Advice about spruicing up the front entrance of our house?

[Benskimo]

Hey Workshop gang - I'd really like some tips and wisdom, if anyone has any, on how to spruice up the front entrance of our place. It's a pretty basic 1969 house that has had some 80s modifications, like the neo-colonial awning and baby blue paintjob you see in the photos below. I'm thinking of rendering just the brick wall that comes out from the facade of the house (see my photoshop mockup effort below!) but I'm still at a bit of a loss as to what a replacement new simple midcentury modern style awning could be...

Existing:

Mockup of what it could look like:

Any advice, or experience anyone has had in something similar? Thanks a million.

[Benskimo]

Yeah totally. Haven't quite got there yet.

Not quite sure what colour to paint the gutter yet. I don't really want to leave it that 80s blue...

[Isobel]

Great job @Benskimo. I love the bold orange door. I don't think you could go wrong painting the guttering white.

[Kermit]

@Benskimo

Check out this 70s fit-out in a house in Studley Park, Kew in Melbourne. This what yours looks like inside?

[Benskimo]

Ah yeah nice. A little bit... but it's getting more and more like that. I really dig that free-standing fire, hey.

[Isobel]

Saw another bold orange door today and it reminded me of yours @Benskimo. Have you done any more work on the house recently?

[Annette]

I totally agree about having smaller shrubs under the windows or trimming back the existing ones to prevent hiding places for the burglars.  A few years ago, 2 teenagers broke in through a front window but the police caught them 10 minutes later because a neighbour saw them acting suspiciously when they left the house and came and told my husband who was actually working in his office attached to our carport. Nothing of importance was taken but they made a mess while they were searching for valuables. I hate to think what would have happened if Hubby had gone into the house when they were in there.

[Benskimo]

Hi @Andy_Mann, I've since trimmed a lot of the undergrowth away now, so you can see more of the branch architecture of each of the bushes up to a certain height, so it looks much neater, and a little more MCM.

[Benskimo]

@Isobel - wow that looks nice and crisp. Nothing much else, no. We've at least repainted the other windows and eaves white, so that links it all up nicely.