Blue or green for shutters. Take a yellow post-it to the paint store and pick up some coordinating samples. Or use an online paint visualizer.

Paint the yellow body gray. Pick a fun color for the front door like teal green, orange or peacock blue.

I'm not changing the color of the body of the house. I like it.

I like the yellow, too. I'd have to see it (grover?), but one option might be to remove the shutters and just have a wide white trim around all the windows. Paint the front door slate blue...it can look nice with yellow. Or...slate blue shutters and door.

Remove a set of the faux stick-on "shudders" and see if the siding color is faded as compared to what's been behind them. I'd like it better without them and a solid front door painted a lighter blue that won't heat up as much as a darker color. Your home has a nice cottage look to it, so I'd want the five formal trimmed and shaped bushes removed and replaced with a typical cottage garden more like what you've started on the right side. Do you have a spot for a bit of picket fence and flowers?

Maybe this shade of blue...

Match a blue fence to your door and plant with perennial bloomers

I like the idea of a wider trim but I was told that the siding would have to be pulled off to put the trim on. The siding is some sort of cement composite board from the 80s. It's hard to remove without them cracking. Believe me, I know from other remodeling jobs on the house.

The bushes on the left are already gone.

Yes, you can buy that siding at Home Depot. You'll probably have to get them to order it, but I replaced some damaged siding like that last year. Then if you don't know the name of your yellow paint, just take an old piece of it in and have it color matched. Be aware, that kind of siding was originally asbestos, but it was so popular and so prevalent that they started replicating it in the cement board. They have all the styles; mine was the wavy edge style. Don't pull any off unless you're sure it is the cement kind. Asbestos could get complicated.

Understood.

Can anyone alter the picture to show the house without shutters? Or a different color?

Egads!

Hmmm...I'm not sure now without the shutters. What do you think, grover...and cmpc4? I do like the blue door with the yellow. Would blue shutters be too much? What about shutters only on the second story?

I also like the door style better in the second pic. Seems to fit the house better...or a door with panes across the top that mimic the windows.

Depends if you want modern. If so, get large windows put in.

Another door:

IMO, the house looks way better without the shutters.

Try a blue gray on the shutters and a brighter cornflower blue on your door. Like bm winter lake for the entry and bm smokestack for the shutters .. you will be surprised how much of difference an LRV of 23 has to black (typically around LRV 8) ..

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

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

If you want something brighter on the door .. test bm franklin lakes on the front door and bm blue spruce on the shutters .. just a tad more brightness in the green/blue combo for the front door ..

Another good choice is a plain sort of mid tone (non blue) gray - shaker gray and whale gray are both good ones to test .. .keep the LRV above 25 .. then you can keep the door tone you have if you like. ..

You could do a navy shutter (look for the royal toned navies so they don't go off black in the shade) .. . and a brighter royal blue front door - nautical instead of sweet.

The pale yellow house would also be sweet with white shutters (that is prime and paint tho) .. . think the blues have it

I'm with Groveraxle on leaving off the shutters. The house looks so much cleaner and uncluttered without them. The right color door and some pretty landscaping are all you need.

I really like that last door grover did...nicer fit with the house. Pretty sure I agree with no shutters. There were just so darn many of them. I also agree with the blues having it, but what does cmpc4 think?

Agree, better without shutters. Add color with taller, not sculpted, shrubs and flowering plants. Consider extending the garden to include the front side of the walkway as well. And perhaps an ornamental flowering tree in front of the left side of the house.

Keep your black shutters and white trim and add black pots to flank porch area..so pretty!

I like the shutters, paint them light grey or white. The front door a light blue gray. Paint the shutters on the lower windows and see if you like it. You could always eliminate some of the shutters. You have them so experiment!

Nice house. Actually looks good as is. House looks better with the shutters than the doctored image of the house without them.

This is the style home where black shutters on white siding and with white trim is the classic look; and though that would be my own personal preference, there is no reason why you shouldn't keep the shutters -- they fit the look of the home -- and leave them dark (especially with that dark door) and do so without having them looking out of place.

HI -- I think you should take off the shutters and have the windows framed with plinth sides and sills and headers in white . This will fit the house better .The shutters do not fit . Have the roof line continued to the end on the lower section if possible . Have the window grills painted black if possible . Now the house can still be the yellow if you like or an ocher yellow or paint to a taupe . Garage doors too. Handsome house !

Shutters should be of width 50% of the window width , and not mounted outside the window frame, or they look inoperable, therefore fake.

I would leave the shutters as they are. Just fit the door color. And I would play instead with the front door gardens.

I think flower boxes would look very pretty on the two windows close to garage...

Thank you for the pictures, Grover!

I like the third door from Grover with the windows.

I like the blue in the picture chloebud posted. Don't know why paint expert didn't suggest blue. She said the blackberry would match best.

I would love to extend the upper roof line to the end on the lower section but unless the construction fairies come do it for me, it's not going to happen.

The garden will be redone this summer to look more like the right side. No shaped plants but pretty wispy plants with color.

I am torn on the shutters. I think a colonial home should have shutters but the black take up a lot of space on the house. Without them, the house looks plain although bigger.

