Nice looking house! The one thing that jumps out to me would be to put something in that space between the garage door and window, around where the bench is. If you've got soil there, I'd plant a large bush. If not, I'd look for a very large potted plant or topiary.

I think I would continue the second story white window trim onto the bottom windows. Maybe the garage door too. Some color in the flower beds would look nice. It's a great looking house.

What a darling house! I love it! I agree about continuing with the white window trim on the bottom. What about painting the front door in a color that would stand out more? How about a beautiful (large) planter at the driveway where the garage ends and the house begins? Just needed a little pop of color?

Thank you for all of the comments/compliments. We are definitely considering repainting the siding, replacing the roof/gutters and giving the house more 'pop'.

Suggestions as to color? The current plan is to paint the siding the color of the mortar between the stone on the first story. Also, I agree with the comments on the white trim on the lower windows, the wife has other thoughts....

What color is the mortar in your stonework? I ask because I wondered if the siding would end up close to the color of the roof. I really like the color of the house as it is and the contrast it has to the dark roof!

I agree with the others that all the trim should match, but I'm not sure I'd paint the garage door a contrasting color since that would make it more prominent. A tone-on-tone would look nice with the cross-trim of the door painted a darker shade.

I think what the house needs most is landscaping. Defining the entrance and moving the flowerbed to the right would probably give you the 'pop' you're looking for.

Maybe a small tree, like a Kousa Dogwood, in the front yard. I know it would be a bit harder to mow around, but it would soften things up a bit. I would plant around it using plants that you repeat in beds next to the house.

Looks very European. I'd add window boxes upstairs. I love the house!

I agree with Amy--I think you need some plantings to soften the house. Often landscapers recommend a tall, leafy bush on the front side of the house to soften the edge; a tree in the front yard would give it some nice scale. I have seen houses transformed by nothing more than some beautiful landscaping.

Great house, like the design.

Just my .02:
-Agree, white window trim on lower level to match upper.
-Large, potted evergreen topiary to left of bench (sculpted would be nice)
-Color in the flower bed
-The far right window could use some 'heftier' landscaping under it to offset the weight of the garage door on the left side. Add more color/texture to make the landscaped area interesting. I'd extend the bed, put something like a dwarf Alberta Spruce at the far right, depending on space, perhaps a pair of lower growing evergreens under the window. Dwarf sea green juniper has a nice, arching habitat, or emerald globe aborvite (retains it's round shape, almost lime color, about 3'x3').

I did this in a hurry, but something along these lines:

Maybe you want to consider painting the siding the same color tone as the bricks but either lighter tone. That is how my house was done. The color of the siding and bricks as well as the porch is of the same color family but different tones.

early spring '04

Not easy to see the difference in the bright sun but the sidings' color is lighter than the bricks' color.

Landscaping helps a lot, I have flowers in the front, added more container plants on the porch and there are a flowering tree in the front yard.

Recently planted flowers (last year, it was wildflowers but had to dig up everything afterward after discovering few bad plants and the wildflowers were not rooted well).

The front door and garage door would pop if painted in a bold dark color.

It looks European to me also. I would paint the white window trim the same color as the one downstairs. Add a copper window box to the lower window on the right of house. If you stay with your house color now, stay away from red or yellow flowers. Go blues/purples.

I see the downspouts are painted the gold color, but what color are the gutters? They look like they might be white. I'd paint them gold to. I would NOT paint the garage door white as it would look like a HUGE garage door and you don't want people to focus on it when they look at your house.

I agree about putting large pot to left of bench. It needs it....bad.

Freshen up the planting bed with annuals and perennials, an old bird bath or a featured concrete/marble piece. Maybe a large concrete ball or a pot with water flowing over the top onto rocks below. Nothing "new" looking.

Large plant/small tree to the right, as MoonShadow suggest in her neat drawing. Line the driveway edge with mondo grass to soften.

Post photos when complete! Allison

What a gorgeous, unique house. I know this is Garden Web, but honestly to increase curb appeal, I'd probably add a little more color to the house. The details are so great, they don't get played up enough though because the color is too close to the color of the stone.

I love the curves over the windows and would want to emphasize those more. Would you consider painting them a contrasting color? Maybe a soft green? I'd probably paint the garage a soft green as well.

And yup, adding something like what MoonShadow suggested would definitely add curb appeal.

