Tell the wife to quit watching DIY, HGTV, and TLC. You could try staining some concrete or Durrock to see how it looks, before taking the time to do the columns. Personally, it looks fine as it is to me, there is no need to change it, other than do something with that walkway. Maybe look at some rose bushes, or bluestone with some other type of perennials to dress it up.
You are not getting any are you with censorship talk like that.
I would take a good crisp digital image of the house. Teach the spouse how to mask it off in one of the virtual paint programs from the major paint companies and let her try out infinite color combinations.
I despise lattice under porches and it is the first thing that used to go in the dumpster on my projects. It's brittle and the animals it is supposed to hold out just laugh and live behind it with sexual habits we cannot talk about here and smoking cigs afterward.
Lattice is also high maintenance. You will always be painting and staining it, replacing or gluing sections the last storm got and constantly fitting it in place.
I think it destroys the nice lines and bone structure of a house. It does not look solid and load bearing so wrapped around the foundation of a home? It just has always seemed out of place to me. All criss-crossed and so forth too.
I am not anti lattice and a client paid me handsomely to restore a beautiful antique fence that had lattice running along the top between posts with finials and well crafted circles mad of lattice in all the gates. It's light and airy seemed to fit an look nice in that situation though.
You have a really nice looking home. I would not clutter it up and ruin the look with lattice around the base. Which again, will be busted lattice in a few months until the wife rides you to replace, prime and paint the repair.
I may have to hunt you down and kill you you if you over do the design on the posts as well. Do not faux finish them with stone as seen on "Design on a Dime" or whatever.
You could trim out those posts a bit I guess but I would just leave the house alone until you are sure what you want to do.
Trust me, she will love the virtual painting programs. I do and use them all the time even for picking paint to paint vehicles.