Here are 2 examples with a bit of twist of color.

Thanks all, appreciate the feedback.

What about blue-gray or green-gray? You could try painting a small section around the back of the house with your sample pots and see if you like it first. You also get to see it at different times of the day in different lights. If you don't like the colour, it's easily painted over and you haven't outlaid a lot of $$.

A lighter trim draws the eye to the lines of the house so you need to decide whether you want to highlight them or not.

The cheaper option is just to paint a section of trim and decide if this is enough to give the effect you are after..

I have suggested these colours because they will still blend your house in with its surroundings.

And I agree, replacing the balustrade with a more modern style will also give the house a boost.

i would use the current house for inspiration and give it a slight update, as i think its got some nice appeal there--im still a taupe fan with vivid white trim..

Yes, taupe is great with white as well, that was my next suggestion! There are taupes and taupes - just like there are so many different "whites". Check with the paint places what the undertones are so you can match trim and paint exactly.

Our house is the same age. Also cedar. We have kept the grey color with stain, and the trim matches the house. I still love it. Updating your stair rails is a great suggestion, as well as the mailbox. Interesting landscaping can change the feel.

The white trim is already shrieking WOW, LOOK AT ME, which makes the beautifully weathered cedar look drab and dingy.

Painting the trim a shade of grey that is a few shades lighter or darker than the cedar would blend and leave you with nice planes of natural cedar ... sophisticated and subtle.

Put the WOW as a few accents, such as more prominent front entry, maybe a front entry deck, front yard landscaping, and some vivid colors in plants.

First off: Congrats! Great house! I wonder where this house is located because that helps in deciding house colors, believe it or not. (But the pines alone help in the decision making ... so I will go from there.) The second thing picking a color of your house as you know is a commitment and investment. So getting input to help is good thing to do! It is all one color now ... and if you pick one color you will have the same look but just in a different color. Hum? Same problem/different color. And why will this not address your problem? The thing to me is that the architecture of your home is calling for more than one color. Taupe and white trim or gray with white trim is traditional and playing it safe and not working.
I suggest this: You have sections of the home architecturally. So look at each section right now. Look at the house not as a whole but in sections and jobs or functions. This helps to break down the expanse of the project.
Your house as all houses has it's jobs. Purposes. So the front door ... is hidden ... but the architectural detail of a stair railing is the directional architecture for people to find your front door. I think that the exterior wall of the area with the bank of 3 windows should be a pop of color to accent the direction to your front door and thus more welcoming. It should be a different color than the rest of the body of the house. It then will act like the front entrance area. So how about trying this color in that area: Benjamin Moore's "Rustic Taupe" #999 which tips it's hat to the color of pine tree bark.
AND then repeat that same color at the large bump out wall to the left of the front door area (in between where your flags are). And continue that Rustic Taupe on it's wall that runs around each corner ... so that architectural area stands out. It is an interesting feature so play it up. But balance it out. HOW? Plant a mature pine tree in front of this wall when you are done painting and landscape around that pine with 3 Muhgo Pines (shorter, wider growing) under it. On that area's less wide wall next to the bump in with the 2 stories of windows, plant a RED Japanese maple like "Bloodleaf" that introduces a super complimentary color to the pines now infront and in back bringing the house and it's environment together.
The yard area under the bank of 3 windows near the front stairs: Move out the 2 bushes under those window and make or get a carpenter to make a super window box (at least 8" deep with drainage holes on the bottom) and paint it a great color like: Ben Moore :Lafayette Green" HC-135 and fill it with flowers that handle the sun (or shade) of that exposure. Repeat that color on the staircase and trim around the house.
Make a 5' wide walkway to the front door and create a welcoming sitting patio extending from the edge of the staircase across the whole 3 window area where the window box is.
Pop your front door (which I can't see but can imagine) and back doors with a color like Ben. Moore Affinity Line Color: "Buttered Yam"AF-230
Add terra cotta pots of all sizes on the patio for more color pops and maybe a couple of Adirondack chairs and table that increases the welcoming feeling.

If the condition of the paint or stain on your house is bad then repaint or stain. Make sure you clean and prep beforehand.
But if it is OK (which it looks like it is) then invest a smaller amount of money and time and just do the areas I suggested and do some plantings and hardscaping and you will get a real polished, more current look.

You can take this photo and copy it on a copy machine ... make several copies and you can color it or cut and paste blocks of color and place on top of each section to get an easier look at what it will look like in the end.

Good luck on your project. And the flags indicate that you are most likely a military service person. Thank you for you and your loved ones' help for our nation.

I love your house color as it is - I think the grey is great. I think I'd be bold and paint the fascia boards bright burnt orange as well as the balustrades and the front door. Give it a pop of rich warm color! Splash out on a really modern architectural statement of a letter box and paint that orange too. Keep the white window frames to begin with. If they don't work paint them a very dark grey and get a specimen tree (mature if possible) that guarantees Fall color. Plant something bushy with rich red orange foliage around the base of the house on the left hand side and watch the house come alive.

A deep fudge chocolate and white-white trim, or a charcoal gray....or dark blue offset with the white trim will po-off, and give the home a fresh look

Behr Dark Gray is a great mushroom color. Not gray, not brown. This will change it up without being drastic. However the house is a modern style so it may require something in a different color family, and you are afraid to take the plunge. I'm in that boat sometimes.The blue/gray might be the best to get out of the neutrals and will complement the white trim. I agree with other posts to come up with a third complementary color for door and other features like landscaping. Good luck!

you can also add brick or stone to some of the sections of facade, get rid of those dates stairs, extend the entry all the way across, and have a wider, perhaps a floating porch with ipe wood, and it all depends how extensive of a re-do/update you wish to tackle.

Flip the colors. Go with a white oil based siding and gray trim.
If your looking to change the look past color consider extending the overhangs by18 to 24". This not only up dates the look, but protects the siding and windows from the weather and can be an effective tool in reducing energy costs.

Go dark and add Douglas fir wood trim for visual depth. This is a great home congratulations.

Love the lines of this house, agree that the white trim is too intense. Here are some color ideas from the discussion so far.

Here are some ideas I saw out there. If you kept your current color and change out the trim from white to a dramatic darker color, and then use the entry facade as your pop of color in some way to accent the entry and add some color too. Good luck

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/curb-appeal-10-updated-architectural-styles-stsetivw-vs~978394

http://www.houzz.com/1980's-contemporary-exterior-update

http://www.houzz.com/1980%27s-exterior-update/p/40

http://www.houzz.com/1980%27s-exterior-update/p/80

i have a small house, so depressed looking at some of these houses. I have a good size yard that is all dirt & grass. Where do the people get the money to do these things????

well, I can guess...a lot live on credit cards, are way over their limit, have done a deferred pymt. via Home Depot, Lowes, etc., 0% for a yr. offers,or have taken on an equity loan for these improvements...all worthwhile, if the economy and their jobs are viable....not so the case in many areas of this country....especially such hard hit areas as Midwest, Florida and Nevada...

We bought this home needing lots of updating and repairs....

Thank you for all taking the time to write down some ideas, actually painting some different trim colors and helping me through this process!

buying a home that needs updates and repairs is the way to go! You are smart ... take your time and pick your battles. You are welcome and best of luck ... please post photos after you painted your house as you wanted. Look forward to seeing it!

thanks Janet, its just that ive been in this house now for 10yrs. with 2 boys. & i cant get a head. because of my bills. i live week by week. to beable to have a house or a yard to entertain in will only be a dream.

HI Janet, a final word... If you love what you have chosen don't worry about pleasing anyone else....Blessings to your family, and looking forward to the final pics!!

Thanks so much! Will follow up with final product.

If this grey is the weathered natural cedar, I would not change it as it will be much easier to maintain! I like a lot of the comments on trim colours though.
I would remove the current stair and railing and build a large entrance deck, possibly stepping it down gradually. This would expand your 'living' space year round! With the two sets of windows almost at the deck level it would bring the outside "into" these rooms as well.
I would add tall narrow planters to the deck and design a perennial garden around the base of the deck with a wide, inviting walk leading to/through it.

I loved reading this. We also have a similar house that needs to be repainted and we can not decide. Any thoughts? If the grey is natural cedar (vs. painted) I would stay with that due to the upkeep of painting. Our house was painted right before bought it (pictured below) and a year later it is peeling/flaking. The whole house needs to be scrapped and painted again which is very $$$.

Did you end up painting your house?

yes, white.

Would love to se a photo of the finished paintjob.

deep blue/french with white trimming, look to Cape Cod blues, Hampton's style