All people is wonderful, because help with love. The flowers and wood is good combination for your front house.

I think the shutters are too bland and or too small for the house. I should go for a color. when I bought mine it was gray no shutters and very bland. I painted it red with black trim and shutters. it looks great. I also like the look of a soft green with black. just a little something to make it pop, without breaking the bank.

I like the natural setting of your house too! To soften the rectangles of the house and deck, extend your bed on the side corner of the deck in the front of your tree about 15 feet and also the bed in the front of the birch? tree about 15 feet in a semi- circles. You can place twine around the edge to see how large to make the curves before you dig! Sit in your chairs and make the view appealing from the chairs by adding variety of perennials that will do well in shade under your trees and plants that will do well further out in the sun. You should consider the view from your living room window as well. With just a couple hundred dollars worth of plants and mulch you can soften with shades of green and or red leaf plants. Please do not plant roses growing up a trellis to your front entrance as thorns are never good around a walkway. Interesting planters on the deck and a bird bath in view from the chairs would also be nice.

The tree bothers me too lol and it's on the to do list to be cut down. I'm going to get new chairs with pretty pillows and a nice door mat and maybe some new porch lights. Also going to work on landscaping. Long term would like to do something to the porch but bc of expense will have to be later to redo that stoop. I would like to go ahead now and do something with shutters but I'm having trouble committing lol bc I'm visual

I'm thinking the olive green shutters picture Kevin posted I might go with but I would like to consider more options before I commit bc it's a big decision. Any other suggestions on color?

I mocked this up with a very basic program. Check out the shutters, front door color. Give that lonely tree a place to sit in a kidney shaped flower bed. Get larger plants that flower at the base of the tree, smaller flowers at the base.

Another masterpiece...landscape, both sides of sidewalk, painted shutters green..........extended the little roof. I would think this would be far more functional and it looks better.

livinginsb
5:49 AM
Another masterpiece...landscape, both sides of sidewalk, painted shutters green..........extended the little roof. I would think this would be far more functional and it looks better.

If your shutters are cedar as well, leave them. The minute you add a contrasting color such as blue or green, the house will pop out of the setting. You could use a darker stain on the cedar in the same color family to add interest subtly. Architecturally, the house cries out for a window on the other side of the door, but that would be expensive. A narrow cedar bench with high back, stained the same color as your newer darker stained shutters would be inviting and help balance the house.

I liked VRD71's comments. You have a wonderful woodland setting, play that up. Don't go all beachy with color or trimmings or you'll lose that great feel. I much prefer wide trim boards to inoperable shutters, match or keep the color in the same tonal range as the body of the house. Extending the door "roof" to the corner would make it look more intentional. If you change to broad trim around the windows, also replace the corner boards. I'm looking at woodland greens and browns for my house right now Broaden your beds around your trees to include the drip lines. That will give you more balance. And keep the shrubs next to your house pruned low and away from the house. The airflow will be healthier for your plants and your house

Kevin Strader's photos of the extended porch and shutters is a very attractive option, but Rusty Empire's suggestion to extend the roof around the corner is a great extension of this idea. Screening the side porch as a follow-up stage would provide a wonderful dining area in nice weather. If funds permit, continuing the porch across the whole the whole front of the house would be functional and look amazing. A great idea for the porch roof would be to do it in the same color as the existing roof, if it has considerable wear left in it and use metal roofing material. Have a wonderful time choosing your home design improvements and yes, please do post a photo. It is a lovely house.

I like Denise Marchand's ideas the best because the cream color trims and red door makes the house look charming. I'm not in favor of using a trellis on the house as others have suggested because it can wreck havoc on siding and create more maintenance in the future.

If you want to keep it an authentic colonial, you will remove the shutters, paint the windows and the door one color, like dark red, and remove that funky little roof over the door. Or, you can make it a "farmhouse" by putting a covered front porch across the front..... Google image search New England Colonials for ideas.

I suggest painting your shutters, door, trim and railing a rich deep red, with planter boxes full of rich color plants so when they bloom it all looks like a concert of gorgeous color in symphony. If you're not a fan of red, or bright color, then go very dark, like charcoal. The greens or other muted colors still look washed out and are buried by the expanse of dark siding. And you could add a fantastic pop with a copper metal roof over your door, either on the existing construction or enlargen it as much as possible/you can afford. Very simple to DIY that, look up AEP Span, there should be local dealers.

