Holy smokes! I LOVE THIS FORUM! You all are so great. mjsee, seems like you know a lot about plants. You'd be an excellent person to ask what kind of plants I actually have in the yard as I haven't a clue on most. We do have a japanese maple, is that the acer palmatum you're talking about? The front yard get lots of sun, pretty much all day long, especially morning and afternoon. It faces north, north east-ish. What I REALLLY want in a lilac tree. I'm from NH and I'm discovered a few in town, in very shaded areas. Any thoughts on best place to plant one? I know it won't thrive here like in colder zones but it's my fav. Goldie50, WOW!!! I love all the pictures you did, especially the one with the door panels taken off. Thank you for helping me to visualize this. You are very good! Justgottobeme, yes, that's what my mom said about looking for faded brick. Might be the deal breaker. Thanks for mentionning it. Oopsie, we live in North Carolina actually. Thanks again for your kind words. And I agree with you on removing the shutters from the door and picture window. For sure! Calirose, glad you liked the pictures. I personally love seeing everyone else's homes on here so that was my first sharing of mine. : ) Palimpset, yes, I agree that we should not emphasize the length. So to fill you in on how the house got so long...to the left in the picture was a porch that was walled in to make a mudroom. To the right an addition in the 90s of a master suite and home office. So not orignial to the house, but designed to "balance" each side. We have plenty of space out back so I'm not sure why they didn't add on that way. Thanks again for all of your insight into this. I really appreciate it. tryingtodecorate, (love the name, btw), yes, I agree the black shutters with a touch of brown will be the way to go if I do keep those 2 window shutters. And a red door is really exciting to me, though maybe not the best match. I can always change it down the road. I can't wait to paint it!

Here's another shot of the shingles. They appear far more red in that first pic - maybe because they were getting direct sun when I took the photo.... I like that darker color you suggested though. Unfortunately we have to stick with the off-white gutters for now, unless I want to paint them...Thanks for the feedback.

Small Budget usually = DIY. Best thing you can do there is paint. Try some of the color visualizer tools out there that allow you to load up your own photos: http://www.hgtvhomebysherwinwilliams.com/color-visualizer

Like Patricia, its the sea of asphalt that stops my eye. Then the jumbled plantings keep me from exploring further. The brick is not the issue, so you can save a lot of money right there. Tackle the real problems first. Have you considered taking your home in an Asian direction? Lighting could provide an interesting look for you.