I'd hire an architect, rather than look to a blog community for this kind of advice.

A pergola over the front door and the garage door that's all one unit. Climbing vine on top of it...not wisteria, too big and unruly. Perhaps trumpet vine in a bright orange. Paint the front door to match the blossoms! Maybe make the front steps bigger, a bit more 'deck-like' and extending out further. Something about the river stone and shale bits I'm not liking. Maybe it feels too abrupt. Making it more like a patio will open it up a bit more.
It's very pretty and won't need much help.

Like your idea for the door. Leave the steps. /agree veslabeachgirl on river stone, too abrupt, needs to be something bigger that matches the steps better. Maybe paint part of the garage door to match the front door. Get a mailbox that matches, or paint the one you have. Big midcentury house numbers. And Lisa is right on the landscaping. Plants would be a big help. Check out mod planters.

I'd pick a new front door in a different color - orange, turquoise, or yellow would be great.

http://www.crestviewdoors.com/

Add some colorful ceramic pots (same or complementary colors) with succulent plants at the front door and near the hose reel, or replace the hose reel with something more attractive. Try to get some height in a few of the pots - groupings of three are ideal.

I think the steps and pavers look fine, but it would be nice to have some contrast, so maybe look into lava rock (reddish color) between the stepping stones instead of another gray item?

You can replace your gutter downspouts with rain chains and get bigger house numbers (both in copper would be a nice touch). Get a new mailbox too - that white one isn't doing you any favors.

The garage door could also use a facelift. Adding color might be a big leap, but you could always just add white trim around the "boxes". It would be pretty neat if you randomly painted a few of the boxes in the color palate (two or three orange boxes?), but again, that's not to everyone's taste.

I don't know what your landscaping looks like, but if you're going modern with the home, make sure you have a landscaping plan that complements the house. Nothing looks sillier than a totally modern house with a fully-traditional row of boxwoods out front!

http://www.crestviewdoors.com/ has some great doors and pictures of real facades to inspire.

First thing I'd do is clip back that low hanging tree branch that's directly in front of the front door to the house - then I'd plant some low-maintenance ground cover in those rocks, replace the house numbers with something larger and more visible from the street and clean up the hose-bib area by the driveway - perhaps some potted plants would conceal the visual clutter and make your entrance more inviting.

As far as your garage door - It clearly needs replacing as it isn't settling level on the driveway.

Ooo, turquoise/teal front door might be nice. Then ceramic planters in various pop colors. I'd leave the garage door alone unless you really trying to bring attention to it. I like the way it fades into the background. The front door should be the feature.

I have a midcentury modern ranch. Our door is original to the house and has three little square windows at the top. I painted it a bright teal color. We sprung for some cool modern house numbers from Design Within Reach. I bought two large colorful planters for the front steps and planted tall grass in it and bought a colorful funky sisal doormat. I can't tell if you have a light fixture outside your door, but an updated modern fixture and new mailbox would work great with your house.

Get a new door and paint it a color of your choice. Plant a low ground cover, or grass in between the slab steeping stones. I would take a circular saw to the front steps and cut off the weird angled parts and put a boxy concrete or steal planter on the corner by the driveway and maybe on the other side if space allows. OR put a couple pots with plants that will flow over and hide those parts. I like Swedish Ivy because it's east to grow, deer don't eat it and it can tolerate a wide range of exposures. You could plant some grasses or horsetail in that strip along the side of your house. Invest in lighting both for the entryway and to light up the landscaping. Either get rid of or replace the mailbox. Door mat. There is something fussy about the double trim in the entry. I would remove it from the outermost level or paint it the same color as the house so it's less noticeable.

Get one of those awesome modern steel mailboxes, doorbell, and door hardware. Get a new door, maybe a retro one with carved squares like that pink wood one that has been floating around (can't find the link anywhere this instant). Matched really large angular planters with big succulents. Those steps make me feel like I would fall off them, if you own this house doing a great big redo of the front door and steps would be so fun (in a perfect world). Your garage looks like the main 'face' of the house, I would pump up the path to the front door any way possible with something contrasting. I'm not loving the nested white-painted trim for some reason, maybe paint the interior set gray to make it go away. That door is killing you, spring for a great one and pick a metal for all the accessories that isn't brass, and you're on your way!

I have to vote against the rain chains idea. We got them in copper, they are beautiful, but when it rains the water splatters all over the house and windows, so admire from afar with those!