I suggest painting your shutters, door, trim and railing a rich deep red, with planter boxes full of rich color plants so when they bloom it all looks like a concert of gorgeous color in symphony. If you're not a fan of red, or bright color, then go very dark, like charcoal. The greens or other muted colors still look washed out and are buried by the expanse of dark siding. And you could add a fantastic pop with a copper metal roof over your door, either on the existing construction or enlargen it as much as possible/you can afford. Very simple to DIY that, look up AEP Span, there should be local dealers.

We have a similar house. I'm not wild about the green but it's traditional with this brown. I would have preferred a red metal roof myself, but you can see I got some red in there anyway.

Your house is beautiful and any changes made should match or magnify its rustic natural feel. To the left of the front door, I would buy or build a large planter and plant a climbing plant or vine (such as clematis or a climbing rose) to add a splash of color to that wall. I would also change up the shrubs a bit for variety. Perhaps leave the taller ones under the window, but pull out the shorter ones and replant shrubs that give pops of color both while they are in bloom and in their leaf color. Look for variegated leaves or shrubs with red or purple leaves. Also, your one lonely tree looks a bit stark. I would extend the garden around it and add some pops of color with perennials. If you are going to paint the door and shutters, choose a color that looks natural and blends well with your new plants - lots of impact with minimal expense.

Lots of repetition here. Must become very laborious for people asking for help to read through it all. Seems to come down to three suggestions: colored trim, extended roof and better landscaping. dreamgod, maybe you can post a picture of your tweaked house at some point. Have fun !

As Kevin Strader suggests:

If budget allows I would place a shed porch roof over the front porch, and paint the shutters a olive green or buff color to add some interest.

Thats a great idea, also remove the bushes along the right windows and add some lower ones there as well as along the left side where the porch entry is.

We also have cedar sided home (going on 30 years now). Winter can be a challenge to bring color to the outside, as we live in the midwest, but spring, summer, and autumn are beautiful with outdoor plants and a few choice treasures. I agree with the posts that suggest shutters in blue - maybe a color like blue spruce? And add some other color through flowers and flowering shrubs. Good luck?

Hey dreamgodsizedreams,

You have a lovely home. You may think about adding a striking statement with exterior lanterns by your doorway. We are the oldest open
flame/electric copper lighting company in the U.S. and hand make every one of our
fixtures in New Orleans, LA. We have hundreds of different lighting
combinations and offer a complimentary design service. From your
picture, one of the many options that would work well and add some great interest is the Coach House lantern. Feel free to email us pictures and we will be
happy to make style and scale recommendations. Good luck on your project! -Lindsey

Know it's laborious to read through all the suggestions, but it would eliminate all the repetition., as capeanner mentioned.

Looks like everyone recommends removing the single tree in front, plant a healthy landscaping design, and eventually adding a porch with covering from the front door to the left facing. So the question is the color of the shutters, trim and front door. The two schools of thought are:

1) Blend in the shutters, trim and front door, keeping within the historical aspect of your home by painting blue, green or dark red. The best way to visualize the darker colors is to "squint" at the colors next to each other. The same tones will blend. Or

2) Sharpen up the design of your colonial farmhouse and "breaking up the brown" as you originally were asking by painting the shutters and trim white, off white or yellow/cream with a bright front door in red, robins egg blue or a lime green.

Once you have decided on the trim and front door colors, you will be able to proceed on the landscaping design.

1) The "blended" (blue, green or dark red) color trim warrants natural wildflowers, lavender, goldenrod, babies breath, and meandering gravel paths and benches - maybe a gazebo.

2) The "off white" trim and bright front door warrants boulders and rocks, boxwood, hydrangeas, evergreens-several different colors of greens-yellow greens, blue greens, deep emerald greens- to create interest and depth.

The structure that myamsey last wed suggested would highlight the front entrance, and a good beginning if you want to continue an overhead structure at a later date.

