Did you look at West Elm? They have a white parson's desk with a similar feel, among other things. Ikea also has some desks in white. Ultra cheap, but what the heck....I just thought I'd throw it out there. :-)

what kind of ideas? and what kind of budget? looks like your upper windows need replacing. is that on the list of 'to do' items? landscape designer would go a long way in updating the yard. The front needs proper grading, and planting. and the driveway could use some help. Again, don't know your budget, but those are the things I'd concentrate on first. you can always stain or paint the shakes, but without the yard redo, it's not going to make much of an impact.

Check out this house with shou sugi ban: I like the color of the deck and the railing they uses. There are more pictures on Houzz for ideas on landscaping as well. I like their use of rain chains. Do you have room for a lap pool?

Not landscaping suggestion, but the first thing I would do is paint the garage doors the same color as the house so they are not the glaring focal point. eta: I just spent a little time googling pictures of homes in Galveston. I found many pics of homes with lots and approaches like yours, but very few with any real landscaping. I don't know if it's because beach homes are more vacation homes so low maintenance, or frequent storms/flooding or maybe the sun/heat, but almost all of them simply had planted a number of palm trees with no other beds at all. I did see these that might give you some ideas: This probably wouldn't work with your offset garage and shorter driveway, but I thought it looked great:Here's a similar one with offset garages that kind of breaks up all the concrete and makes a walkway to the front door, along with a nicely planted side yard: