Just saw your post, hope this isn't too late. We're in a similar situation - new construction, narrowing down our appliance selection. We have a while yet, framing is barely underway. Our builder includes a $3500 budget (GE mid-range), not including fridge, and gets some very deep discounts from a local store that has beaten every online price I've seen by at least 15%. We are planning to add $3k - $4k of our own money (pre-tax) and get nice, functional, but not top-of-the-line stuff. Your selections are somewhat similar to ours so far. I've put our price (incl. builder discount) in parentheses. Fridge - Samsung RFG297AA ($1999) Oven - Frigidaire FGET3065KF ($1732) Cooktop - Kitchenaid KFGS366VSS ($907) Rangehood (ducted) - undecided, considering Broan RP230SS or similar, but I'm not sure I like the side intakes. Microwave - undetermined, but it won't be anything fancy. I only use microwaves for reheating non-meat leftovers, or thawing things before cooking them. Dishwasher - GE GDWF160RSS, so far. ($494) We have been planning this house for about 3 years, so I've done a fair bit of research - except for the wall ovens, since until very recently we had planned a single wall oven/micro combo. Selections seem to be pretty solid combos of performance, features and price.

I had an orangey-peachy house in Baton Rouge, LA and I painted the back porch and door an opposite color on the color wheel - a beachy-seafoamy-light turquoise green. I loved it, but colorful houses are "done" there and this was 20 years ago. If any of your darker bricks go toward the red/maroon spectrum, a cranberry or maroon color could work well for a front door. You might have to make your pictures "public" in order for us to see them.

IMO you currently have no way for a visitor to distinguish where the entry is. The large sea of paving created by the drive and turn around or parking spaces vs. the narrow entry tucked between the two building wings gives no clear message of where a visior should enter. The narrow path and archway to the courtyard says to me that it is private space, akin to walking into someone’s back yard uninvited. I would likely follow the drive around the house if I were looking for the front door, assuming that the house was spun 90 degrees with the entry facing right. Bryan Lovely’s second drawing solves this with problem with a clear pathway from the driveway to the entrance, an entry patio, and bright plantings that bring attention to the home entry. While his planting layout doesn’t do much for me, and I think the path should be wider, at least 6’ wide, this general scheme will improve the front entry and make the house far more welcoming than its current front facade. Tiny changes like window trim don’t solve the largest issue of how a first time visitor find the entrance to a home that presents a barricaded appearance.

Back of home, during construction. There will be another deck between the white siding and sunroom windows. Under the deck will be closed in and made into a shed. We'll need to decide what kind of siding and what colors we'll use for that.