I realize doors and screens can be costly but that is the first thing I see that could be updated. I might also go for a door with a window.
Not sure your color perference but for some reason I see red, yellow or minty-sage. They all would go nicely with thebrown you already have. If you are wanting to paint the brown as well, I'd go 2 tone with 1 color on top and another on that cinder (?) block wall. I'm sure the gardners of AT will offer beautiful advice on choices of greenery. Good Luck

I'd start with painting the door a bright color (I'm thinking bright bright blue), a new screen door and plants. Since the siding looks pretty bad anyway, you could get some climbing plants and let them climb up the wall and cover it up. That will probably completely ruin your siding eventually, which would be fine by me because I would think of it as a temporary solution until I can rip that brown ugliness off the house and get something nice.

I love it. I'm not sure what your style is but this could definitely go modern if you are in to that. Here is some inspiration - you don't even need to change the color!

http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/gardens/front-back-screen-porch-patio-00417000071944/page28.html

The only thing you can really do with cinder blocks is cover them up. It looks as if the upper level of the house is stucco, so you might want to go with that. I ended up stone-facing my cinder-block foundation, and it looks amazing. Some flowering bushes like hydrangeas would bring a nice pop of color during the summer months. You didn't say whether or not you're interested in painting the house or trim, but that would brighten things up. Painting that outbuilding (garage? Shed?) a lighter color would help too.

When you're actually sitting out in the yard, I imagine the top storey, which is seems to be set back quite a way, is not visible, so I'd concentrate your budget and efforts on the first and second levels for now. Make paint and plants your friends.

Where you live and how much sun you get, will determine what you can grow but go for height as much as possible. Vines would be perfect. Replacing concrete pavers is ridiculously expensive but if there are cracks large enough to do a bit of digging, try planting moss, thyme or clover in between them.

There's always a temptation in a small space that needs "cheering up" to to go for either white or bright colours. I'd avoid both: the first will get dirty quickly and the second will become dated and tiresome in no time at all. Avoid cute. I like lyonstill's suggestion of sage (though I'd stay away from mint), and you could also consider mid- to light-blues, which always look fresh without being garish. With such a small space, I'd advise against using two colours but two tones of the same colour would be ideal. Go a bit lighter on the concrete and a bit darker on the siding and the garage and do your window and door trim a nice crisp white.

Avoid cute at all costs. No murals. No primaries.

Anything that you can paint, paint. If you can't afford to replace the screen door spray it with a high quality metal spray paint and replace the screening. If you don't want to or can't paint the concrete blocks plant a combination of something tall and a climbing vine there. Or cover it with bamboo polls lashed together, and then plant the tall/vine combination. If you can remove the concrete pavers and edges do it. You can also deck right over them (we did this). And gather up the largest pots you can find and make some nice container plantings (there was a post yesterday about fall containers) to put in at least one grouping.

Congrats on the house, happy settling in!

Oh, you could also put a window box under that first floor window.

Your brown is alright, it matches your windows. Your light fixture looks lost up there, and is ugly. It could be between the door and window instead. You need to repair or remove your screen door, and fix the shed's roof. For your door color, you can find inspiration in that object up there on the neighbor's balcony. Potted plants on a long table would look great instead of that flowerbed.

I like it actually. I would not do anything to the cinder block (or at least wait until you live there a while). It's hard to undo anything you do to masonry.

New screen, fresh coat of paint on the screen door and around the windows. If it has to match the rest of the house, use the same paint colors - they are fine, just need a fresh coat so they don't look chalky. If you can add a fresh coat of paint to the siding too, that would go a long way. Paint the actual door a very bright color that complements the brown and stone. I suggest a chartreuse. That would just peek through the screen and add a touch of drama.

Replace the light fixture with something interesting like an industrial sconce with a filament bulb. Plant some fluffy grasses like Cerex in the ground there, next to the door. I don't think those cement borders are doing your house any favors either, it's calling attention to the cement block. Put up a plain cedar border, that will look much better. Basically a 1x6 cedar box to frame out the dirt there. Pull the weeds and clean up the wires of course.

If you can change the paint color, the darker area could go dark - Coachman's Cape or Midnight Oil (benjmoore). And the trim could go mid gray, something like Granite. Whatever color you choose should harmonize with the cinder block, so it needs to have warm gray undertones.

Scattered thoughts this morning -- sorry.

If you want a color for the trim instead of a gray, think about a cactus green like Agave (benjmoore).

Ryan and Cole at the blog "Pacing the Panic Room" did a great back door area makeover on a cinder block wall, with a wall garden. It is really beautiful!

http://pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.ca/2012/06/salad-days.html

Cover the cement block with Boston Ivy maybe Fenway Park as it is more a chartreuse [remember: sleep, creep leap ]. Little pots of annual geraniums resting on the sill (a la France and Italy) would be darn cheerful and you could keep them going through the winter in a sunny window like Italian barber shops do in my neck of the woods.Get rid of those circular cement things and replace with just about anything (iron is nice).
All will be on sale now if you wish to experiment so plant up with annuals.That and changing the paint colors will give a real European vibe.

