ispeakwhale, we made those exact shutters! My fiance put them together using cedar fenceposts (with the dogears chopped off), for around $20.

To me, a cottage needs more softness. I think the black would be too harsh. The green you like would work. I also like this dark taupy color: Your trim feels kind of stark for me, too. I think the taupe or cream ( ) would make it a little more cottage-y.

Check out bhg.com for gardening ideas. They have lots of garden plans to peruse. I think this would be lovely for your home: http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plans/special-spots/colorful-front-yard-garden-plans/#page=19. Right now your front yard just looks EMPTY. Do you use it for anything? Or would you like to? I could see a nice swing over on the right with flowers up and around it also. Kind of like this: I'd also consider creating a bed in the front right ()

Whatever you do, DO NOT PUT IN IVY. I'm still ripping it out after living in my home for 3 years. :)

Thank you so much, ehanback!! My laptop just died, so I will charge up, and peruse in awhile. Hard to do on a phone. ;) Soft is the word I'm looking for to describe what I feel the house needs.

I would do some landscaping with some flowers!

On that porch/walkway I would add new furniture.

Here are some ideas for furniture on houzz.com

I love the idea of working shutters. And i think black will be good. I do not think cottage is about colors as it is about letting things be a little wild and over planted. Cottage is about life, color, lushness, and fun. there is a happiness about a cottage look.

Some small trees will be lovely. Depending on your zone I would consider blooming cherries, crabapples, magnolias, dogwoods, serviceberry (Amelanchier). Stay native and the birds and other wildlife will thank you.

I would also plant a big shade tree in the western side of tour house. give the tree 20 extra feet from the size of the full grown tree, so you never worry about the tree falling on your house.

For the sake of the planet stay mostly within your native plants and trees, and do not plant invasives. That said among my favorites for a cottage look (I am in zone 6 but truly is a 5):
ornamental grasses, roses (knockout are great because they do not require much care), russian sage, catmint, sage, rudebeckias, daisies, gayfeather. A great vine is trumpet creeper with beautiful orange flowers much beloved by hummingbirds. You have some plants with structure such as boxwoods, now mix in some plants with flowing or spiky shape.

With wildflowers especially perennials you must give 2 to 3 years to see results, which is why most mixtures include annuals. Perennial wildflowers spend the first 2 to 3 years putting down roots before blooming. their roots are very deep and they love poor spoil. the poorer the better. On a wildflower meadow, for the first few years you must buy a bag of annuals and spread it. they usually cost less than $20.

Get yourself in the front garden (a much cottagey term than front yard) a water fountain. You will love the sound and the animals will love the water.

This is some things I have done both in my present house and in another we have sold

To me cottage means welcoming.- sacapunta... has wonderful landscaping advice that will make your home softer more approachable. I'd love you to remove the railing and the shrubs in front of it, I'd fill in that space to extend the depth of the porch to incorporate the path. I agree with you about the posts being rinky- dink, I think your window trim needs beefing up as well. I love the idea of overflowing window boxes too. My suggestion is to add simple flat broad (5-6") white window trim with flower boxes below, made from charcoal ( your roof colour?) stained barnboard. Beef up the posts by building out the lower 30" with 6" barnboard. Next remove evergreen foundation shrubs. They act like soldiers standing guard; replace with a balance of rounder ones ( like currently in front of porch- maybe just transplant those) plus arching deciduous - hopefully a flowering variety. Add comfy informal furniture as many have suggested, plus pots around the bases of the posts- Voila!

You could put up some cottage style curtains in the windows. Don't know where you are located but hanging flower baskets and white wicker furniture on the porch would soften the look. i would create a larger front landscape bed that would cross the walkway in a soft curve and use some hydrangeas, roses, lavender and other colorful plants instead of the shaped green shrubs there now. (Use your hose or a rope to get a nice curve. The color and style of the front door could be made to be more "cottagey". You could paint it a pretty light gray with lavender undertones and put up a twig wreath - or get a new one with more windows in it to open up the look.

