the house seems really cool to me. I love the diagonal siding. I've never seen that before- it's so unique. the paint color you chose seems quite dark. I wonder if maybe a lighter gray would be better? it seems like an eclectic house, maybe you should embrace its funkiness.

BTW, this is a paint color that my designer suggested which is SW 'Perle Noir.' It is slightly darker than the Peppercorn that I like but I am really digging the darker color with the white trim. I just wish that my front door was more visible like it is at this angle but it just can't really be seen straight on from the street.

Any other color suggestions? I do like gray but a lighter 'cement' gray seems so drab and boring to me....I also live in Seattle and don't want my house to match the sky! ;-P I'm just not big on 'colored' houses and my next door neighbor is beige so don't want to do anything brownish. Hmmm......

Where is the front door? If you can't figure it out from this picture it needs to be addressed. Don't paint the house a dark color, it's already too dark at the entrance (if it's on the right?). Also think about new garage doors, move the basketball hoop to away from the entry. I personally would do a secret garden entrance.

Eyebrow across front just above garage door. And shutter that are equal to windows

The brown of the garage doors is what reads dark to me. Of course, the photo was taken on a sunny day, so maybe the house colors don't always look so cheery. I see that your deck is dark green, plus there is some green around the Windows. Is the roof green, as well? I can't be sure. One of our neighbor's has green trim and a green roof. The siding of their house used to be dark brown, but they sided it with a soft yellow, and it looks light and bright and friendly now. Their front door is painted green, but I'd paint it red!

Hmmm...some of my post was deleted! I liked what Darzy showed with the added roof or pergola over the garage. Upon first instinct, that's what I too thought the flat side of your house needs to add dimension and architectural detail.

Oh, and if it's in the budget, a new or painted, white garage door with window panes to match the style from up above, would instantly brighten things up.

I think all the comments above are valid.

It is your personal choice as to paint color. I find the architecture cool and not boxy.

I don't find the current colors off- putting. You may want to paint the garage doors the same color as the green trim. The dark gray color choice with white trim would be beautiful too.

The challenge is to lead the eye to the front door (which I am assuming is to the right and set back), correct?

I would build a trellis in front of the garage doors which also extends to the entry area. Then add a meandering stone path to the front entrance. These two design elements will add interest to the "boxy" shape you currently don't like and help to define the entry.

Hope this helps. Best.

Wider white trim around your garage doors and windows would look really great with either your red or the grey, and maybe some white shutters on the windows? A nice tall topiary on either side of the garage would be lovely, could the hose be hung elsewhere?

I do really like the pergola over the garage in the third photo above!!! My front door is on the right of the house and is covered by the shadow. Even on a not-so-sunny day (as is typical in Seattle) it isn't really visible from the street. So, the teal door which I LOVE would barely be seen. Not too much can be done with the entrance as there are 8 steps leading up to the entrance and I don't want to remove the covered porch above the front door since it offers shelter from the rain. Petuniablossom--my house is red with green trim. The garage doors are black because originally I was going to paint the house a medium gray with black trim but have since changed my mind. The roof is a titch green but mostly gray so I'm hoping that the color I choose with make it appear more gray--definitely something that needs to be considered with the final color choice. It may also need to be cleaned to remove some of the greenish moss.

Budget permitting, you should dig out the embankment on the right side of the house and actually add a covered entry to your home -- perhaps with stone -- the front door to which can be chosen with the intent of making it the focal point of your home as visitors approach the house via the driveway.

https://www.google.com/search?q=stone+entry&biw=1366&bih=673&tbm=isch&imgil=ovbRR8ehqSkcOM%253A%253BP4Jo6XbNEkcy4M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.steepcreek.com%25252Fpages%25252Fgallery.php&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ovbRR8ehqSkcOM%253A%252CP4Jo6XbNEkcy4M%252C_&usg=__9Mctv2V04O6y0N_4WWKBoIkZ688%3D&ved=0ahUKEwjliZn5g-_KAhWD2SYKHTXoAD8QyjcIOw&ei=IyO8VqXsBYOzmwG10IP4Aw#imgrc=ovbRR8ehqSkcOM%3A

http://s3-media2.fl.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/WtaFqtiLhK5zkkTPaOB74Q/ls.jpg

If not, then the pergola or short shed roof over the garage doors that affixes to the house at the same height that the floor of the deck is affixed could help minimize the stark boxy look.

Rather than a dark teal front door consider a turquoise or chartreuse one. I think the planter under the basketball hoop should come out to make more room for an entrance. If you don't go for a pergola maybe a slatted fence like this one could direct foot traffic towards your door.

I really like the dark grey and white that you've chosen. Adding a pop of color on the front door will help draw attention to it. You might also consider moving the house numbers next to the door or on the retaining wall.

