clay color? Clay comes in all types of color you mean like a terra cotta pot?

Terra cotta (warm or soft) looks great with all blues! Don't understand the materials/colors and how they're distributed without a pic :)

I guess, then, that your garage door and soffits are not paintable?

Not even a cell phone pic, lol? We'll take anythin !

Love your wording Squirrelheaven. You successfully guilted me into looking up how to post a picture. . . I would love suggestions on what to paint the front door and columns as well. I am leaning towards the clay (beige) color for the columns and a gray/blue about two shades darker than the vinyl for the front door.

{{!gwi}}

I think the colors look very pretty and soothing together! From what I can see all the colors are running kind of cool, even the brick which of course is warm too :) But it looks to have cool red in it rather than orange or yellow. The clay/beige looks on the taupe side, maybe depending on the light.

No front of the house, lol? I'm sure some will say to tone down the garage doors with paint -- is that a no-go? How about the soffits?

Any shutters planned?

While a darker gray-blue door might be pretty, it's in a shaded spot, so I'm not sure that would work so well. What color is it now, or is the door just open?

Not sure what I think right now :) Just posing some questions.

Here are a couple of quick shots for you. I'm wondering why you want to paint the columns taupe? I think continuing with the white trim of the windows and door would be more cohesive and freshen things up. The blue, taupe, brick, and white are beautiful together.

Here's the beige on the columns, then white with the porch fascia painted white also. I'm wondering if painting the fascia along the brickwork would also lighten/freshen the fascade (relieve the muted colors a bit) and tie the whole thing together. I do believe this is done -- some house hunting in the neighborhood or through magazines would show that. Hopefully someone else will chime in. Hard to tell from the virtual -- only you have the big picture!

Sorry if the term 'fascia' is used incorrectly :)

The blue door would be very pretty if you can get it to show like this in shadow :)

#1 Beige columns

#2 White columns and fascia

#3 White columns and fascia, brick fascia white

#4 Maybe you don't want a bright white? Very light beige (off-white) columns and fascia, brick fascia very light beige (off-white)

Squirelheaven- how did you do that so fast????? I tried to fudge in a blue door with Photoshop and it came out aqua. I can select the area just fine, but I can't use colorbalance well enough to match the color in my mind or on my paintswatch. How do you DO that????

Thank you also for putting the time into helping me with my house! I am SO glad that you don't think it looks bad! I did talk to the builder and while he said, "Anything is possible", he let me know that the soffits have lots of holes in them for air flow and to paint them would be difficult. The colums are a marbleum (???) (Some kind of composite- a fake marble) and should be painted even if I choose the same shade of white.

This IS the front of the house- I just cut out most of the front porch in order to delete the builder's truck parked in front!! No shutters planned. I was thinking to paint the columns the taupe color because I think they draw too much attention in white. Want them to blend so your eye is drawn to the front door. Originally I planned on that being a deep red, but I think I have enough colors going on and think I had better stick with the colors I have. I read in a book of "designing mistakes" that more than 4 or 5 colors on a house exterior is tooooo many and my taste generally agrees with that. I agree with you that the door won't get much light.

Also, the color that matched the vinyl best looked more like a gray to me.

The door was open when I took the picture. Currently it is a white 6 panel door (solid, no windows except for the 2 glass sidelights.)

I don't know why I thought there was so much more to each end of the house! It's just hard to get the effect from the angle. I was thinking, using white along the trim 'board' across the brickwork would probably not look right since the roof trim above is a 'retreating' beige.

The beige posts looks too dark to me with the white trimming of the windows, and door.

#1 Bright white around porch, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door.
{{!gwi}}

#2 Lighter beige around porch, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

#3 Trim beige around porch and sidelights, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

#4 Trim beige around porch, sidelights, and window capping, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

#5 Lighter beige around porch and sidelights, beige window capping, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

{{!gwi}}

#6 Bright white around porch, beige sidelights and window capping, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

#7 Toned down softer white around porch and door, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

#8 Toned down softer white around porch and door, beige capping around windows, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

With some landscaping!