I say get a new door AND paint it turquoise!

Then soften the vast expanses of grey with some sculptural plants in plain white containers (to match your trim). I'm seeing wine-coloured cordylines to create a grey-turquoise-burgundy scheme.

Absolutely, get a new front door if nothing else. For our last three homes, we bought antique cypress doors from an architectural salvage company. They had already been taken down to the unpainted wood. We sanded and waxed them. Put in new glass if needed. Amazing! I would paint the garage door something similar to the new waxed front door, add plants, get new large house numbers and a new flat black mailbox. This is such a cute house, it can really be great!

Everyone has some great ideas Marina. I don't think I could offer you anything better. Proof that there are plenty of design savy and stylish people out there without architecture degrees - and with the kindness to offer answers to a genuine and reasonable question. Good luck with choosing your new look.

I really like pops of gloss yellow with a grey, white and black colour scheme.
so id get a modern style door (with long rectangular windows in it) paint it gloss yellow with black hardware. and then get some tall square-ish gloss black pots for either side of the door and the two steps, with a very leafy plant with white flowers. put some black house numbers on the grey wall, and paint the garage door a darker shade of grey. and invest in some landscaping. its amazing what landscaping can do to the presentation of a house. and a shiny black car in the driveway would be the finishing touch. lol

The white trim is doing you no favors in making your home sleek interesting and modern. Nor is your fan-light front door.

Correct these two issues then see how you are feeling about the orange. I'm not a big fan of the "look at me house" though.

Installing a new door isn't a do-it-yourself project. Unless you want to buy a lot of new tools and saw horses than hire a professional since a new door would update the house. Orange is my favorite color, that would make for a cool front door.
It looks like your garage door needs to be replaced. Save that for another day. Buy some interesting low-growing drought resistant plants to fill in the gap between the steps and rock path. The white trim and white mailbox need to be painted a different color. Colorful planters on either side of the front door would be nice.

I've been looking for an example to somewhat illustrate what I suggested.

Here are a couple I found:

http://picasaweb.google.com.au/GeneAndJenelle/AughtonStGarden#5237972848292054258

http://www.landscapeonline.com/research/article.php?id=4078

The white trim is not appropriate for your home. I'd paint the exterior all one glorious dark shade (blue, green, brown, gray), then replace the door with a modern one in a bright color.

You should not accentuate the garage door with trim or contrasting colors, because it would compete with the real entry. Let the front door shine.

This is very similar to our house. Our house is a darker grey side with light grey roof. The trim is white, and the garage door is painted white. Red front door. We like it; it seems like a crisp business suit. The former owner put up a white picket fence and bay window with white window trim. Landscaping softens. We have single front stair and need to put up an awning or build on a front porch overhang to keep rain off guests.

I love grey but, man, this is in need of some contrast- badly. A new door would be great (though they're pricey), something with ultra clean lines and glass- definitely need some glass. Either in the door itself or a floor to ceiling window to one side. Go dark with your garage door- a good cleaning and carefully applied layer of paint would be cheap and make a world of difference. Something more of a charcoal. Your eye will pick up the difference in 'texture' caused by the contrast but the garage won't come screaming out at you. If you want to avoid painting the entire house over, an orange door is a great 'mod' option to pair with the grey. For a more mid century look I'd go with a set of low and wide, rectangular, staggered stairs with planters integrated- a set that meanders it's way to the front door. Not sure how much of that grey river rock you're dealing with, but breaking it up with some hardy clumps of grass (the non-mowing kind) would go miles to soften the house up. That tree also looks like it needs a good trim. :)

WOW, never thought i'd stumble upon the house i grew up in (and my father built) on this website. hope you're enjoying it and appreciate all the craftsmanship that's gone into every square inch. that being said the front entry sure needs to be updated. i agree on the suggestions of a modern mailbox, a new door or paint color, and think some large and tasteful planters would do some good on the porch. you can't tell from the pic but the yard is landscaped quite well. enjoy and good luck!

Craftsmanship?? Hardly! You must be thinking about some other house. This one is cheap materials all over and very awkward floor plan. But good design can do its magic and turn any ugly duckling into a swan. Thank you all for the awesome ideas!!!

what a snob and such a waste. if it's such an ugly duckling then why did you pay 1.3+ million for it? you should have left it on the market for someone who really appreciates good design.