Way back someone suggested wider trim around all the windows and door and ditching the shutters completely. I'd do the new trim in a deep charcoal and the fascia in a tone close to the stone exterior. For the door, which should draw attention, turn to your interior for a color you love and use a deep and strong variation of your interior palette to make it all cohesive. Pick up that color, for instance bittersweet orange or deep greens, for your flowers and accents in the front yard- I agree that the landscape is less than welcoming so maybe widen the walkway to a become stone patio at the front entrance- add a teak bench and some big pots of plantings which would also be visible from the big picture window.

I tried to get close to your current house colors of the stones - not suggesting you paint that too.

DO NOT GET RID OF SHUTTERS... then it's way too much stone. One needs to keep a facade in balance.

Maybe go to the grays as the soft version of black. Lacquer door - could be a french blue or tha green you like.

Red is a fav door color of mine but too primary a color against the stone...so again, soften it - maybe a brick or a deep pumpkin color.

You've gotten a lot of great color suggestions! I disagree with the folks that told you to go the no shutters route. Giving the shutters authentic hardware would help. If you want to put shutters on the wide window on the right, you could use folding ones. Maybe a window box instead of shutters on the big window? Something a little more controversial....zooming in on your windows, it looks like they may have been replaced with contractor-grade windows that have inauthentic muntins and are hard to paint, if so, I would consider upgrading them---that is such a beautiful house and it should sing.

Also, in additional to landscaping to integrate the sidewalk, I would have the concrete professionally stained....right now since it is a similar color to the house but lighter, the sidewalk pops more than the house.

I love your house. I would paint the trim to match the gutter and leaders, they fade away nicely. Then I like your idea of blue green shutters and door, but would make it a deeper tone to balance the stone. I just used Behring Marquee Walk Me Home and am loving it. Add flowers and you are good

checking the brick color which i can't see but a really nice brown tone might work nice the shade has a lot to do with how your color will work

just have fun with

kiero ver mas fotos

We used Behr Marquee Sage Wisdom for the eaves and body of the house. It's a great choice for a limestone house.
The trim is Smoldering Copper to match our garage door, front door and cedar trim.

Like the others, I like the no-shutters at all ... love the stone... if that is a solid wood door, could you strip it and finish it instead of paint. It is a very classic home, a wood door would emphasize the classic lines and design and provide a nice contrast texture with the stone exterior.... The landscaping definitely needs some updating, you will have fun with that too I am sure... ... depending on where you live would drive any suggestions.

Why Shutters? I would suggest that you let your doors and windows do the talking. Against you stone walls, go for a nice dark stain that would make them do so.

check out Farrow & Ball it's a great paint company that has lots of great great ideas. Browser Aug. 2016 Adding color to your garden

More expensive route, but... Replace the door with a rustic wooden door with bold 'n old hardware, making the front double door the main feature and adding value and trend-forward look. Paint front-most shutters and trim near-black, and remove the narrow shutters, or paint near-black also if you prefer to keep them. Add a decorative element to large stone wall, under the security lights, to balance things and reduce the vast blank canvas that that wall is currently.

maryjane, one thing to possibly consider down the road is replacing the door with one that has glass inserts across the top that mimic your windows. The fourth photo you posted with the black shutters and green door is a good example.

Wow! What a nice house. Congratulations MaryJane and I agree with BeverlyFLADeziner, love the green with the color of your house. I also like the shutters but it will be easy to see what you think when they're off for painting. I do a lot of Photoshopping to test a look out but seeing it life size is to only surefire way to make a decision for me.