Climbing roses.

Over the concrete block, I'd do a mosaic. It will do less damage to your house than ivy might do.

First and foremost, I would paint the top "siding" wall portion, as well as the door frame and the window frames. You could, of course, pick any color you like as long as it went well with the concrete. Then, I would actually make the flower bed a raised bed (at least a few feet high) and have either 1) regular flowers you could change seasonally OR 2) a beautiful trailing plant that could climb up the whole side. I think, depending on climate, that bouganvilleas are always beautiful.

Now that I look more closely, the door looks as if it just needs replacing all together.

The area below the window would be a prefect spot for a galvanized water trough made into a planter for a kitchen garden-- - a big trough, 6' by 2' by 2', rounded end. Then I'd paint the siding, the door and window frames a deep, purplish rust red and leave it at that. Is purpose you might have to paint the shed (?) in the foreground, too...or at least part of it to tie it in.

Forgot to clarify that Boston Ivy is the ivy associated with college buildings. Stay away from English ivy. And don't grow any food in that soil beneath the window unless you dig it out but tubs of tomatoes and cans of basil clustered around them would look fabulous if it's sunny out there. I would favor a medium green/gray for doors and window to let plants and flowers take the spotlight but brighter colors would be more south-of-France.

Your garden needs some height because of the height of your house. I don't know your zone but if there is an evergreen shrub that is hardy it would add more green life. I wouldn't get a vine that loses leaves in winter.
I have no skill at design but I have noticed that dark shades such as charcoal have become popular around here in the last couple of years. It seems to anchor the house to the ground. Our winters are grey and rainy but the charcoal doesn't look depressing it just makes everything around it stand out like a black matting in a picture frame. You could paint the concrete block a dark colour and then brighten the door (or just the screen door) and window with a livelier colour. There are even evergreen shrubs and groundcovers with white or yellow edges to their leaves and that would also stand out against black.

My impulse would be to do something short term, no construction, and cheap. Just to cheer up the place, make it usable and livable immediately. First clean the area and wash windows. Pull all the weedy stuff in the paved area. Remove scalloped brick stuff around flowers. Remove existing flowers to a planter (more about that later). Paint frame of door and the little window frame to its right a bright chartreuse-y green. Get a couple plastic Adirondack chairs in the same color, and a little white table. If you can find matching footstools, all the better! Buy 9 pots of varying size/style all in that same green. Plant with herbs, flowers (use those flowers already in the ground). Scatter pots around area. Put in 3 small bushes in dirt area - no need to edge, just scatter with undyed mulch. Get a large drink, sit down, and enjoy. Give yourself a couple years to contemplate the exterior before making decisions about changes. Low maintenance updates, and yet you won't be ashamed to bring some friends out back ( err- if they bring their own chairs) Enjoy your new home!

You could always get a whatdyacallit a trellis (one of those kind of crosshatched wood fences) to grow some ivy or plants up without ruining the structure of the building. But as others have said, I think paint is probably going to be your new best friend!

One thing you might want to consider is looking up some modern/industrial/eco design sites, magazines, or books. Believe it or not, there's actually quite a few ways to dress up cold, harsh concrete so it looks sleek and modern (can't think of any of the top of my head though!) I'd try to work WITH it, rather than against it, and find ways to make the concrete look intentional rather than trying to hide it.

Definitely DON'T use Boston Ivy. Beautiful on college buildings, yes, but it'll wreak havoc on your masonry.It attaches itself with little suckers that never come clean, will get into your cinder block and your siding. It also sends up sprouts wherever it pleases. And in the winter (if you have cold temps) it dies back and looks like it was burned in a fire.

I like Parnassus' idea of chartreuse or agave green for the door.

I'd put up a planter box under the windows to the right of the door. Find some interesting brackets and rest the box on them. If you plant something that trails down, it will hide a bit of the cinder block.

I'd embrace the cinder block, though, as if it were a weathered stone wall. And if you like midcentury modern style, Midcentury Modern Love just put up a post about using dark brown, light gray and orange (a la Eichler homes) for their exterior. Check it out here: http://midcenturymodernlove.com/2012/08/13/simple-statement-exterior/

I would consider painting at least the window trim, that shade of brown just screams 80's to me. A pale aqua could look yummy and surprising with the other brown.

The planting looks puny, I would invest in some planters that add height, do a search for "file cabinet planter" here on AT, those were an inexpensive, yet expensive and modern-looking planters. Add grasses and succulents and those stone pebbles.

I would cover the patio with wood slats or build decking.

Agreed with Zhahira – you can't make this a quaint english cottage. So make it look like a modern, Dwell-esque place instead. Modern, sleek materials and lines, with bright poppy colors.