I also like the colors you've chosen. If the boxiness of the house concerns you, soften the left side with a smallish tree. Maybe something that blooms in the spring. On the right side you could plant a grouping of shrubs with colorful foliage that pop against the dark gray. A local nursery could suggest a combination of plants that would complement the color you choose for the door.

I made this image on the Sherwin Williams website.

I suggest that you do not paint the corner trim in white. It draws attention to the boxy shape. I think the erect plant in the container is a mistake. Something billowy or trailing would be much better.

An awning like this one might be possible.

Could I persuade you to go with Status Bronze instead?

Looking at your designer rendering that shows the entry clearer than your photo, have you thought about colorblocking the exterior and going more contemporary?

I would consider a very light color on the door wall at the entry, the wall below beside the stairs and possibly the wall above the entry on the 2nd storey. This would define the entry and lighten up the dark corner. You could use a light color on the same paint strip as your main color. Ask your designer to re-do your drawing without the corner boards with this suggestion to see how it looks?

Are the grills removable from the windows?

You could still do a pergola over the garage doors which would break up the span from the windows down to the garage doors.

As suggested, the planter with the large shrub doesn't help lighten this area. Hard to tell what your large trees are on that side, a really good pro arborist could be consulted to see if any limbs could be removed or elevated.

Looking again, if your home is basically two joined 'cubes', I would paint the two cubes separately, darker at the front cube and lighter behind. Make it boxy intentionally and this would lighten up the dark areas. Color block it, go contemporary.

Thanks everyone for all of the great advice! We have done nothing to the outside of the house yet so the basketball hoop, hose thingy, house numbers will all be removed. It is not a planter in front but an already built wall with a tree inside. Landscaping will address all of that. Here is a better photo of the house where you can actually see the entry way:

And here is a side view of the house to show you what we have going on--keep in mind that we have been so busy working on the inside that we haven't done anything on the outside! I'm trying to figure out what we will be doing this summer. Keep all the great advice coming--I love it!!!!

And here is a better view of my covered porch area so that you can see that the entryway needs LOTS of attention. We plan to hire a landscape designer but are very anxious to get the outside painted as soon as possible as we really can't stand the red & green 'Christmas' design scheme that we have going on. ;-) The black wrought iron railings I had installed because we did the same ones inside for the catwalk on the upper level and the white aluminum ones on the house when we moved in were in really bad shape and were falling down. I'd love to find a way
to highlight the cool black railings so maybe a lighter entryway color
and a really bright turquoise or lime green door would work. I am
totally into embracing the 'funkiness' of my house--it is really
"different"!!!

Looking at these pictures makes me want to rip out the tall green bush immediately!

Love your project, great potential. You've received so many terrific suggestions so far. I agree with the color blocking idea, painting each "box" either a different color, or two shades of the same color. The front door would stand out in a color such as in Bette's fourth pic. A standing seam metal garage door overhang, as in Darzy's second pic, would add some interest. I think the planter to the right should go, or if not possible, cover it with a more modern material such as horizontal wood slats or corrugated metal. Looking forward to seeing what you decide.

Bette P--unfortunately the grids on my windows are here to stay until we decide to replace all the windows. Also, my designer's porch rendering isn't totally accurate as there is a half wall coming out of the house to the right of the door (probably can't be seen in any of the photos) and the roof over the entry porch extends almost all the way to the front right corner of the house. It's a lot more closed in than the drawing. Really my house is just a huge rectangle with a little corner cut out and the porch area stuck in there. Maybe I could paint the entry way a lighter color, though.

Oh, wow - this is a great modernhouse with barn or farmhouse elements. ..

I have some ideas you might like that are fun, not funky. If you were brave, I'd combine a warm charcoal with some real cottage red, but I'm guessing that rusty orange red you have has worn out all yourinterest in red at all.

Modern but classic -

A teal navy with white trim would be really crisp, a little nautical (Seattle!! water town) and very fresh. You could paint the entire face of the house under the overhang white and do a bright yellow entry door. Here is a great detail I saved that is tailor made for your entry area . . see how the horizontals call attention to the door and modernize the whole thing?

Back with colors - here's an inspiration navy

So - lots of navies go sort of black / gray in cloudy weather - you have to start with more of a teal to get a navy feel on an exterior. On an interior - bm hale navy is a great choice, but exterior wise - you want to test bm kensington blue and I think you might find the winner is a dark teal navy called bm newburg green http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/newburggreen (not green at all). Here's a great blog post where you can see several navy tones tested on a cloudy day .. http://www.younghouselove.com/2014/02/picking-an-exterior-paint-color/ which is what tipped me off to the addition of green making the navy brighter on a large expanse ..