Love this house!!!I agree with a lot of the comments that have been posted...However I think I would tackle the landscaping issue before anything else...I believe it will simplify the rest of the decisions you will need to make. Based on the photo I would remove/relocate all of the foundation plants across the front of the house, as well as the ones that are circling around the large (oak?) tree to the right. Pretty sure I would also move what looks to be a crape myrtle to another location...perhaps a corner of the house? I would plant something tall and slender between the two windows to the left ...I have used a podocarpus Japanese yew in the exact same place at my home and it looks great...also looks fab at Christmas with mini white lights:) Maybe a free form or trellised camellia to the right of the large picture window to help take up some of that wall...just don't get talked into putting in a line of shrubs that get trimmed all the time and wind up looking like a row of meatballs. Good luck !!

Really dig the stone facade on your house! If it were my place, I would paint the shutters an espresso color. The door... That's a tough one. I would probably go with an espresso color as well. Add a pop of color by adding a wreath that you can change with the seasons. The wreath can change as the styles change, too.

I also vote for the black shutters and red or light blue door - afterall that is one of your inspiration photos is it not? Trust your instinct - you obviously have great taste in homes!

One more thing - paving over the concrete walkway with brick and mortar would look fantastic as well as painting the exterior brick white ala your first inspiration photo.

if your partial to the light blue/green color, I would do the trip and shutters in that, then paint the exterior and med to dark brown to make it all pop. I think it would be beautiful

This is a lovely house. Your stone resembles the color of the siding on my house. After experimenting with various shutter colors over the years, I finally settled on eggplant. I preferred subtler colors, but found the contrast between the beige house and dark shutters was a better balance. Black and charcoal would work well, too, depending on how much character you prefer. The trim could be light cream, and the door eggplant or black, but eventually, you may want to look at natural wood with windows to let in a little natural light.

I too have a stone (California) ranch house. Mine is mixed tan (about like yours) and grey limestone. More tan, cream stones than grey. Lots of big windows - 35. Ours did not have shutters and we have not added them. The window trim was painted a dark brown and made the house look like a dungeon (I thought). We replaced all windows with white trim, a classic in my opinion. Really brightens up the house. If I had shutters I would do them white as well, I like the shutters on yours. Used a cream color for trim, fascia and gutters to blend in and not stand out. To pull the grey out of the stone color, I used SW Smoky Blue on the front door and detached garage doors. It's a dark blue grey color and I love it! It changes color with the sunlight being lighter and darker. There was another house in town similar to ours and it had black windows and shutters. I thought it looked like a dungeon also, even worse than the dark brown! Your front door color is personal choice, but I would keep in mind your stone color and go with a brown "undertone". I really like your double doors! Suggestions of a wood stained door, I like a lot and have thought of doing the same. I love my white windows, really makes them stand out and I think it is a classic color that never goes out of style. But, without the grey stone color, I also think yours might be better with a light cream color that stays in your stone's color pallette. Good luck on making your new house your own creation!

I like site_unseen's suggestions the best.

Hi there maryjaneberry! We love the inspiration photos
you’ve picked out. Your new home is lovely and only needs a few cosmetic
changes to reach its potential. In addition to painting the front door, we
think something from our Classic
Doorglass collection would fit the house’s style perfectly,
specifically our Majestic
design. Also, since the front yard is highly shaded by trees, doorglass would
be a great way to brighten up the interior. For more doorglass styles
and inspiration, check out our Houzz
page. Once you’ve found a design that
you love, head over to our Decorative Doorglass Selector
to choose the right shape and size. Let us know how we can help!

Groveraxle provided wonderful examples and I especially like the charcoal scheme. No shutters looks best in my opinion. If I was buying the house, it would be more appealing to me sans shutters. Charcoal,another dark color or even a contrasting color would look better on the windows than the current white/buff. Add richness to the whole view by enhancing your landscaping.

As with ^^^ @site_unseen ~ I've used eggplant before and I LOVED it. I agree - would be lovely on the shutters and the natural door ~ like a pecan color of wood.... after all you're in texas - right? ;-) Now that's an elegant fresh look!!

First one!

orange door

For the front door and the shutters you are keeping I would do a light olive green. It would give the home a Provençal look. If your climate zone permits it, plant some lavender bushes.