Step # 1 complete (new roof and gutters)....thoughts?

Shutter perhaps? Or posts/pillars to show off the porch?

I am be kooky or something, but I would love to see the trim around the windows (upstairs and down) a deep dusty green color. The windows seem to fade away and I think a deeper color would enhance them. I think window boxes on the 2nd story would add a lot of charm as well as other landscaping down below.

Moonshadow, could you play with the trim colors for fun???

House is beautiful John. I also like the idea of color on those window trim pieces upstairs.

this may be too much but what about some sort of carriage garage door? the door is big and it might break it up somewhat.
just a thought.

Gorgeous home -- here's a favorite website::

http://www.hutkerarchitects.com/portfolio/portfolio.html

There may be some exterior shots that might offer an idea or two ..... hope this helps!

Thank you for all of the feedback. I want to paint the house next, but I'm having a hard time settling on colors (trim, etc). Any suggestions?

Kellywa- I was thinking the same thing about adding a carriage garage door. The GD is such a large part of the front of this house, I think it deserves a nicer door.

I was playing around on the Sherwin Williams site and thought about this kind of color scheme. (I couldn't find a house totally like yours, but thought it would do!)

Trim: Connected Gray
Door: Plum Brown
{{gwi:1536651}}

Hi ~

Here's another virtual. It would help if the downspouts were painted the same color as the body of the house to help hide them. They interrupt the horizontal flow of the front of the house. Painting out the gutters and the detail above the upper windows helps to draw a new line across the house accentuating the size of the house and also giving the eye a uniform, consistent line to follow. Gives the eye some logic to grasp. I like the carriage doors and dropped some in for you. Trimming out the windows in the accent color will help add some definition and personality to the house.

I think you are wide open for color selection too. Whatever feel/mood you want the house to have can be communicated with your color selection. I would color the front door a contrasting, complementary color. The right side of the lower level will need something to balance the drama the new doors will provide. Pretty house, it was fun to play with.

Lori

{{gwi:1536652}}

I think the thing that would make the biggest difference to me right away would be to do something with the overhang/roof above the garage and front door. It 'hides' the first floor so much, and makes the entrance seem insignificant. Plus, the angle of the roof to the right of the door looks odd - it looks like it needs to be moved down, so that the top of the angle hits still to the right of the door.

My first thought would be to eliminate the overhang completely from the garage door going left. I would extend it to the right all the way past the window,which would draw your eye to the entry. I would also like to see the height of it raised so that it didn't 'hide' the door so much, perhaps a little flatter roofline, and then add a support pillar on either corner to make it look more grounded.

As for landscaping, I would like to see that circle of landscaping opened up to extend to the right edge of the house, as well as down the edge of the driveway a little. It will seem more welcoming, than if it is so closed in to the house. A taller evergreen or small tree on the right side, where the wall slopes down to meet the fence, would be great. I would also trim back the tree that hangs in front of the upper floor window on the right.

As for color, I think the stonework looks pretty neutral, so you could go several ways. Of course, my monitor may also be distorting the colors, but if the roof is a black or dark grey, I would think a pale gray on the siding would work IF your stone is more white, not yellow. Leave the garage door the same color as the siding, to help it disappear visually. Trim a darker grey with a touch of plum, and then a deep plum door.

However, if you are going to replace the roof, that might be your first decision, since it is a large presence as you look at the house. Dark green roof, taupe/brown siding, a pumpkin colored door. Rust colored roof, beige siding, rich olive green door.

It seems like a really charming house on a great lot - have fun, and post pix for us as you go, please!

John, it's a beautiful house. There are many color schemes that would look nice when you repaint. Are you painting the siding?

I personally vote that you keep the garage door the color of the brick. I think you want to de-emphasize it and emphasize the front door. We just repainted and we "had" (homeowners association) to paint the garage door the same as the body of the house. Let's keep the pro's and con's of homeowner's associations out of our discussion. Anyway, I didn't like the idea at first, but I really like how it turned out.

Once we know how much you are painting, then we can make more suggestions.

moonshadow how did you add landscaping in the picture above?

I don't have any suggestions, just wanted to say I love your house. I wonder if you might get more suggestions over on the Discussions Forum. It looks great with the new roof and gutters.

Love your house but can you get rid of that lower roof? It doesn't seem to have much purpose and I think the house would be prettier without it.