Very nice house! Yes, I think the windows should be all with or without shutters (except the large window, of course). And if you're willing to undertake it, I'd tone down the bright white trim color a bit. But what looks off to me is that the porch beam doesn't cover the depth of the top of the columns. I can't see well, but if you could place a second beam across the the columns to cover their depth, the columns themselves would appear much more substantial. PS: changing to wider window frames could be pretty pricey.

I don't care for the driveway in front of the stone section. It makes it look like that was the original garage and converted to a room. Agree a better front door style. Half glass always makes me think of back doors.

Something like this one without the sidelights and paint it a closer color to the siding. The light blue looks washed out

I think the driveway comes up too close to the house. I like the idea of wider casings around the windows in place of shutters. If you were going to install side lights, a transom above the door would finish it off nicely.

Lovely home! Agree with no shutters and wider window trim.

Looks like a back-out and turn-around apron on the drive. Can you put one on the right side instead and open that one for landscaping? Agree the frieze beam should be wider for the columns. I would like the shutters better if they were a solid style, not louvered. To me, louvers say "interior shutters." Overall, the house has a farmhouse feeling, but the manicured, formal shrubs belong to a more classical Georgian or Colonial home. Redo the landscaping next spring. What kind of porch lighting do you have? I don't see any, but the lanterns by the garage are too small. All lights should be 1/3 of the front door's height. Would paint downspouts to match the background color of the wall they lie against. Have you considered white siding and dark shutters and door? I wouldn't draw more attention to the garage with a pergola; the other side is busy enough.

Beautiful home! I love the stone and the blue paint. I would like to see what it would look like with wider window trim, white flower boxes on the porch between the pillars and on the side, new front door with non blue paint, trellis over garage w/vine, window boxes on the windows over the garage, vent on siding painted same color as siding, vent on stone painted one of the stone colors, nicer garage door maybe painted the field color or the front door color, expand landscaping in front of large window down to the sidewalk, I think with wider window trim you can get rid of the shutters. I would hate to see more of the beautiful stone covered up. And.... a cobble stone driveway! I would lean into the "stone house" look. You can make improvements, but as is, it's a beautiful home, I can see why you LOVE it! One more thing, and this is just my opinion, if possible, remove the grids in the windows. If they were true divided with wider mullions they would look more appropriate but they are kinda skimpy. During flower season colorful flowers in the garden beds will enhance the charm of your home.

Thank you for all of these wonderfully helpful ideas! You have suggested many things that hadn't even occurred to me, and now I will definitely consider them. :-) Can anyone do a mockup of the house with some of these changes, or recommend a mockup tool for me to do so myself? Many thanks!

Did a quick mock up. Do you like this better?

Or this

Maybe it’s my monitor, but the siding appears to be different colors. Left side looks gray and the right side, blue.

off with those shutters!

I agree no shutters and a new front door that suits the style of the house and I agree that driveway is not right at all

These mockups are great! Thank you all for taking the time to do this. Here is an example of what I meant when I said I like the look of wide trim around house windows. I understand this is a totally different style house than ours, but what are your thoughts on wide window trim like the house in this photo? If we did this, it would mean no shutters.

wider trim around windows=totally updated look

I like using wide trim.

I agree with you that the porch columns are too narrow…they need to be a bit beefier.

Also agree that thicker window trim would be an improvement as would a front door with sidelights and wider trim.

Agree that coach style garage doors with windows would also enhance the front of your home.

As far as the shutters go, the main problem with them is that they are inappropriately sized for the windows as well as installed incorrectly….they are basically “pasted” alongside the window frames. They should have hinges and shutter dogs for a more authentic look which would also give them more dimension rather than looking so flat.

So….I would enlarge the columns, install wider window trim, and start with replacing all the upper shutters with properly sized ones (each shutter should be sized so that it could potentially cover half of the window if you were to imagine closing them). And then install them with shutter dogs and hinges. And as suggested, not use a louvered style. I would also consider a cedar material using a natural stain on them or paint them the same color as your front door, or plain black.

Examples of properly sized and installed shutters…

Garage door option…

Gorgeous house!

I see what you mean about something being off. I think it's the window in the bricked area but changing out the windows and their sizes doesn't make a difference.