I'd be inclined to remove the juniper immediately next to the stairs, but only that one. Then I'd put in a pair of shrubs on each side of the stairs. Maybe deutzias or daphnes. Then I'd fill in the rest of the area in front of the porch with a variety of plants up to the junipers by the corner (actually I would extend the bed farther away from the house, but not sure if you are really looking for more area to garden and maintain). Maybe some heucheras for foliage color. I am not generally big on symmetry, but I can easily imagine the same rounded shrub on each side of the stairs to "match" the curved brick work around the door. A very handsome and interesting house.

Thanks everyone! Looking at the shelf, one would think, 'gee...how hard is it to hang a shelf?..', but, I also was removing wallpaper, replastering, priming and painting. I bought the brackets from eBay (was outbid on some vintage Eastlake brackets...darn the luck!) and had to paint those white - once they arrived. I bought the wood at HD, sanded it, painted it, then hit it with a hand sander after the paint dried to 'antique' it and to remove the pointy corners that I would eventually smack my head on. Whatever they made the stud boards out of (cedar? granite?...kryptonite?..) broke my first drill bit. My first attempt, I miss measured and drilled holes too far apart and now had to fix the wall AGAIN. It was actually alot of work to hang this shelf. Much more work than they ever tell you on HDTV! I have another shelf and bracket set which I'm considering putting on the opposite wall. I don't want to over crowd the kitchen, but could use one more place to store items. PowerMuffin: wow - your not kidding! OUr kitchens are very similar! Personally, I cannot live without a dishwasher as I loathe doing dishes. Are your cabinets doors original? I always wondered what mine may have looked like as my cabinets are original but not the doors. I'm thinking of removing the doors and putting a fabric curtain below the sink. Then, for the cabinets on the right, removing the doors and adding wooden wine boxes into the cabinet. I would add pull out drawer brackets to the bottom of the wine boxes (install them as drawers, essentially). I like the French Provence look so I thought this might be cute. For now though, I need a rest from home improvement projects to gear up for painting all the trim in my house. To be clear, my house trim is already painted, but old and chipping...I'm not painting on beautiful old, virgin wood. It just needs a refresh.

Off balance because you don't take an old craftsman house and put a pop top on it. That's called remuddling. Your house is nothing like your inspiration. In fact your house is so much better, but if you remuddle it, it won't be. (Not that that house is bad. It's not!) 99% of people, including house "designers" (in most cases glorified draftsmen) haven't a clue what makes a craftsman house so wonderful and how to keep the character. I hate the way the front looks at present, Your front just needs the siding that is not authentic to it removed, the proper siding replaced if needed, replacing the columns to hold up the porch roof and a proper paint job to bring it back to its craftsman roots. First do some research by going to your local historical society to see what the house looked like when it was new. If you want to do it right, forget the designer and find an architect who understands this style of house. I would suggest in this case you get in touch with David Heide as one suggestion. You need an architect. Not a designer for something this extensive. Otherwise it's going to look like a b*st*rdized version of what it should be. I would also suggest you join this Facebook group. It's all about American bungalows.

I have to tell you that I really like the Knoxville Gray. Years ago, my next door neighbor and I painted our houses about the same time. We both chose almost the exact same palettes. Only she noticed - no one else and not even me until she pointed it out. Our house styles were different - her's Tudor and mine Dutch Colonial. We thought it was funny. If you still want to pick another, how about Caldwell Green? I would paint foam core boards, rather than the house and look at the colors from the street at different times of the day.