Paint the front door an exotic colour and put big planters around your front porch to match. As for the flowers, I would put an arrangement of colors all leading up the walkway to your front porch. Right when you pull into the driveway, put some brick that matches your house in a shape almost like a fourth of a circle. Put rocks or mulch in in(I prefer rocks so I don't have to put new mulch down every year) and put a boulder or a big flowery bush and put flowers surrounding the outside of the brick. The driveway would look nice if you did a stone finish instead of concrete but that is a little more expensive. Trim your trees every month and lay some fertilizer down. I know we're in the colder season but once it gets warmer. Fertilize that grass!

Like your idea of natural stained shutters against the brick. I like the black door but what about a rich deep red colour on the door to compliment the brick? ...or a soft yellow which is very 'cottage' and traditionally welcoming.
What colour is your garage door?
Lots of ideas for you in all these comments :)

I'm excited to see how this turns out :) For flowers, look for whites, yellows, lime greens, and deep purples, and plant in GROUPINGS, not just one plant at a time. Put in a group of 3-5 black eyed susans, 3-5 deep purple salvia, 3 limelight hydrangeas. That's important in cottage style. I'd also consider a climber (white climbing roses, sweet autumn clematis? Idk, just white!).

love the idea of the climbing roses and clematis. A harbor with roses on it..... dreamy.

post pictures!
[houzz=]

Thank you so much, everyone! So many great ideas and advice. Climbing roses and clematis - swoon! :)

So the most immediate decision will be what shutters and color, whether to redo the porch posts and with what, door and color trim.

The trim right now is actually a decent color... a pretty cream.

So my thoughts after thinking about what everyone suggested, and also based on how houses in my area look with similar things you all have suggested...these are my thoughts. Specific landscaping plantings will come after I solidify the elevation updates. What say you, good people?

Note - Door and windows will be replaced eventually - double hung windows with casements.
What about:

- Wood shutters like the ones pictured above
- charcoal painted or stained flower boxes under windows on both sides
- replace the railings and pillars with wooden posts stained charcoal
- extend out the patio floor in stone or stained concrete with stone trim - like a warm flagstone
- Paint the door red and replace the handle with a black one.
- keep the trim color - a warm cream

Now: If I did the above, should I keep the garage cream, trim in charcoal, or paint it charcoal and trim in cream? Either way I want an arbor above the garage door in the same wood as the shutters.

If I extend the patio out with no railing - should I also put an arbor over the patio?

Thanks again! I'm getting closer and I'm so excited!

Oooh put a pergola over it to tie in the wood shutters.

Not sure on the garage. My instinct is charcoal with cream trim.

Your home has SO much potential! Have you thought about adding shutters to your windows and hanging flower baskets from your porch?

Thanks, ehanback - that's my instinct as well!

Thanks, Hooks and Lattice - that's one reason we bought the house; if we hate the area it's a perfect rental, if we love the area, there's a million different ways to upgrade the house. It's also on .66 an acre, so plenty of room to add on and whatnot. I do so love hanging baskets on a porch, so I'm certain we will do that in the summer months to come.

Since you say the rest of the trim is cream (which I love with brick) I'd keep the trim around the garage door cream to match. Painting the garage door grey to match the window boxes and posts is perfect - pulls it all together. And the front door in red will pop!
Love your ideas of replacing the railing with posts painted grey and extending the patio.
Looking at the photo you posted of shutters, it shows beautiful hydrangea shrubs... Plant lots of hydrangeas bushes, so beautiful and they say 'cottage garden'.
Please show us 'after' pictures when it's done!

Thanks, katiede. I agree. Hydrangeas are a must!! :) I will definitely come back and post pics of the progress.

I would not recommend doing a wildflower lawn. I don't know what area you live in, but based on the structure of your home and the lo, a wildflower lawn would not fit in and you might be 'that neighbour'. I would call in a lawn specialist to assess what is going on with your lawn and have it treated.

