Nice large yard! I also just moved to a similar house and wanted curb appeal. I did the following to amp it up. I painted the front door a bright red, added a cool envelope style mailbox, new front door mat, bright flowering annuals and new front door lighting. Much better for around $400.

Thank you! I’m pricing out shutters, too. And will cut the bushes lower to improve the view from the windows. :)

Thank you for your feedback. Yes, there is a sidewalk to the front door. I’m curios, why is this style house not right for shutters? I agree with adding a large light fixture. I’m thinking of adding a color to the door, perhaps a green or blue.

There is an ensuing school of thought about shutters, that they must appear authentic, as if one could put them to use -- even if they are literally non-functional and would never be used. This school of thought discounts entirely that shutters have morphed to a non-functional, decorative use as a trim device. Sometimes, they are even perforated (as a corn crib would be) and would not have the slightest capability of protecting a window from weather. The net effect of using decorative (let's not even call them shutters anymore; they are "window-flankers") is that they provide a means of adding interest to an otherwise dull looking home. One might evaluate the finished appearance on the basis of whether they like the home better with them, or without ... and to heck with all those that are categorically against window-flankers under all circumstances for certain styles of architecture, or whether they are authentic. Still, one must be cognizant that window-flankers, in order to look right, must follow some rules of proportion and details, as all architectural elements do. Even the arch is not awesome in all circumstances. Wrongly applied, it can look very loopy and dorky.

The purists about shutters will eventually be denigrating columns because they are no longer made out of bundles of reeds, as they once were. Get ready for it.

Irregardless of weather the shutter debate continues, ones that look like toothpicks to the scale of the window, still look bad, at which point it is about aesthetics and I just don't see them on this house.

Start simple:

paint the door

Change the porch light

trim all the bushes. remove the tall evergreen, remove the too large rounded shrubs as trimming those could cause them to look pretty awful.

Add some color to the porch, large planer and some patio furniture.

Regardless of what you may think, there is no such word as irregardless!

That aside, my view on shutters is that they don't belong on a mountain house which should be rustic and blend with the landscape. Your house is lovely. Resist the urge to decorate it. Identity all of the shrubs and trees surrounding it and learn what their potential is re size and shaping. Some are already too big.

It's a really nice house. I agree with resisting the urge to decorate. Think earth tones/neutrals. A dark forest green for door and large urns might be nice. But working on the landscape will quickly show you overall improvement. Enjoy!

no need to post your negative comments toward me.