layer to grow a bit wider and then add a couple of large pots planted seasonally with eye catching plants or winter greens and berries while you decide. A bed of plain mulch is boring, and I would never put in a curvy fieldstone wall.

OMG! Your house is so charming. Why try to change it? New larger lighting, a new larger step area with landscaping and you're good to go. What is more classic than white with black shutters, especially on a house of this style. It's classic for a reason!

You have a lovely house.

https://www.oldhouseguy.com/all-about-shutters/

I would suggest keeping the planting simple, with the shrubs being large enough (having enough room for growth) that they can make sufficient meaningful statements when they reach size. Instead of a hedge of shrubs all across the front, it's less "smothery" to coordinate fewer shrubs with windows. Contrasting shrub (or perennial patches) can border the house corners, and colorful annuals can flank the steps. A low groundcover could fill in the spots between plants so that the planting ends up being solid ... no bare mulch. The bed line should be placed to allow for a large/deep enough bed. A smooth line doesn't scream for attention on its own.

I have no idea what's going on with all the walks as they don't seem well explained by the photo. The main walk looks very homemade with its irregular edges and undulating surface. I set my sights on a better, smoother, wider one. If any of the other "walks" are unnecessary, they could be dispensed with.

The porch could be painted in the meanwhile.

I love your house! Yes to some revamped landscaping and larger light fixtures. Definitely keep the shutters.

I prefer no shutters and either a cheery color combo or a vibrant landscape plan against white on white.

The little gable over the front door is visually weak. If the front entry will remain in the same location when you do your renovation, I would consider enlarging the gable and extending it toward the street on posts to provide a sheltered front porch. And the door could be flanked by side lites to give the whole entry more presence. I realize this may be more money than you want to spend at this point, but it would greatly increase the curb appeal.

If you like that California cottage look, heck, do that one! On a budget, just do the black frames, no shutters, paint the door nice and glossy, may be with a bright color, get that lighting style and scale, scrap the screen door if you can (otherwise get one that lets you see the front door, paint the steps, and do Yardvaarks plantings. That's a flagstone patio? Take the inspiration from the CA cottage and get a couple of loungers and a bright umbrella, so you can wave at the neighbors. Voilà.

All that won't cost very much, and will give you some ideas about what you'd really like by the time the reno comes around.

How are you going to control light and Heat inside without your interior shutters? Also do you have any idea what the porch is actually made of before someone painted it?

Black.

Agreeing with Rapp's comments...

Nice touch with the columns Yard.