Your planting is very rigid and linear right now. You need more of a natural (cottage) feel to it with different heights and textures. Look for native plant material like grasses, perennials and flowering shrubs to add to your garden to create interest. I would pull the garden bed on the right hand side off the house further and put a feature tree or shrub there, surrounded by under plantings. This will add interest to this side as well as create a focal point from the walkway as you walk to the front porch. Perhaps consider an island planting bed closer to the driveway/street. This would be an opportunity to break up the large lawn expanse. Plant a nice tall tree there ie. Maple, Beech, Pear with under plantings. Add pieces of rockery (armour stone, boulders, whatever you want to call them) Best of luck!

arbordsale, I think the owner lives in the country.

Yeah, I live outside the city limits. I actually like the wildflower idea for my backyard. It might work out perfectly back there.

Three ideas to go with what you are thinking.

Shutters on the two windows at each end, but not on the porch - instead of raw wood, wash the natural cedar wood / board and batten shutters with a dark beige paint (water it down by 1/3 - then the wood soaks it up) - something that will read cream and gray when done - one or two shades darker than your trim - like bm cayman islands - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/caymanislands

The raw wood will be dark against the red brick, where the washed wood will be mid-tone - and show grain, so the trim will be bright in comparison and the brick dark. The contrast of a lighter shutter against the red brick house is much more cottage and the natural washed wood is rustic for your setting.
A washed cross buck front door would be really darling too. The door might get two coats so it is lighter yet . .

Here are the prowoodmarket.com braces . . . to make your entry pergola posts charming -

Like the gray flagstone entry out /path idea.

Finally, a cottage landscape might include evergreen flowering shrubs of different heights / differing flowering times, then you can add bulbs and summer pansies / fall cabbage as you wish.Study cottage landscapes on houzz .. and consult your local library for sunset's planting book . . study it and make lists, then talk to your nurseryman.

I would do the lighter wood shutters on only the 4 outer windows. Beef up the posts. Iike the black door, however maybe a lighter softer color would bring in more 'cottage' feel. I live surrounded by all of my neighbors' back yards, have a very large front yard, but a small backyard. I have planted a lot of evergreens in the outer perimeter of my yard and have a white vinyl horse type fence. I love looking through my front windows at all of the evergreens. I enjoy the plantings out so I can see them from my windows as I have no one else's front yard to see.

Luckily, (or unluckily sometimes) I am located on a private drive so have no one driving past my house except my one next door neighbor who faces the same way as I do. I planted junipers. The upright kind. Took all of my arborvitae out as they just got weighed down w/ snow & became droopy. The junipers are great because you don't need to water them. They are drought tolerant & grow fairly fast. I found that planting the fast growing trees is not always the way to go. The better more hardy trees seem to be slow growers. I have also planted a specimen weeping juniper that I bought for my mother & it has grown to be about 30 feet high & I love to look at it.

I also love your idea of putting up an arbor over the entry of your garage & planting climbing roses or clematis. Gives you a kind of Arts & Crafts look. I agree with not planting ivy. I brought just a little in many years ago. It took forever to get started, but once it started it won't quit. I am always pulling it out from my rock faced areas of my house & sometimes it grows into the house through my windows. EEEEk!

When you get to the landscaping, think curves, circles rather than straight lines. Loosely shaped bushes instead of trimmed shapes. More flowers, tall grasses, less lawn. You have gotten all the landscaping ideas from earlier posters. Enjoy countryfying your lovely property. You may live there a long time if you do.

Lovely ideas and points to consider. Thank you!

Attack of the ivy!!! Hehe, sandradclark. The very front of my front yard is like a gutter./ditch with no sidewalk to define the perimeter from the street. Instead of ivy for ground cover would lantana or something like that work? I was thinking of putting a metal fence just on the inside of the ditch. Maybe 4 feet so I could plant roses on the outside edge.

Our last house had an ivy backyard. We lived on a creek and just let it grow unruly and hit it with a weed eater once a summer. We had a wrought iron fence around the small yard. We brought the fencing with us. I'm thinking of getting more of it and using it in the front. It's 4ft black iron.

