What a pretty house! It has great bones! Looks similar to my neighborhood near Boston.
I wouldn't add shutters to the wing over the garage--it looks correct as is. Fixing the walk, wall, and driveway will make the curb appeal even nicer. After that, I'd suggest re-painting the flaking trim, replacing the screen door, and painting the door red, medium blue, or black to make a big difference. (Because I love old houses, I also find myself wondering what the condition of the original siding is, since I think you have vinyl over the original wood. But that could be a serious can of worms.)
On landscaping: Besides your huge rhododendron and your hydrangea, I think I see two alberta spruces and a bunch of hosta. I can't tell what the other shrubs are near the hydrangea, but possibly arborvitae in front and ilex (holly) in back on left, and another ilex between the rhody and the spruce on the right. If you're looking for low maintenance, it doesn't get much more low maintenance than what you have. You will have to do very little to any of this except perhaps once/year. You should not even prune the hydrangea or spruces. You could edge your beds and mulch and it will look OK. Personally, I don't think the hosta add anything, so you could take them out. Flowers will be lovely, but definitely be more maintenance, and it will be hard to get bright color on an east-facing property up against the house, unless you do shade annuals (which is a lot more work than shrubs).
I agree with some of the above posters that if you're not certain about how to proceed, you should
1) cut the rhododendron way back, to below the window. It will survive and bounce back--won't look like sticks for long. I think early spring should be a good time to do this, but do a little research on timing/technique. If the other shrubs are ilex/holly, you can cut those back too. Do not prune the hydrangea (you'll cut off next year's flowers) or alberta spruce (it won't bounce back).
2) besides pruning and shaping, live with it for a year. Maybe you'll appreciate the rhody and hydrangea more once you see them in bloom in June. It will be a lot of work to rip out all these shrubs, so make sure you know that's what you want. In that year, walk around the neighborhood and take note of which landscaping you admire. In the Northeast I bet a lot of your neighbors also have established shrub beds like you have. In my area the *really* bright and beautiful gardens have been professionally installed or their owners are avid gardeners who are constantly out maintaining.
3) Consider just taking out the worst offenders and replacing with something smaller or more to your liking. Suggestions for colorful east-facing shrubs in Northeast: more hydrangeas (check out lacecap and paniculata types), fothergilla (spring bottlebrush, gorgeous fall color), azalea.
4) Instead of re-doing the beds, onsider pots of annuals on your steps to bring in color. How about some bright-flowered begonias and new guinea impatiens in cobalt blue pots, changed to chrysanthemums, kale, gourds and pumpkins in fall? Not an earth-shattering idea, but easy to purchase, easy to maintain, and would look lovely and colorful on your symmetrical steps.
5) If you're getting the retaining wall and path re-done, consider hiring someone to advise on the landscaping at the same time.
Check out this instagram for New England curb appeal inspiration.
https://www.instagram.com/thefrontdoorproject/
Here are some front door color ideas:
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Cost effective.
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