Blended Trim and Wildflowers:

Off White and Hydrangea:

Front Door Structure by mramsy:

Evergreens and Boxwood:

Red Door and Dark Red Trim:

By looking at the landscape, I am guessing you live in an environment like me. In fact, that could be my home (except newer and taller). If you have a great deal of snow like I do, a pergola is an easy answer. All the way across. Painting the front door is a no-brainer. I use colorful impatient baskets hanging from everywhere. My furniture is dark brown with colorful covers that I can put in a box outside nearby for inclement weather. A bright outdoor rug makes it feel cozy. Those kind of changes hardly cost anything including the pergola (which is so important so the snow will fall through and does provide shade in the summer).

Love these ideas. Would you want to share a picture of yours so I can visualize it better?

Kevin's porch idea is good, but keep the shutters dark.

I think what bothers me most is the little roof over porch. It's not in the budget to do anything huge but I wish there was something small to help the way that looks or dress it up or something!? I don't know what

Maybe copper flashing around the trim of over hang and a nice copper lantern with a copper mailbox below.

What do y'all think about this but not white in place of the little roof. Would I need a permit for something like this

Your little roof is more appropriate to your architecture and provides shelter in the rain . .does it need to be replaced?

The entry is very simple, you should add pergola. Also it is in desperate need of new paint and way more Windows.

Colonial homes are very plain...... even the little roof is too much if you want to stay authentic.

Lightings.

Maybe just change out the supports for the roof and add lighting. I also like the pergola idea.

Please show us when done.

Elaborate on what you already have. Instead of the glass panels on this example, just have painted wood. If you brighten up the entrance and make it welcoming I think you will like it. Trim and mouldings are easy to do and have a big impact. Also paint the trim, supports and underneath of the existing roof the same color as the new trim around the door. This one reminded me of your front:

Here are some other examples. Eliminate the pediments and use the pilasters as an example.

What Pam said.

I love your home! If you're not looking to make major exterior changes to your home, you could bump up your curb appeal with landscaping and some outside decor - colorful outdoor furniture, a boldly-painted front door and plants in colorful pots. Sometimes just some small touches of color can make a huge impact!

I think your home calls for a bit more classic design elements. I would lose the shutters. They don't make a lot of sense, since some of them couldn't begin to cover the window, which is after all, what they were intended to do in original New England style houses. I would eliminate the deck (too informal for a front entry). I like the idea of a timber-frame style gable-roofed porch, at the entry, to break up the long expanse and to make the entry have a bit more gravitas. After the construction was done, I would hire landscapers to do a bit more of a formal garden in front--maybe enclosed in some kind of decorative fencing. Window boxes would be a nice touch, but a lot of people find them a pain to keep watered and cared for. A lovely front door color would complete the look.

You've received quit a few suggestions. We have an all natural cedar sided home, it's in the pacific northwest. Similar roof line and just as masculine in design. Here's what we did to give importance, add weight and interest. Took off the shutters added a four inch cedar resawn trim, same treatment as the siding, natural. But we didn't lay the trim on the siding, we flushed the trim with the window frame. Our windows are black framed, similar to yours. We changed the roof color to a black composition. Painted the front door & fascia boards black. Added black gutters and down spouts, we also used powder coated black rain chain were we could. The deck railing is cedar post, top / bottom rail, but instead of 2x2 pickets, we used black powder coated hog fence panels. To give your house more weight and interest, I would defiantly add a cedar post & timber porch. But not gable, shed type. Either composition roofing or black metal. The small deciduous tree doesn't have enough weight and distracts from the lines of the house. The landscape needs to be as bold and important, use massed shrubs, plum, garnet & burgundy deciduous trees. For outside visual, I'd switch interior window treatments. Maybe blinds that stack, not a curtain swag.

Thanks everyone for the great tips. Here is a pic of what we are thinking of doing? Thoughts?

I love it & the wrap porch.

I now have this idea. Different color shutters and pergola wtih stone

I like this very much. What do you think about closing off the steps to the porch by adding a section of railing then removing the railing under the pergola and adding steps that extend across the new opening between the pergola supports?

If you are going to alter the front structurally in any way, please just add another window the same size as the one above it and place it directly below it and the same height as the other first floor window. Add shutters and and all of a sudden you will define the front door. Whatever room is behind the new window will benefit immensely as well.

cmh

The above window if can? Gives us updates when done!