Here is the second try.

A light coastal blue or a brown pulled out of the brick.

The colors look fine as they are. The issue is the overall form and composition of the house, rather than color.

Detective: I agree it's not the most graceful design. But you may recall from my previous posts we did not use a certified architect which I readily concede was a bad decision. But that is a long story. Do you have any constructive suggestions as this point? We are hoping that the porch railings and other finishing details mentioned above will help. We are also reworking the header over the front door and the face of the beam below the upper balcony.

Sorry auto correct. Dytecture.

Try charcoal color with yellow door.

It is too monochromatic. The upstairs looks like the grand entrance the downstairs looks like an after thought. This should be your focal point and grand entrance. As u r still in construction I would replace the front door with double solid doors (I like the coastal blue color suggestion) then flank them with stationary glass. It will create a dramatic front entrance. Please paint the garage doors white to match the trim the brown is to harsh and not pretty for that large of a mass! PAZZAM

River Valley: I would like to accent the entrance.

Pazzam suggests double doors. would that be enough of a change to draw focus to the lower level?

Thank you all for suggestions! Help is greatly appreciated!

I agree with Pazzam in that I think what would help here is certainly lighter garage doors but maybe nice warm, welcoming wood ones. They're $$$ I know but the garage doors are such a big part of the elevation. And then a warm wood front door to match.

Hi Arunner! Thanks for the input. For now I am emotionally and financially exhausted. Replacing the garage and front doors may need to be done but that will have to wait a year or two. I see that I need to make the front door more prominent. I believe once the porch and step railings are on that will help. What about painting the front door a red brick color? And painting the upper balcony doors the same color the surrounding siding? Would that help?

That might work. What I would suggest is to maybe play with the colors a little using photoshop or some similar program.

Paint the center section to match garage doors, and the very top part too.

if paint is your only design medium then I would paint the entire upper portion the same color, the lightest version of what u have, and the entire first floor section a dark value as close as u can stand to the garage and bricks. This will calm the box compartment feel that is occurring presently, ground the home to the garage and earth. I believe u r correct once u put ur rails and deco items in such as a bench or large urn on front porch that will create a focal point.

I would paint the middle the same color as the bricks. I would also paint the garage doors the same color as the rest of the house. I would also add columns/pillars to the entryway.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I think I will paint the center section the same color as the rest of the house only just slightly darker so to not emphasize that area. Also paint the upper balcony doors so that they blend better. I'll paint the front door red or blue. Maybe polished brass hardware in the door. Then wait and see what it looks like after the porch railings and other details are added. The house is on the Atlantic Coast so is built on pylons. Many homes in this area leave the bottom level exposed but we are high enough that we will probably not have flooding so we enclosed the lower level to make good use of the garage space for storage.

Thanks especially to those of you who took time to Photoshop ideas. That helped greatly! I may end up making other changes with the paint and front door configuration later on.