I would suggest leaving the wood siding lighter then the brick... definitely paint your front doors a darker color.....maybe a maroonish brown? This may also work for the Garage door. Or paint the garage door and shutters dark and pick a brigher matching color for the front doors (rust color maybe)!

Stay cream with the trim: soffit and facia, windows, door frames, and iron columns. Try a medium gray green or goldish brown for the upper siding, and as Connie suggested, paint the all the doors and shutters a maroonish brown.

I'd paint the wood siding a taupe color, something to blend with the brick - pretty brick, by the way! Can you lose the storm doors? Not pretty from the road. Paint the front doors a brick red, some shades lighter/brighter but close to roof color since you see the roof. The shutters would look good painted near the roof color. Iron is barely seen, you could paint black. Do they still make fake mullions? Those would lend a great appeal to those plain windows.

Try these colors...Edgecomb Gray HC-173 for the siding and Texas Leather AC-3 for the shutters, front door and garage. All colors are by Benjamin Moore. I've attached pictures of a home with this exterior palette. Different style house, but I think it will help you visualize, Good luck with your project. Charmean Neithart

I like Benjamin Moore HC 85 with an accent of BJ 2134-20 and a black door of BJ I-80. Might be nice and highlight the brick.

How about Benjamin Moore Texas Leather on the trim and the window sashes, Baked Cumin (1062) on the shutters and Early Morning Mist on the base? See: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/texasleather
Here is a mock up, although I think that colors are much more subtle. I think you can upload a good color print of your house to the BM web and try out different schemes.

I have never understood why architects would stick an addition to a stone/brick house but build it from a different material so that it stands out like a sore thumb! I agree with painting the upper story taupe. It needs to look like it blends with the rest of the house. THe really pretty feature of this house is that large window to the left, and it gets ignored with so much attention on the upper floor and garage door (what is attractive about having 1/3 of the front of the house be garage door?) The shutters should be painted whatever will blend with the walls and not call attention to that section of the house.

I also agree with losing the ironwork storm doors. They are rather dated and don't do anything for the entrance. Some false columns (square -- easy to build out of 1x4 & 1x6 with trim) around those iron posts might make them look less like an afterthought. In fact, I'd add one more to frame the front entrance.

That garage door. Hmm. There are a lot of ideas out there to make garage doors an integral part of the facade. Painting it a startling color (bright white, for instance) just calls attention to it instead of that lovely window to the left.

Good luck. Take your time, look at other houses similar to yours. Test colors before you commit; it will save you a lot of aggravation.

some great ideas here and the demonstration pics are great (especially the pic with the dark shutters and garage door) ....but I have to disagree with painting the upper level a color that blends with the brick...it will look to monotone and bland. A slight contrast in paint color will add to the overall look of the house and a splash of color in the front door will do wonders. Relatively simple but effective!

I love the wrought iron doors, but they look out of place on this particular style of house. Maybe there's a place for them in the back?

The house looks top heavy. I'd remove the superflous shutters and limit the paint to two colors: look for the darkest brick and match the paint for the siding and the woodwork to that. A darker color will make the second story and the garage door recede and not so overwhelming. If that's too much brown (the roof color is truly unfortunate, very hard to work with), then a charcoal gray with a hint of blue--think French blue but a bit darker.

If all else fails paint everything dark sage green. It seems to go with everything. I agree with the above to test several colors before you commit.

Then go for one blast of color on the double front doors--chinese red, or even black. Add more color with bright annual flowers. Window boxes would really help the upstairs windows and balance out the horizontal flow of the architecture and the wonderful planter along the left side of the facade.

Lastly, the window coverings should all be lined with the same fabric, something not white. Woodgrain indoor shutters upstairs would be super.

I agree with Gary Porter, too. I'd go with a darker paint to match your brick on the siding but I would go a shade darker than that on the trim. Lose the shutters - they are, as Gary says, superfluous and rather distracting. I think painting the front doors a shiny black (lose the storm doors or at least replace with something simple and matching) would add contrast and drama to what we all, pretty much, seem to be recommending as a highly monochromatic paint scheme. That large window is beautiful, and I would play that up. I would get rid of the low shrubs in front of that window and frame it, on either side, with simple, large scale trellises or tuteurs, painted black, planted with a flowering vine in whatever the main accent color will be with the house (something colorful and dramatic - red? orange?) This would draw your eye even more to the window, plus give you some verticality on what is a very horizontal house. Good luck - post the "afters"!

Update: I just noticed something so glaring I can't believe no one's commented on it. What's cheapening the exterior of this house that has "good bones" are the upstairs aluminum windows! It would be a splurge (maybe sell the wrought iron doors to cover the cost), but matching the upstairs windows to the wooden sash window to the right of the door would make a world of difference and bring the house back to its original splendor.

Went with BM Smoky Taupe for the woodwork and Agean Olive for the Iron and shutters. the painter is still working and we are going to tackle the landscaping next week. @ Gary Porter , where would be the best place to sell the iron doors? We were planning on getting rid of them but I hadn't thought of selling them.

Those iron doors are a treasure, relics of a certain time and place. I wouldn't let go of them lightly. Certainly there are architectural salvage companies that would take them in a minute. But I'd at least try the usual sources first, eBay, Craigslist, etc.

However. If you are bent on keeping the shutters I don't see any reason to give up the iron doors. They are one of a piece. Honestly, before I spent any money on re-doing this facade, I'd investigate all your landscaping options. There's that wonderful planter beneath the bay window. Plant a line of shasta daisies (cheap) along the driveway. A bit of ivy here and there. You know what I mean.

A nice oak tree planted left of center of the bay window would add a bit on newness and hope to its surroundings.