oops....forgot to include a closeup of the light above the garage door.

That is wonderful Mary Lu! Your new garage looks great, I remember you posted about it earlier this year. I love the colors you picked for it, and the lighting. I think the plain concrete looks better than it would colored. With the tinted kind it would draw away from the garage I think.

I was going to do some more beds this fall, but didn't get around to it. Might be better that way, since there will be plenty of time over winter to iron out the details. Do you have a design in mind for your new beds? Any ideas as far as what plants are going in? I am sure it will look fab whatever you go with. Make sure to post pics once the beds are done too!
CMK

Your garage looks fabulous! I could live there!
I absolutely love your idea of lining the concrete with bricks. Hmmmm.... I may have to steal that idea. :)

Mary Lu, great pictures and I love the originality of the style and colors, because it doesn't look like any old garage at all, but more like an established part of a fabulous home. It has tons of character! Looks more like a cozy cottage.

I wouldn't even think about starting your landscaping now. I'm not anywhere near your zone, but I'd think the chances are that it would be rushed, at best, (and that's no fun!), or even stopped midway by your weather. You'd have so much good time this winter planning that garden and what you want it to be and what to put in it, drawing out plans, changing your mind, and on and on until spring. That building deserves a great garden!

Pat

I agree with CMK that the plain concrete looks better than a color which could detract from those gorgeous paint colors you chose. I LOVE the lights! Everything is so beautiful. WELL DONE!

Zowie! Does that look great, Mary Lu! Great colors, doors, windows, and lighting fixtures. I'll bet you are very happy with it.

I see that you left a small area of soil open against the garage to the left of the big garage door. What are you thinking of putting in there? I'm sure that gardening minds would like to know. :-)

Congratulations on a job well done. We'll be looking forward to future developments next year, like the balcony maybe?

ThinMan

a dream come true...so quaint..can't wait to see the new gardens evolve..

MaryLu, it's just perfect! Perfectly matched to your home's style. Perfect in color. I love the light fixtures too! I can't wait to see what sort of beautiful garden you plant around it next spring. I'd wait too and plan it all out to perfection just like you planned the garage it's self.

MeMo

Thanks everyone!

CMK, yes that is our thoughts. Just not enough time to get much done, so why rush it. So many other things...As far as design? No not really, not yet. Am thinking of lining the driveway with peonies. As the garden we removed had 4 very large old peonies that I dug and divided this fall. Ended up with 14 peonies. Not sure where else I would go with them. DH's wheels were turning today though, he mentioned several different ideas.

holleygarden, we had thought originally of floating bricks randomly in the concrete. But with our winters were afraid they might "pop" out due to freeze/thaw cycles.

Pat, if that's what you think, then we achieved our goal! :-) Many hours were spent planning the look of the garage and especially picking the paint colors. We started painting the house this fall as well, but that won't get done until next year either. Just ran out of time and energy!!

thymetodig, good to hear that you don't think the big area of gray concrete doesn't look too much? That was my fear. If we could have afforded to stamp the concrete that would have been another story, but just could not see spending the extra $$$ to do that.

Thinman, finding 2 over 2 wooden windows with actual muttins was a real challenge. Not many have the muttin on the outside/inside of the glass so that it can be painted or they are just snap in plastic grills. Didn't want that. Not sure about that small area yet. Guy that poured the concrete suggested it as he didn't think we would want the sidewalk right up against the building. I had thought perhaps window boxes under the windows? And yes, we are hoping to be able to build the balcony next summer. We have decided to make it a 2 level porch with floors on both levels. Don't have the plans fully developed yet, but working on it. :-)

Keesha, quaint/old is just what we were aiming for. Our home is 141 years old and we wanted something to tie in with it.

Memo, if you only knew how I struggled over the paint colors! Went with a historic color pallet and then customized each color. You know, a little tweak here and there. Part of the problem was picking a color that would work well with the roof (we put a new roof on the house last year)and also work well with the brick that the majority of the house is built from. We also have a fair amount of detail on the house to paint out, so wanted at least 3 colors to work with. This is the bay window that we also had rebuilt due to major rot issues. We at least got that painted this year....The picture below was taken while the painting was in progress. One of the actual windows is removed as we are having them reglazed. What you see is the inside storm. The windows, when done, will be the rust color like on the garage.

Again, thanks everyone for your kind words. It really makes me feel that maybe we are achieving what we set out to do - build a new garage that, after landscaping is complete, will look like it has been there a long time.
Marylu

ML it looks wonderful. You have achieved a timeless addition. Noone will ever guess in year or so that it hasn't always been there as a carriage house. I love the idea of the balconies. I wish our home had the detail that yours has so I could do the fancy paint trims. I will just have to call up your pics ! c

Absolutely gorgeous! Love your idea to edge the drive with bricks. That'll be the perfect complement to the rust trim.

Let the winter come. Sit back, relax and make planting design plans for spring. You may change your mind a few times before then.

Beautiful! You must be so pleased. Even before I read Trailrunner's post I was thinking 'carriage barn'. Maybe you would consider planting some lilacs as landscaping.

I love the color and style of the garage. And the bay window paint job is fabulous!