Any style can be all white: http://houzz.com/photos/477460

As this is a little closer to what I was thinking, not quite, but subtly different colors for different siding: http://houzz.com/photos/6238912

http://houzz.com/photos/1648725

So pretty! Especially loved that White House u sent. So much character!

Thought you'd like this :) http://houzz.com/photos/1907053

I do!! You could totally do that. I also like the idea of adding a bit more stone...

I know this house is ginormous, but you could do stone on lower portions: http://houzz.com/photos/165336

All cream, not unlike yours, beautiful: http://houzz.com/photos/2561815

I could really see replacing the porch spindles w stone and extending to garage facade: http://houzz.com/photos/97944

That's what I was thinking if I was gonna add stone :) you've encouraged me to eliminate the porch spindles

Thx for all the pics and ideas you've been sending! :)

Found a pic of pretty close to what I was thinking, minus the wood door. I think I'm going to stick with the gray even though I still really like the white!

Gray with white trim and black shutters......

Ashley,love the pic you posted. See how you can do shutters only on the garage (which is the only window appropriate) and it looks nice?

I do have to say that most of that style house that I am loving, dark OR light siding, has dark windows. Something to consider!

Although even those shutters are wrong: http://www.oldhouseguy.com/shutters/

You could do white everywhere, except fieldstone under the porch and bottom of the garage. Very Farmhouse style.

One mistake NOT to repeat are the two colors in your gable. When there are different types of siding such as shingle and clapboard, you can have different colors. Really different shades. However there must be a reason for having the two different sidings. In your gable a spot is chosen for one siding to end and the other to begin randomly. You don't have the architecture to have the two different sidings in your gable. Yes many people do this now but their builders are wrong for doing it. You should use one siding in the full gable - the gable is one separate section. Where the gable meets the rest of the house there should be a transition trim and then the clapboard. To conceal the error, paint the gable one color only.

Old House Guy LLC, curious why you call it "wrong" and an "error" to have two colors in the gable? If it's only an aesthetic consideration, isn't it simply a matter of taste? Is there a practical, legal, or safety reason? If not, a homeowner should be able decide for themselves if they prefer two colors or five colors, or polka-dots! (Assuming they don't have an HOA that bans polka dots. ;) )

Deborah Raney,You can have two colors in the gable but in this case the error is the two different types of siding. I really don't think it is a safety reason but I may be wrong on that. It is not a matter of taste either but is a matter of architecture. As for taste vs aesthetics please refer here for a better understanding http://www.oldhouseguy.com/aesthetics

Elements of architecture are not something you can just tack on anywhere you please. Unfortunately that is very common with the poor design of McMansions today. Designers like an element and just place it randomly on a building. People get used to seeing bad design and begin to think it is correct and normal. I hope to write a detailed article on this soon to better explain and show photos to really help people understand.

Homeowners can do what they want including adding polka dots on their window glass and shutters on their chimney or keep abandoned vehicles on their property - that doesn't mean it is pleasing to the educated eye.

Beautiful!

There is no room on this house for shutters. It's lovely as designed. But it's not a farmhouse. Farmhouses don't have two-car garages smack dab on the front.

Often times when styles are mixed, it just gets muddled. And shutters are the worst culprits. Don't do it!

That said, you definitely can diminish the color contrast and go for a more subtle theme, using white, off white, grey, etc. Particularly on the gable above.

By the way, I love the way the designer added the trellis above the garage. And thick window trim. Such a simple yet elegant elements - so many builders scrimp on those parts!

Nice home choice. Can see you on the porch with an iced tea in the summer!

Thx guys!! :) I've definitely decided to go with a light gray all over.

I vote for the white with black shutters. It will look nicer. While its true most shutters are are decorative only and not necessary, so is lipstick. But how many women look better without it?

We did white with white shutters and white roof! We thought of black shutters but went white all the way. I just love it. See pic attached of how it turned out

I am in the camp of no shutters unless they can be done as real shutters that can work. Vinyl, too small/narrow to actually be "shutters" that can cover the window for me do not work or look right. Sometimes its hard letting go of something you want but really is at odds with what style you have. Also agree, many of the windows cannot accommodate shutters. Typically you have the same size windows across most of the front of the house and are able to then repeat shutters for most windows.

If you are at stage you can do slight modifications to the windows, you might be able to create decor trim on top and ledge below for all windows that can become elements you can add an accent color of black top or bottom, assuming it ties into a garage or front door that is also black/dark color. I think some of the examples provided reflect that approach.

I consider shutters tacked on the sides of windows, especially when they are not wide enough to cover the window, an obvious sign of a lack of taste or understanding about architecture and good design. Just because a lot of people do it doesn't mean its good taste. If 90% of the people taking a test, give the same wrong answer, that still doesn't make it the right answer.

White is a color that only became fashionable in the early 1900s. Older white homes were only white washed by those who could not afford real paint. When affordable white paint was first manufactured, it became the rage. After the depression, people showed they they were back on their feet again by painting their homes the color most likely to attract attention at that time. Yes, that color was white. After years of gloom and darkness, white was a way brighten things up again.
Just think what our suburban landscape would look like if that color had been electric pink or purple. Early paint charts of any given period, give you the appropriate colors for any period of architecture.
For example, in the 1800s, no one would even consider painting their house an "unnatural" color like white. The early sustainable design movement led by A J Downing and Frederick Law Olmstead, felt only colors found in nature were to be used. They believed that a home should blend into its surroundings and not stick out like a sore thumb. Their books are still published and theories taught in the best schools. Homes they designed are preserved and treasured to this day.
If it makes you feel good to paint your house a color that reminds you of your childhood, that's fine. It may make you feel good but that doesn't mean the color is appropriate or in good taste.