I loved the look of the ivy growing on the fence (with virtually zilch maintenance and effort) but climbing roses would be lovelier!

Libradesigneye, thanks for the ideas and links. What color door do you think would work well with what you suggested and should we keep the trim a cream color?

Yes, the cream trim is crisp but warm - the right shade against the red brick - it inspired the idea of washing the shutters. My suggestion if you are painting the existing door is to select a camel based tan - sw burlap - will read like wood from street - echo warm tones in the washed wood shutters but provide contrast back to brick - again - a mid-tone where the rest are dark or light/high contrast. If you want more cottage feel, the washed wood finish on the entry door too is what I was suggesting - The dark door will recede to the eye - I'd like to see you have the door call attention to itself. With washed wood shutters, you could have a cheerful green door as you envisioned. Something a little more yellow than your first pick - closer to apple green would be great!

there are a number of ground covers that a re native and non-invasive. check with your nursery. Ivy is such a thug. I too had ivy coming inside the house. Damaged my siding, rots everything. hides ticks. It is right there with non-native pachysandra in my list of thugs never to plant. It is like moving Tony Soprano to the backyard because he looks nice at first sight.

Sacountaslpioiz what's your beef with Pachysandra? Curious.

So maybe I'm misunderstanding, but you're saying a beige paint wash on the wood that would read a warm gray on the shutters, a burlap color which is warm and golden for the door, or a bright Apple green? I'm not sure all those colors would work together on top of red brick. I'm asking for clarity because I am intrigued by a paint wash on the shutters. Just not sure on the complimentary colors.

I thought maybe the beige washed shutters that would read more light taupe, then do the same shade for the trim, then do the garage and porch rails/posts in a darker khaki green/taupe with a red door.

I've seen Apple green on doors and its stunning on either a stark solid white or solid charcoal grey clappered board house. :)

Thanks, libradesigneye!

I'm curious too about the pachysandra! I don't even know what that is. Haha.

The beige washed shutters will have both cream and gray but overall will feel like a dark cream / dark creamy beige. My original post suggested a matching door, with an extra wash level so it would be a little lighter. If you are painting a steel door, and you want to stick with the wood look then you might find a yellow based light tan (sw burlap will read lighter on an exterior than interior) to mimic that look and tone. In fact, if you were building a pergola to extend your porch, I think it should be painted like all the trim - and the cream trim gives you the classic cottage look you are trying to achieve.

Then I remembered then that you posted the green as an inspiration. With the cream and the red brick, you can do green. It needs to be the right shade - not a bright apple green, but sort of light olive - it just has to have enough yellow in it to resonate with the cream trim. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/dillweed

Pachysandra! I bought a house in which the previous owner had basically got pasysandral all around the house, under the trees, etc, etc.
I am near woods and protected wetlands. The pasysandra had been spreading like crazy. 30 yards from the original plantings in the middle of the grass, there it was. you try pulling it and you go 30 feet back to the mother pachy. It has taken so long to clear. It is, like ivy a corridor for ticks, I was pulling ticks off me, off my dogs all the time. I am talking 4, 5 ticks in a day. It is a thug.
[houzz=]

Looks beautiful! Lol

Oh yeah it is.

I agree! Gorgeous! Lol. All ticks aside.

I think real wood, especially cedar, shutters would look pretty and I would do them and your door in grayish blues! Maybe paint the bench all white and put a rug on the porch and some baskets/pottery with plants or chopped wood.

In the above photo: wood shutters, charcoal color garage, white/cream color trim!! This on red brick with a red door?! I think maybe so!

For closer comparison.

What do think of the above photos - the colors...
???

I'd love more opinions on colors. Thank you so much!!

very nice. But I am thinking if I were you I would whitewash the brick (with brick paint please) and use a bright color for pop.with your new whitewashed shutter it will look very pretty.

Prussian blue. I just fell in love with all the teal, blues and reds in the movie Paddington. Lol. Go see.

Color:

More examples:

Shutter, awning, window box...oh my!

Color, color, color