worthy! how did you get that photo in here?! Yes, the lovely metal pipes that are my stair railing and an overhang with corrugated plastic roofing...sigh. So I was thinking to remove the stucco just on the porch facade-add craftsman style pillars, and railings a new garage door and stone work instead of those concrete covered - there is brick underneath - planters. The current porch has terracotta tiles over goodness knows what. The porch is the reason for the face lift. the tiles are cracking and pulling away from the house-don't want any water damage. downspouts are being replaced with rain chains so i can catch the water for our garden. Thanks for posting, worthy!

Since a lot of things are up in the air, it would be good to close on the house and make a definite decision about the architectural facelift before trying to figure anything out about plantings, since they are dependent on architecture and hardscape. If you don't already have good ideas for the porch/stoop/walk, create another thread specifically for that issue. For it, I'd suggest better pictures. In general, line up with the center of the face of house being photographed, not too far from it (include the roof and 20'+ of ground area, and take a series of slightly overlapping photos that span the WHOLE SCENE from far left to far right. (Don't substitute a computer generated panorama as it will be too small and distorted.) Be sure to take the pics in focus and when the lighting is good. Other than having a vague craving that may not work out to be satisfied, it is premature to "insist" on having specific plants. Plants are designated on account of a physical or visual need and must have a setting that work. It the setting doesn't exist, insisting on the plants anyway means the overall design is going downhill. One can have a hope of using certain plants, but it's necessary to be open to the fact that they might not work out in the end. There are two main forms of Japanese Maples. One is tree-like, and one is shrub-like.

I first thought hydrangeas for in front of the wall, too, especially white or blue or purple or a combo. I'd also consider a flowering vine to cover the wall, like honeysuckle - I believe there are some evergreen varieties, but check for your area. The orange flowers would look wonderful with hydrangeas in blue or white, as well as with your gorgeous house color.

I agree with the other comment that the black appliances are the most dated element of the kitchen. I don't know what the counters look like exactly from your pictures, but they're pretty light - I don't think I would change them. What were you thinking of getting instead? I also am not enthused about painting the cabinets as they look pretty nice. Refacing is almost as expensive as total replacement because the doors and drawer fronts are the most expensive part of a cabinet. You could paint the uppers as @sheloveslayouts suggests, but I don't think antique white is a good choice. There is a lot of yellow in antique white. I suggest you read this blog post about colors for cabinets: https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/how-to-choose-the-best-white-for-your-kitchen-cabinets/ There is a lot of useful information on this site.