There was an ugly 50's house right next to ours, that recently got revamped. Here's the before, on google maps street view, type in "1111 dolores street, San Francisco, CA". That's how it looked before. Then they clad the top with horizontal wood, I'm guessing teak or redwood or something like that, and added stone veneer and glass and steel. It looks amazing now.

Kinda has this kinda look now:
http://modernhousearchitects.com/images/content/res_7.jpg
* this is not the same house now, but you can kinda imagine it.

I like the look, it is very modern. To go further with the modern look replace the door with a galvinized/stainless door. A long skinny rectangular window cut into the door would be nice. A light over the door, maybe one of the industrial gas station lights with bent conduit. Get rid of flower bed and cover with pavers. Put a cone shaped, galvinized planter with a round boxood beside the door. Freshen up the outbuilding with the same color paint. Add patio furniture.

I think you have a great space for an Asian-inspired garden! You could cover the cinder-block in a combination of bamboo and cultured stone - like this:http://www.houzz.com/photos/531081/Culture-Stone---Bamboo-Garden-Wall-asian-landscape-toronto.

I'd paint the brown siding and replace the screen door. I don't like screen doors but that's a personal preference. If you need a screen door, perhaps something a bit more modern - like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lauriematthews/7736492392/
You could paint it the same as the siding and the horizontal lines would go well with both the siding and the cultured stone...

Don't forget to add green! Plants and flowers make a world of difference.

Please post 'after' pictures.

The way the siding comes down right to the top of the door, combined with the darker color above the lighter one, and the small horizontal window gives the visual feeling of a weight crushing down. You need to visually draw the eye up to combat that look.

- Ideally I would paint the siding on the 2nd floor, but if that is out of the question than I would start with a taller, but skinny growing shrub in the bed under the window like a dwarf Alberta Spruce or a sky pencil holly that is at least 5' tall. (There are some cedars that would fit the bill, but get a dwarf version as cedars can get tall.) Alternately you could put up a 6'-8' h x 2' w trellis and have vines growing up it. You need something to lead the eye upward to combat the downward "force" of the siding.

- Some sort of awning over the back door would also help with the visual feel and draw the eye upward. That should be easy enough without any real structural work.

- Pressure wash (and paint if necessary) the cinderblock.

- Paint the shed siding (in the foreground) the same color as the stucco/cinderblock

- Replace (or at least take off) the screen door and paint the back exterior door.

Deep rusty red for the siding, door, and window surrounds. I like the shed. Replace the scallops around the planting bed. I wouldn't touch the masonry. Live with everything for a few months to a year.

Whoa! Is that your cellar door? Lucky you.
You definitely need a new storm door. You could change the paint color back there, although I think the brown is ok. What you need is something else. You could paint the cement block a light or white color. Add shutters to the two windows and some flower boxes.
Stain the concrete. Weed out the cracks. If the cracks are large, plant something in them deliberately. Add some containers with plants. Actually, the area beneath the lower window might be a good place for an espalier of roses and other climbing flowers. That would cover up the concrete block if you don't want to paint. Put a welcome mat outside the door.

PAINT IT BLACK

Some of the suggestions seem work and cost intensive. I'd rather put my money in the interior for fix-ups and decorating, rather than invest in an exterior area that may not be seen by anyone except the owners. That's not to say that you should completely ignore the back of the house - you may be able to give it just a "lipstick" job instead of a complete makeover and cosmetic surgery!
If you can replace the door, I would. Otherwise, just freshen it up with paint and get a new screen if you can. Paint out the trim on the window. I would put either a window box under the window, if you can, or put some fuller plants in the bed. I would take up the concrete edging around the flower bed. Clean up the stray plants and weeds. I wouldn't do a lot right now. I'd just tidy it up and make it more cheerful and inviting.

Plant some bamboo in that little garden spot.

I'd repair, stabilize and freshen the existing color of everything but the cinderblock surrounding the door. There, I would put up some Moroccan or Spanish or Moorish tile -- something with a sunny yellow or marigold color in it, or maybe blue and white, with the yellow coming from plantings. Add a tea table and some planters or baskets trailing lantana, and you've got a secret garden, which is all the nicer if it doesn't announce istelf until you're right up on top of it.

Hi all - this is the original poster, but there was some error when I tried to sign in with my original name and email address...
Thanks so much for all of your suggestions.
@Parnassus we loved your midnight oil colour suggestion and went with it.
Many of you recommended replacing the screen and painting the door a vibrant colour - which we did. We also added a window box (though this one is a bit some, it will have to do for now!)
We didn't spend much time/money on the garden because fall then winter is right around the corner for us. But come spring we will raise the garden! Is that like raising the roof?
Here's an 'after for now' picture.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/63618002@N03/7945802486/in/photostream

That looks amazing