This made me laugh: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/09/seagull-turns-orange-after-falling-into-vat-of-chicken-tikka-masala I couldn't copy the picture, but it's hilarious.

You might paint the walls a bold color you really love, but I would recommend staying away from wallpaper as it is costly and too difficult to change. I agree with another poster that wider trim around the doors would help, and I would suggest that you paint all the trim white and add crown molding and a mop-board along the floor-wall junctures. I love the wood-tone door and would keep it as an accent piece and for contrast. You might add large, framed mirrors to the walls to reflect light and perhaps add a console table with a fairly large lamp. An interesting print area rug also can add pizzazz to this space. If you can use the bold wall color as an accent throughout the house, it will help to tie the entire color scheme together and give your home a unified look. In the offset hallway shown in Photos Two, Three, and Four, I would suggest you place a desk and chair and/or perhaps some bookcases and curio cabinets to make an interesting entrance way that can double as a study or home office. As an alternative, you could place a narrow dining table with leaves that fold down to allow easy traffic through the hallway. Above the table you could display some framed mirrors and, in matching frames, family photos that can serve as conversation starters. When you entertain, the fold-down dining table could be pulled out and/or moved to another room to accommodate your guests.

Yes to all those ideas. I believe your cladding is unpainted concrete bricks (is it called Summerhill Stone?) in that (boring) fawn colour. My house is same but was painted by previous owners. It looks so much more up to date and the surface is lasting very well; no signs of peeling or flaking. So despite needing to maintain a painted surface, I think painting is the way to go. Alternative is a costly plaster job. Then the entrance - yes, wide generous steps onto a wide deck or patio, some vertical or horizontal slatted panels for protection or privacy as needed, clear roofing for protection and to allow light to the rooms. And paint the front door a vivid color to indicate the entrance. Just make this area feel generous! Dependent on the adjacent rooms and which direction the house faces opening up one or more of those windows into sliders or stackers would be great. Plants in big pots are good too, add colour and texture - and you already have some there. Good luck - I love the idea of turning an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan!

Hmmm, I see what you mean. There are two aspects I would focus on - the door surrounds and the garden pathway/approach. For the doorway itself (depending on how much you want to spend), you could put a small porch over the door for shelter (with a light for evening visitors). Maybe add a (wider than the doorway itself) glass or trellis surround on the RHS of the door, or add a small deck/steps (over the top of the current ones) that extends the doorway outwards and sideways and provides a sheltered platform for people to stand on while waiting for you to welcome them. The trick would be keeping it in the style of the (stucco?) house - maybe use the blue trim alongside the doorway to add visual width. The second aspect would be creating a pathway leading to the front door. I wouldn't take it in from the street but rather curve across from the driveway. Maybe large pavers spaced for walking, set into a gravel pathway, with some small outdoor lights alongside, and create a garden with small shrubs on the LHS of the door out to the edge of the path to define the pathway to the door. Or if you were going to concrete the driveway at some point, you could make some matching concrete pavers, with a rougher aggregate surface, with some extra concrete. And finally, the door... the door itself doesn't show in the picture, but after you've created the doorway, you could either get a new door (with some glass in it - more welcoming), or just repaint your current door to match your doorway - possibly in the same blue as your trim - lovely! Good luck