Wow, I'm amazed by all the helpful ideas and comments! It took me a while today just to process everything - thank you, everyone, so much! I went to the local nursery today and bought some morning glory seeds to run up the front posts. Roobear - I LOVE the drawing you did!! And I love the look of those front posts; they are definitely going on the "wish" list if we can fit them in the budget, maybe for next summer. For now, we're going with some vines. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that picture; it really made me see the possibilities! Did I mention I LOVE it?! I'll either do a trellis around the meter box, or possibly get a nice tree to plant on the other side of the walk to hide it from the street, as rosie suggested. We dug down around the concrete walk tonight, and it goes down several inches...too far to break up with just a sledgehammer - we tried. So, instead of going through the expense and hassle of moving the walk, I think we'll just have to leave it. I'm also going to get a tree of some kind to place on the opposite side of the house (left side when facing from the street), and expand the front garden out and circle around it. Hopefully that will give some dimension to the front. I also love the red door in roobear's pic. I would not have chosen red if I hadn't seen that visual; it's nice how it makes the door a focal point. Thank you all again - in two days you gave me more ideas here than I've come up with in a year. I'll try to post some pics once we put things together!

Thanks to all who have commented. This is my first post and I am really impressed with the speediness and thoughtfulness of the replies. I am inclined to do as suggested by several of you (aktillery9, justerrilynn, daisychain01, aprilneverends, tuesday_2008) and start with painting the basic components that outline the family room. If the built-ins and fireplace carry the look as individual pieces of furniture, I'll leave them stained. As Linelle noted, this is "good" stained wood which will hopefully carry the look. If, as Ingrid suggests, that end of the room looks too patchy I'll go further with the transformation. I really like aprilneverends' idea to back the bookcase with inserts. I had wondered about painting the back or the bookcases, but your idea would give them some pop without committing to painting. So glad to get positive feedback on the french doors. I'm inclined to agree with artemis_ma to keep both sides the same...unpainted for now. I love the idea of the french pocket doors, Ipinkmountain, but a portion of the wall they would have to recess into is an exterior wall which isn't workable. I am also limiting my budget for this project since I'm still finishing up a renovation elsewhere in the house. I will definitely leave the windows in the sun room stained as is. I agree with comments that another wall color will freshen the look. So grateful to have the help thinking all this through. I also found many photos on Houzz with stained/painted combinations, so I've got some good examples of where it worked. This project probably won't be started for several months. I'll try to remember to post photos of the finished project. Any additional input is welcome!

I found your home’s sibling. :) Ok, it seems like you have some good, definitive ideas. I’m not sure how to help ... I think any of your proposed schemes would look great. I came across this and love the blue: Some others: I could post so many more! Other than a Victorian, this style of house has the most fun, unique, varied, and interesting color palette options. Truly limitless. It sounds like you really love the idea of black paint, though ... what’s your hesitation on that?

I honestly can't see the house for all the overgrowth . You will need to clean up that landscaping in order to paint and why a differnt color of trim thatn what you have .It certainly looks like a ranch except for that odd little peak on the right . What is the purpose of that ?It looks like the odd man out so what is it a different color and style . The stone is interesting but hard to get a feel for where it is.What style of houses do you like ? I did go to your idea books but nothing to give me any idea of the style of house you like. This could be a nice ranch style out in the country . It could with some work go in the MCM direction . So we need info from you