#9 Toned down softer white around porch and door, darker gray-blue shutters on brick, light gray-blue door

#10 Toned down softer white around porch and door, darker, gray-blue shutters, light gray-blue door

#11 Toned down softer white around porch and door, light gray-blue door

#12 Beige porch with dark gray-blue shutters, light gray-blue door

#13 Bright white around porch and door, dark gray-blue shutters, light gray-blue door

#14 Bright white around porch and door, light gray-blue door

#15 Beige porch, light gray-blue door

You think you're confused! Think I gottem all :) HTH

You can right-click and save to file the ones you might like (put in Word or something). You can also print the whole thing to file ... Word ... then just eliminate by deleting. Easier than scrolling all around and comparing :)

Please let me know what appeals to you and what you do!

I think white columns, white trim, blue/grey vinyl, blue/grey garage doors, clay soffits would be a lovely combo. But that's just MHO.

I'd do the white columns and porch trim also. If a bright white is too much for them, I'd just soften it up a bit. That way it still ties to the white (vinyl I'm assuming) windows/trim, which looks best and most cohesive, imo. Not sure which white I like best. One is perky and the other more serene. Just need to make sure the white windows connect.

It looks beauuuutiful to me! Not looking 'fixed' at all.

Can the garage doors actually be painted?

I do like carrying the blue over to the brick, though, with a darker blue shutter. But I am usually a shutter person I think. It also transitions and softens the bare window to the brick.

I sure hope Dizzy isn't to dizzy to come back :(

Looks good with soft black or dark gray shutters too. This shows them on the dormer also.

Squirelheaven- how did you do that so fast????? I tried to fudge in a blue door with Photoshop and it came out aqua. I can select the area just fine, but I can't use colorbalance well enough to match the color in my mind or on my paintswatch. How do you DO that????

If you go here you will see my post free software links. Go to the entry for Misc software - look for color grabber. This will allow you to match any color you see online or in something on your computer. I don't know where I got it from years ago but when I was doing web pages it was a great tool, very easy to use. All you do is click on the file & save. You then right click, select extract all. Once it is unzipped, move the folder to a location where you will find it. I keep it on a spare hard drive or in program files. You then find the icon called color grabber - right click it, send to desktop.

A box will pop up when you click the icon, you will see a box on the top right with lines going through it. Mouse over it, then drag it to the color you like. Once it shows in the window, click on one of the save boxes.

If you end up needing more colors to save, copy the program to another folder, then save over what was already saved. It's the only way I know how to run it for more projects. I've also print screened the colors with the RGB code so that I can clear it out.

Wow! Great visuals! Sorry I have been away- working too much to worry about colors! I love the shutters and the light blue doors. I like painting the columns an off-white. Love the flowers- but I am not much of a gardener!! : )
I'll comment more later, but it is BEDTIME now. Just wanted to say THANKS for putting your time into giving me options and opinions!

You're welcome! I was afraid you weren't coming back. Don't forget to paint the porch header (not the roof part) in the column color, too.

You can get a ready-made planter full of grown plants for color near the front door and then just have to water it! (and debud the dead flowers). I think that one pot adds a great deal -- not too small and colors that work with your blue/brick. Those water beads work wonders. I have two planters, pretty much in shade, but they are full of impatients that I haven't watered hardly at all during this long drought. Go for weeks. Usually they need daily attention.

I love the color of paint you have on the house now, but I just really don't think I like it with the color of the dormer. What about repainting with a white/offwhite to match the window color?

Laurie

msrose: What paint are you referring to? The garage door color? Basically, like it or not, the dormer, soffits, garage doors, and bricks are set in the colors they are. I can change the front door and columns.

Squirrelheaven, you are using words too big for me. What are porch headers? What are water beads????

I was referring to the garage doors and the trim color. I didn't realize you couldn't change the color of the garage doors though.

Laurie