Practigal - We are in San Diego. Water is at a premium and I have a ton of grass. I'm ok with the water bill but it is tough to keep green watering 2 days a week. BTW - I really like the covered entry also. Most examples in the neighborhood no longer exist because they either removed it to pop out the corner or they hit the brace with their car and had to remove it. Justerrilynn - I did mean the front door. Our neighborhood has quite a few examples of our similar home. One neighbor has the door right where you have it. Here are a few examples. Hope they don't mind me posting streetview photos. These are all homes built by the same designer in the 50's. The above home was the same as ours, flipped. I love the huge porch but, in person, the thing that really makes it look nice is the roof - heavy tile. Above are my across the street neighbors. House on the left is exactly like ours, just flipped. Both houses had the inset door and popped them out many years ago.

@decoenthusiaste Thank you for your input! I was struggling to identify what style house this is - and I now agree it is a bit French country farmhouse/contemporary. This house is a true “farmhouse,” as it is located on our farm yet, looks nothing like the farmhouses in our area. Interestingly enough, in the early 80’s this home was made from materials (repurposed bricks, shutter wood and beams) of a 75 year old church that was knocked down. We have a few industrial buildings behind it so I am trying hard to make our home feel more welcoming/ “pop!” when guests drive down our lane. I hate to take away too much of the character of the home but at the same time, we are really looking to move forward with a clean and crisp look. I’ll have to take into consideration having shutters and beams made from cedar and make an effort to maintain them by upkeep of staining them. Do you or anyone else have any experience in light power washing of cedar shakes? I think that will be a big help in the design but I am unsure it’s common practice since many homes with shakes I’ve seen are this color, over time... I’d love to hear more input!

Thank you again everyone for all the help you have provided. My wife and I couldn’t be more appreciative for all the advice. At this stage, I feel like we have the following...remove railing, install potted plants/feature on side landings of stairs, paint porch a dark gray that matches the stone walkway, replace exterior lighting, remove interior window shutters, revisit landscaping options, install window planters. In terms of the exterior shutters and door colors...the current color is a dark maroon/purpley color (has to go). Based on some of the great feedback I’ve attached a couple options...1) High contrast black on white with a pretty brown stained door 2) Lighter shutters with a brown stained door. I think I’m leaning a bit more towards the high contrast black on white...thoughts on either and if brown is the way to go for front door or match color of shutters? Also color of planters under windows (same brown as door)?

If the goal is to upgrade the curb appeal, I would look to landscaping because your house colours are mostly working as is. That said, you're showing the Gentek samples which I'm assuming are for the soffit. The soffit doesn't actually show so I'm not sure why you're starting there. They help bounce light into your windows, so going with the lightest colour that goes with your lightest bricks (NOT white) would be a direction for the soffits. The door and siding are an entirely different matter. The brown that you have now on the siding goes perfectly with the darkest brown bricks. Just refresh it. The thing that looks out of place is the overly white vinyl windows and door. I'm guessing the windows can not be painted so that leaves the door . (If the windows could be painted, a beige colour that tied back into the brick would be the idea. ) The front door could/should be a different colour than the siding. The natural wood tone suggested by Freedomplace1 would work with your brick if you changed the door, but probably not as a paint colour. What were you thinking for the door?