Another option is to really head teal - knoxville gray is a terrific bold exterior that feels coastal to me - though I think you would want to combine it with a dark navy gray like lead gray for most of the trim, and use a creamier off white against it . ..

Hope some of these ideas appeal.

You have an amazing house .. I'd like to see fewer wide horizontal boards on the railings (a tad more nautical - which is a fine way to go modern but still keep the gridded windows feeling appropriate) and add the horizontal 2 x 2 detail over the entry as above .. definitely paint the entire BOX (face of door wall, ceiling, and right inside wall) white - but don't color block the rest of the house - the side / view facade tells me that you don't really have different "boxes" beyond the entry.

You could do a Kiwi Lime entry door in a white surround against the navy - that would be sweet. Looking at your new entry railings, I want to rip out the little triangle trellis detail the last owners put at the top of the post and beam - painting that post and beam to work with this scheme is easy .. The beam and new trims would be white, leave the post black ..

In the navy / white scheme - all the decks want to be a blue gray -

Here's navy with kiwil green accents and trim .. (again, in Seattle) on more of a historic house ..

To make the entrance more obvious, change out that small sconce to a much larger one. Maybe add a hanging fixture at the base of the stairs, or add a couple of light posts.

If you are going to hire a landscape architect, they often can help with paint colors. And exterior lighting.

Saw some great pictures above with a color on the door that pops - like lime green or orange. I like that idea of that with dark grey or slate grey-blue on the walls and bright white on the trim. And also, perhaps bringing that bright color from the front door to the garage doors.

Just seems like you are looking for some funk factor to add zing to a very boxy building. I think such colors could help zingify... And gotta say, it's amazing how good a dark grey can look as long as the trim is bright white. I have a friend who did it on a small bungalow and it looks great. And I love that by just painting her front door she can give the whole place a bit of a different look. Her front door last I saw it was a great shade of purple. And, if afraid of going too crazy with color use a more subtle color like periwinkle as a way to dip your toes into zing... And pink always looks fabulous with grey!

Very rudimentary but went to the Benjamin Moore website to experiment with colors. Here's what I came up with and I'm now reconsidering the black trim. So many choices--this is really tough!!! I found a bluish gray called 'Oxford Gray' that I'm now leaning toward. I also used a darker teal that is on a feature wall inside my house called 'avalon teal' for the front door. What do you think?

Oh yes, new light fixtures and accessories will definitely be part of the plan!!!

I prefer the darker grey with white trim that your designer suggested. I think the white trim will help frame the entry.

I like Bette P's color blocking suggestion and it would be easy to do on your house. I created some samples but forgot to make one with both sides of the garage matching so I combined your original pic with my mockup for the last example (disregard the mismatched trim).

Love your color choices of Oxford grey with black trim and the turquoise door. Or even a little darker grey with black trim. Add midcentury modern house numbers and black cylindrical exterior lights at the front door and to the outer sides of the garage door.

or...

(By the way, I may be a little biased. Your color choices look a bit like the our new build vacation house.)

Here's the navy girl back - advocating for blues and blue grays. Oxford gray will read denim blue outdoors on an exterior - I think it would be terrific, but just saying that its not gray at all. It is a terrific color, and sort of classic. I agree that white trim would be better against it. White barn style gooseneck extension lights would be my next suggestion . .

One of the challenges of an exterior color is that you often have to go 1 shade darker to get the exterior in full light to look like the color you selected . . you might also test bm black pepper .. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/blackpepper#ce_s=black pepper

that is just far enough down the scale to echo oxford gray on an exterior

That with contrasting trim and I agree the corners should not be called out but match the body on this scale of home - that is a cottage detail that isn't great here ..

You could do the face of the wall around the door and the ceiling there and the side of that entry form in Pikes peak gray - so it is lighter than the surround but tonally so . . that might suit you better than high contrast white . .

Instead of a teal door, with these shades, mixing blue greens and denim blues can be tricky .. I want to suggest tangerine or eggplant - I was trying to get a light tone to visually bring the door forward . - there are some terrific greens on the blue side that could also work - look at bm new dawn, bm passion plum, bm fort pierce green, bm corn stalk, http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/newdawn

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/passionplum

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/cornstalk

The lighter tones- the tangerine and the corn stalk green would help reflect more light at the front door - but the others will work . . you can change your door color every few years so stockpile the ones you want to try later ..

You can always do a pale gray trim - it will read white against the deeper field but have the same undertone as the house http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/sweetinnocence - marilyn's dress . .one shade up, that is the best white for your trim if you go white . .

This looks like so much fun! I am in Seatte for the winter and it is grey alot but your colors are very nice. I think that a color block color to the front entry area would be outstanding. Post pictures!