I see houses similar to mine all over the neighborhoods. You can tell when they were built. How do you modernize a 30 year old house without it costing a fortune or looking like a kludge?

cmcp4, let me know if the construction fairies show up. I'd love to have their contact info!

A few thoughts, cmcp4. First, I think the siding is the perfect yellow. Second, I also like the last door I posted best, and something like a colonial blue would be perfect. Third, the shutters IMO clutter up a pretty house. They are obviously fake and draw attention to the asymmetry of the windows. Fourth, I like the current lower roof line; it's more interesting than it would be if carried across the front, so don't bemoan the absence of the roof fairies.

Now, just for argument's sake, I'm going to put your shutters back on and paint them blue. Back in a bit.

Shutters in blue:

I think someone suggested white shutters so I repainted just to see. It looks pretty awful, but never fear. With virtual painting, I can unpaint them with the tap of a finger.

If I had grover's patience I'd be on Houzz 24/7! Almost am anyway. Well, you have some decisions to make. Maybe you should stew on it and just do the gardening now that its spring.

I would love to start gardening. Waiting for the snow to melt :(

Thanks Grover! Blue looks okay, not too different. I agree with you. The white is awful!

What do you think of shutters a shade darker or lighter than the house. I ask because I saved the below makeover picture and I like what they did with the shutters. Maybe the whole new front is swaying me.

I may have changed my mind about the shutters. I quite like them in blue.

You might also consider a more interesting landscape design. Take a look at this - less lawn, more garden:

Here are two values of a kind of mustardy color:

I don't think the front door should match the shutters...what about a dark charcoal on shutters...gray and yellow look so pretty together....keep white trim and do a very light gray on front door....a beautiful blue hydrangea spring wreath would look beautiful against the gray door and the yellow siding. I would diffently add window boxes on those front windows closest to the garage...a new garage door with some personality would really make a big impact.

cmpc4, the windows on the makeover house you posted are too large for shutters. That's a perfect example of wide trim around the windows being the better choice.

If you keep the shutters, my choice would be the blue from grover.

If/when you get around to a different garage door, I would think panes across the top...again, to mimic the windows...would look nice with your house.

Ugh! The yellow shutters are definitely the worst!

I never thought of gray. Grover?

chloebud - Yes, I see what you mean about the shutter size. I like the garage door idea. Didn't think of that.

I used to have a beautiful hydragea wreath. It melted to the black door.

Is there a rule about shutters and doors matching???

No shutters and doors don't need to match - in fact, I like to do the shutters a bit more muted and deep and the front door a bit brighter, even when you are using the same tones overall. Remember that most grays will look blue on a shutter ..

Try shutters that are sized to cover the windows, even though they don't, just in the area going over to the garage on the main floor. See if you like that. It gives some variety to the front of the house without complicating the architecture any further.

Kendall Charcoal on shutters

..a perfect neutral dark gray SW light French gray is perfect for front door..

Yes you have to know your gray paints well..before you paint.....some have undertones of blue,green and taupe...I like grays with taupe or brown undertones because they don't come out looking blue!

Good read on measure for decorative shutters...no they do not need to be large enough to cover entire window..have you ever seen a 8' window with 4' wide shutters on each side??? Never.....your shutters are just fine.

good luck.... you have a charming home!

I really enjoy the look of tone on tone shutter/siding colors. Here's a web site of inspiration for you:

http://hazardousdesign.blogspot.com/2012/07/tone-on-tone.html

Here's what your house might look like. Remember that you'll have shadow detail from the shutter design to add textural interest, especially if you use high gloss paint (which would look great!). That also keeps the shutters from blending completely into the siding. It's a subtle look, but very nice IMO.

I'm torn. I like the interest shutters add but I don't want them to take over.

The house looks naked without the shutters. It will look it's best if you embrace the style - colonial - and choose features that complement that. The advice about choosing glossy paint is excellent, and you could absolutely do shutters 2 shades darker than your siding color to keep things subtle. If you go that route, you can do the blue door (my favorite) and down the road, change door colors on a whim because you'll have flexibility with the rest of the palette. There are many articles on the web about proper mounting of shutters - when properly mounted on the house, they add charm and character; worth a read.

I agree with others that you should consider a new front door that complements the colonial style of the house - check out www.simpsondoors.com.

In time, and as budget permits, I think a new (painted) wood garage door is in order. I'd spend the extra money for wood even if it's painted, because painted metal looks like painted metal. A garage door that faces the street should be beautiful.

Other suggestions: bigger lanterns on the garage and flanking the door, and a fenced garden along the front of the house from driveway to doorstep. It's a lovely welcome that gives everyone who walks through it a pleasant sense of "entry". A lamp post would be a thoughtful and appropriate addition too.

You could do the light French gray on shutters so the contrast is toned down instead of the dark gray...and are you changing out front door? I really think it could bring the look out of the past with that oval fancy window Gone! Something with simpler lines and you could just do white to match trim. This would give a very soft calm feel.

Oh and I agree your lighting is way to small.... You need to pump them up for sure..if you dont want black you could do large brushed nickel lanterns with brushed nickel front door hardware to match...it will give it a slight modern feel mixed in...very nice.

My neighbor’s house is also pale yellow and it’s lovely how they have dark blue shutters and a wood door. They also have purple flowers, like lavender which are nice pops of color. Here’s a photo.