Our home is a hip-roof ranch in a neighborhood of traditional style homes. We're very close to adding a third recessed bay to our garage. We will also be replacing the five-pane bay window with a three-panel French door to keep the wonderful sunlight (idea proposed by a Houzz pro :-)). A two-step cement porch will run the entire width of the recessed area in front of that new door. For multiple reasons, all the brick must come off the front of the house. So, we're looking at a new exterior that is as maintenance free as possible, as this is our retirement home:

* Set on LP SmartSide lap siding in pewter green

* Set on Versetta stone panels in Ledgestone terra rosa

* Set on White trim, soffits and fascia

* Leaning toward Clopay faux wood, ultra-grain steel garage doors

* Set on Marvin Ultimate Swinging French Patio door

The sample home below, borrowed from the Internet and with similar style and coloring, is our first stab at how to arrange the lap siding versus the stone panels--basically, a stone wainscoting all across the front and siding above. It's traditional and looks nice but wondering if there are other good options?

As much as we like the stained front door in the sample, due to Minnesota's harsh winters and this home's south-facing direction, we want to go with a clad French door in a solid color. Do we try to "match" the faux wood garage doors with a custom color? Use an entirely different color? Play it safe with white? We want the door to stand out, even though the entry is recessed and usually shaded, and also give the whole home a more 21st Century look.

As for landscaping, a big, beautiful honey locust in front was damaged beyond hope by a tornado, so it had to go. Our kids gave us a gift card for a new tree, but we'd rather go with a smaller blooming variety at the non-garage corner of the house and redo the rest of the landscaping without planting more trees. A maple and another tree sit off to each side of the yard. You can sort of see them in the last photo here. We will likely hire a professional landscaper for ideas but am looking for opinions beforehand. Got any?

Many thanks for any and all input...