Hi everyone, thanks for all your help. I'll send her an email and ask her to get more pictures. The driveway goes up the right side of the house to a detached garage in the back. I'm sorry if I'm not much help. I'm at work so I have to keep my responses short! LOL

I love it cheerful, in a dark red. You might be able to paint the rails white, too, if they're in decent shape and would look fresh, crisp, and new. I'd leave the floor and the boards beneath the deck in the brown though. Hard to tell exactly what's going on with the deck from the photo.

{{!gwi}}

I love that red, squirrel. I was also thinking that painting the rails white would look nice.

I like the red too! The deck is in great shape. It's stained. Painting the rails should be an inexpensive fix too. We did talk about maybe something over the two windows on each side. For instance two awnings.

You guys are so talented!

Here's the soft aqua we've been loving recently.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Love the red Squirrel :) Love the idea of painting the rails. I'd cover the planking on the bottom of the deck with lattice until some easy to care for plants grew in .. paint the lattice white to match the rails. I personally love awning and if I had a cute red cottage and was going to go with an awning or two.. I'd pick a black and white striped awning ;)

Ahhk! Zipdee caught me using her beautiful paint color ..... I hope you don't mind. We all loved your house so much in it. She's far, far away : ) It's the first thing that hit me. Red!

Awnings would look very nice, too.

I don't mind at all :) It's one of my favorite colors on a cottage and looks super cute on that one.

I love both colors. The aqua looks so fresh. I also like the idea of red with black and white striped awnings. I can't wait until she sees these pictures!

Here's the white rail and some awnings. I'd pictured really wide stripes, but found this one:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Those look great Squirrel! I love the one big awning going across. The smaller ones look cute, but the large one would be very functional for the deck they have out there.

If end up painting the house red, I'm going to do this off the back of the house over the deck. One large retractable awning. ;)

Which rail color do you prefer with it?

My choice for the rail would definitely be white, it ties in with the cottage look. I agree with keeping the floor decking stained wood color, but I'd either paint or use a solid white stain on the railing. I also love the Adirondack chairs out there, perfect!

ha! They are ~levitating~ outside the deck so they can actually be seen with everything, lol.

I think the whole cottage is just adorable. It did look pretty drab before. If she's a bit color shy, the aqua also looks great and so fresh.

He, he .. ghost chairs :)

I like the Aqua alot too, especially with the rust colored umbrella and accents you put with it. Also I love aqua with red so maybe if she likes red, but just a touch .. it could be added in that way.

And here's the lattice work. Should have put some clematis on that ¡size>

{{!gwi}}

Trying some roses and clematis, making its way over the rail. Maybe I should've used red roses.

{{!gwi}}

Actually, my roses are crummy. I like them in white, lol. lavendar clematis winding through.

{{!gwi}}

I've said it before & will say it again: squirrelheaven is a genius. Can't believe how she transformed that plain little house into the most charming, summer-y cottage. The awnings are a wonderful idea.

You're makin' me laugh !

Squirrel .. your last picture is perfection! :) What a great little cottage it turned out to be, love it. Great job!

Hi, I have the cottage in Ohio. Thanks for all your wonderful ideas. I LOVE, LOVE, Love the awnings, and the white rails and white lattice. GREAT ideas. I'm going to try to post more pictures of the house.

Yippee, Zipdee! Couldn't have done it without you : ) Great job bringing this one in to the finish line!

Ok, I'm going to be the dissenter here. I don't like the red. I love the awnings and railings and lattice, but not the red. To me, if it's a second home, you go there for rest and relaxation. Red doesn't say rest to me. The aqua's not bad, but I feel aqua should be on the water. What about a sage or olive green?

I actually thought I'd love to get away to a cheerful, red cottage.

The colors aren't tweaking very well, but here's an attempt at sage and a more mossy green, with creamy trim. Then a less vibrant red and creamy white trim.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Squirrelheaven, I have admired your photoshop work for a long time but have only been a lurker until this week. Just had to comment on how beautiful these are.

I love the Red. I love the Aqua too. The awning makes it soooo cute. The PhotoShop really gels the whole idea.

One thing the house owner should consider is the maintenance issue of having lattice under the deck rather than the wainscoting. Seeds can land under the deck and then weeds and saplings grow through the lattice. The wainscoting would eliminate the problem. Since this is a vacation home I would go with ease of maintenance, over good looks.

Thank you DonnaDee, that's so very nice to hear : )

I think both the red and the aqua are both awesome, too. It's like a whole different house. Our homeowner, airpatty, didn't comment on what colors she likes, so we will all have to stay tuned!

OMG OMG OMG!!! Oh what you have done Miz Squirrel!
Talk about vive la difference! I love, love, love the white trellis and rails, etc. I hate, hate, hate, the red, though. I dunno why. I think it's wonderful on zips but makes me cringe on here. I adore the paler shades, whether aqua or sage.
I have marveled at many of the wondrous changes wrought by PSing, but this one is just such a HUGE improvement...amazing!! You are worth every dime we pay y--.....uh, what? Oh never mind....you just carry on!! :>)

Just another admirer of SH's work . . .