Sorry I don't have a more recent photo but I've had positive feedback on exterior colors used on this project.

We finished having this home built last fall, and we worried the whole time about the colours.However, we love how it turned out. Sometimes you just worry too much....LOL

Ashley, Paint what you like to look at. Simple. Add a contrasting element as a trim color and you are good to go. We built a modern craftsman but ditched the multiple color combo for two trim colors, lighter greenon the body of the house and dark green and cream trim color. We love it and that is what matters. Diane in Montana

I love the black and white look. Our house is always admired by strangers/friends. It is a shade of cream/tan with white trim. We have flagstone walkway & entry porch in tan shade with brick trim. Walkway goes to sidewalk and driveway area & is 4' wide.

Hi Ashley,

To get closer to the style you like and away from craftsman, use a different style window grid, especially in the garage doors and glass in your front door and sidelights. Maybe instead of the board and batten, just continue the plank siding that you are using, which would also reflect the picture of the house you liked originally.
On the Hardie site you can "try" different styles of house, siding, and colors.
Good luck, I am building now as well and it is very hard.

Thx all! Such great advice!

People who say if you were smarter or had better taste you'd think like me are not smarter or more tasteful. I understand the argument about shutters. I, stick to my first vote. White with black shutters. But ultimately, of course, you should do what you like.

The old saying about the rose being a rose what ever it is called, applies here. A person cannot help what colors please their eye anymore than another cannot help finding the same color scheme offensive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That doesn't mean that an educated eye is not more likely to recognize what is appropriate.

General Specifics, I, along with with my several degrees, one earned while I studied architecture (though I eventually switched majors) respectfully disagree. While you and I can have opinions about what is appropriate, we are only the final arbiters in our own lives. Schools of thought change. Ideas broaden. And some of the best known architects became leaders in their field by turning tradition on its ear. Since shutters are rarely used for their original purpose and design today, their continued prevalence is clearly one of aesthetic preference. No two people see beauty the same way, and education (or lack there of) has little to do with that.

Ashley, you are the only one that matters. Our neighbors think we are strange because we are always changing something about our house and even when they disagree at first they come around when it is finished. Our house is a creamy-tan color with white trim but we have shutters and I change their color and the front door color every once in a while depending on what I like that year. I also try to change some of the flowers in the beds to pick up on the change. This year I am trying a dark navy blue and putting in some blue and black flowers to pick up the darker color.

I've seen some beautiful, very expensive white homes, general. It doesn't indicate bad taste because a person has a white house. Our president lives in one, for God sake! (For those of us who live in the USA). Differences in taste make the world an interesting place. I happen to have a house that is painted the color of the natural surroundings, as you put it, but my house is a different style from the OP. Her house would be beautiful painted white. You have your opinion.....and I'm sure you know what they say about opinions.

just a thought... your roof is brown and your pictures are showing a black roof.

In my opinion, if this is in a neighborhood you want something that is going to stand out above the rest. So, a uniques stone accent with do just that. If in the country go with the farm look. Many will drive right past it and not even know what look you were going for...in a neighborhood it will be just a White House with black trim.

i have a similar home. it was a rather blah yellowish beige. i painted it with Benjamin Moore Briarwood. white trim and, when i get my nw front door, it will be black. Briarwood is the most fabulous color. you cant go wrong!

Hi - in response to pam h and General Specifics yes people have tastes and opinions but architecture is not about taste. Many architects today take age old ancient principals and turn them upside down. People like that because they are used to seeing bad design. Here is a short excerpt but the full article is here http://www.oldhouseguy.com/aesthetics-the-solution/

"What we see with our eyes interacts with our brains. That interplay dictates how our senses perceive what we are viewing and how we are affected by its beauty or lack of beauty. Scans of people’s brains show a strong emotional response to visuals based on proper aesthetic principles. Our subconscious mind knows what looks good and enjoys it. It knows good architecture. However our conscious mind is influenced by advertisements and is accustomed to seeing bad architecture.

The important thing to remember here is that our subconscious mind is hardwired to be stimulated positively or negatively to certain things. It does not discriminate. All our minds are the same.

Our conscious mind adapts to our lives and experiences and is based on taste, opinion, and brainwashing from external sources. We have a cloud in front of us we need to break through. - contiinued . . . . http://www.oldhouseguy.com/aesthetics-the-solution/

Serena, funny enough my home right now is that color :) I love the color, just looking for a change in our new home :)

My home now

Please overlook the "wrong" shutters guys, haha ;)

greenfish1234 - i love your opinion and ideas. i don't want to steal you away from ashley, but i would love for you to look at the pictures of my house. i just posted a couple on houzz and would love your input on how to improve the curb appeal. thank you

Holy shutter hate.

Aw Kelly that's so sweet. Full disclosure I am a hack, learning as I go here but I know what I like :)

Gabdam-just like anything, only when they are done wrong (as mine once were). When they are done right on the right house they are beautiful