You need some kitchen accessories kettle etc that tie in with the red and also some artwork. The red you have chosen looks on my monitor to be a cool red, perhaps a bit of a warmer shade would help. i would also extend the dining area curtains down to the floor, they will cosy up the space, as would a statement rug to give a bit more life to the room. If your living room is green then it may be nice to have some token green of the same shade, somewhere in the kitchen, a plant or some artwork, and add a bit of the kitchen red to your living room, so that there is some continuity of colour in your home, as opposed to having two separate colour boxes and never the twain shall meet..

hello bonnielynn75 and THANK YOU! your comment put a smile on my face re the red on the interior side of the door. It IS red on the inside as well, he insisted on that when we purchased it. no one here has it red on the inside and I wanted it to be white on the inside. do you see my dilemma?;) I agree with everything you are saying, I suppose this is the reason why so far I was not 100% sure about the black for the door either, although I like black...Agree, there is too much wall and I find the house to be looking a bit 'bland' and would like to change that. I LOVE shutters, but read somewhere that you never put shutters on wide windows, so got unsure about that, too...but perhaps just the one as I stated earlier. Would the color on that shutter be the same as the door (if I ever settle on a door color)? Unfortunately window boxes are not an option as we have quite a few cats and they may be used as litter boxes;) please don't tell me to get rid of the cats;)... Regarding the stoop (entrance) : we need to add another step (made of cement) on top of the existing step: it was removed when the new door was fitted. We were thinking of putting slate tiles or something dark to match the roof, if that makes any sense.... It is porous cement so unsuitable for painting, I think. What place in Ireland did you visit, we are close to the Irish Sea in the country surrounded by sheep;)...

I'd definitely put some kind of stone on the walls, all the way to the ceiling. I think the gas fireplace that you have is really cute, but might look at a stone slab on the floor instead of the mat that is there now. I'd take stone inside of that alcove as well, whether matching or contrasting. You can still hang art above, on top of the stone. It would really make the room!

Flowers in those flower boxes would be a good start, and then I'd tear out the conctrete or whatever the surface is next to the house and extend the driveway further out, closer to the camera, to make up for lost driveway space. The down spout must be removed from he driveway. The steps up to the house seem to be a confused assembly of different materials and should be reformed into a cohesive entry stairway, with plantings flanking it, or pots of greenery/flowers on it. The garage seems to be a different color from the house and if that is the came, I would change it echo the colors of the house. In the foreground of the photo is an opportunity for some beautiful landscaping. You have your work cut out for you, but nothing that you couldn't do over the next 3 months!