And just for kicks, would it be possible to see those vertical blinds (I think?) disappear and replaced with some curtains via PS? Or, too hard?

Or, maybe something else like adding something to the windows like casing or whatever you call it. Something to give the windows a little more oomph?

Well, here ya go, Leah : ) More eye candy. Though not pale colors. I'm really liking this plum and amethyst. Breaking into the blues here:

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Anele, there actually is trimming around the windows. I just didn't cut them out very well : / Here they are more to size and I've removed the vertical blinds. Better?

{{!gwi}}

Got a good yellow to come up. May not be enough sun for the red roses in this spot. Hopefully there is more sun there during the day? Shady time for the pic? Maybe the tree to the right can be thinned a bit, too.

{{!gwi}}

Gosh Squirrel your a doll the way you do so much for everyone. I like the gray color the best for some reason.

All I can say is WOW!!!

Patty is trying to load more pictures, but there is a learning curve! LOL I would load them for her, but I'm on dialup and it would take about a year and a half! I may go to the office Friday evening and load them for her. She uses the house throughout the year.

As a flight attendant, she can end her work week anywhere she wants. This house is near the family farm and she has a lot of family around close by. So she visits the house throughout the year not just summer.

I forgot that the house is almost all dark red brick. You just can't see it in the picture I took. Also, the skies are grey and overcast there quite often.

Thanks for all your help. Patty is just tickled pink!

I'm loving all the ideas! I will paint the rails white, and add the lattice. Trying to decide on what color for the house and awning. Thanks everyone for all your help!!! This is a closer look. It's been painted a light tan and the deck has been stained since this photo. (I don't know what that box on the front of the deck is all about.)

{{!gwi}}

This is the entrance to the deck on the side of the house. You can see the original brick, and the sliding door entrance.

The house is on a hill, facing west. Lots of sun, IF the sun is shining. It's usually gloomy weather!

Squirrelhaven - you are the Photoshop Diva. Maybe you should change your screen name. LOL. But better than the PS skills you have such vision.

I love the house in red with white railings, lattice, and awning. I like the chairs on the deck. I would also open up one section of the deck and add stairs and a paver path to the driveway. Even if they don't really use them they would look inviting. Lots of people have front doors that don't really get used. Imagine you are a neighbor walking by the house. You see a lovely seat grouping on the deck and nice friendly neighbors waving to you and hollering, "How ya'll doing?" (well that's what we say in the South anyway ; ) ) The path and opening on the front would be much more approachable than solid railing. Kind of like House Body Language.

I forgot that the house is almost all dark red brick.

omg, lol. Oh well, I guess we helped someone out there.

Artlover, that's a great idea. I had been thinking of some sort of a stone patio below, like with the lawn chairs, but stopped thinking! We need to get down there easily, too, lol. And it would be more inviting. Would open up the whole backyard for play or other activity : )

LOL squirrel, I have only visited the Patty's house once. I live in Florida and the house is in Ohio. Of course.......... it was just a few weeks ago that I was there! lol

I like the yellow too. Patty, how do you feel about painting over brick? LOL

Oh, I love the yellow and the greens. Wouldn't those both go with the brick without having to paint it? Squirrel, you are amazing and so generous with your time. Being a very visual person I know how valuable these mock-ups are to people. And it's so much fun for the rest of us to be able to see all the different ideas and then guess which one the home owner will pick.

I was thinking of adding grilles to the windows for a colonial look, what do ya'll think? I love the yellow, and the greens and aqua. Definitely white rails and lattice. I really like the coach lights and the awnings. Fantastic work everyone. I really appreciate all the wonderful ideas. Really great Photo Shop skills and great visual talents. You should have a TV show!!

This is what the house used to look like before the previous owners enclosed the front porch and added a deck.

Wow, what a gorgeous house with the original porch :(

Wow, what a gorgeous house with the original porch

Yep, I agree. I thought I had a pretty good idea what the house would look like with out the porch being covered and the front deck. It's very much like a lot of houses here in town.

Well .. red brick you say *LOL* :) Guess the paint color red isn't going to do it. I like both the lighter and darker blues, also the gray that were mocked up.. I think no matter what color the awning is adorable, plus functional.

As far as lattice along the front, I wouldn't even take the wood you have there off .. paint it white, then make white lattice panels to go right over top .. the wood beneath will not be visable. We did the same thing along the front here, we painted the 'parged' brick white, then went over with pressure treated lattice .. the holes are a big smaller and give a cleaner visual appearance. We mulched heavy in front of it and planted, so far we've had no problems with stray weeds or plants growing into the lattice.

Oh my gosh.. the original porch was so pretty. Thats really somethin?! Well I love squirrels mock ups(as always), but you couldnt go wrong returning it to the way it was.

I love the original too. Maybe one day when I'm ready to retire and spend more time there, I'll return it to the original porch. It's adorable. But I still LOVE the idea of the white rails, lattice and awnings. Still trying to decide on the greens, or yellow.

Great ideas everyone!

Swinging back around to this part of town to show you the brick with yellow and green.

No, I wouldn't paint the brick. Hopefully, someday, you or another homeowner will restore this beauty to its original porch. I guess the po's just found it useless and not fitting to their style of living.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}