Any color used on shutters, doors, etc., must take into account the colors, tones, and shades of both the roof and the stone. Ignoring those would result in a considerable disservice to a lovely home. Sometimes, matching shutters, etc., to the grout color between the stones provides a stunning result.

Royal blue for the doors. Brushed nickel door hardware and house numbers. Remove the shutters. White for all trim. Landscape all around.

Do this and replace the shutters with more rustic ones and the front door with half glass: https://www.google.com/search?q=hill+country+limestone+home+blue+trim&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikiYD8sLjOAhVM7GMKHW05Br0Q_AUICCgB&biw=1356&bih=805#imgrc=WNzaCPQZ07ikdM%3A

Behr has a "Find your perfect color" interactive chart ... it lets you pick the style home closest to yours and you can paint it ... It took a while and a trial & error on my part to get it perfect (the colors on the computer are lighter than the paint actually is so pull the paint chart card off the wall at Home Depot and make sure that is what you actually want before mixing paint) ... Everything worked out great for me and I have gotten soooooooooo many compliments on how beautiful my house is. I am so happy I had that tool at my fingertips!! Good Luck!!

No shutters would be better than white. In the photo with light shutters, the shutters are all you see.

Lovely ranch, I would keep the shutters all except for the picture window. Maybe paint them a blue green and find some beautiful hardware for them in black. I think you could practically keep the door in wood but refinish it in a medium but rich tone. Your sidewalk could be stone pavers and even have a slight curve. The landscaping could be boxwood in a curved perimeter kept small with green mountain boxwood in the middle, very English looking! A new larger lantern in black at the front door would be the finishing touch, enjoy!

Your inspiration photos showed that you really like blue/green, so I think your statement double door can be painted in this color family. Try Mountain Laurel by Benjamin Moore (see shutters in photo). It would be a great tone with your stone, and looks fantastic with any flower color. And I agree about ditching the picture window shutters and sizing the shutters better on the far right window, but keep shutters on those three and paint them a neutral grayed "warm stone" color in the same family but slightly lighter than your stone - paint the fascia this same tone as well. (A grayed tone on the shutters reconciles the gray in your roof with the warm stone tones). Or CONVERSELY, paint the shutter blue/green and the door and fascia in the neutral, lighter tone. Kevin from Creative Visual Concepts (who answered you first) can render these for you easily. Finally, landscaping will definitely add beauty. Try planting some native perennials, shrubs and specimen trees that flower in rich jewel tones (like fuchsia) and that bloom in different seasons for easy punches of gorgeous color throughout the year

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I would keep the shutters and staying in the color family of the house, go several shades darker. Then do a pop of color on the front door. No red!

Don't forget in the "heat of a project" that you can start by painting the front door and nearest shutter on either side of door. Stand back & look; even wait a week. Then proceed or make a change. There's more than one way to make such a lovely house look good.

My own preference is to partner the exterior & interior colors (at least on the main floor) so, if not "identical" colors, at least there is a pleasant flow instead of a jarring disconnect when walking into the house from any door. Treat the house as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Best Wishes!

Your home is beautiful. I'm going to add still more ideas. I would remove all the shutters. I would paint the front doors with a pop of color that you seem to love, blue/green or a Wedgwood blue, but not too dark because it's a dark spot on your house and 1 color. I wouldn't paint the trim in a dark color because it pulls the roof down, makes the home short. Perhaps a creamy color that blends with the stone. The big change I would make is a bit of an architectural detail between the two single windows on left, front side of the house, I would paint it the same light creamy color as the roof trim. Perhaps a very narrow pergola look, something that adds some character between those two windows and stands out. I also agree, a larger porch light fixture would fit better. On the right side of the entrance, perhaps a large light color tall urn with trailing greens and some bright color flowers. Those I see painted the same creamy color as the trim. I hope you enjoy your home for many years.

I agree that the shutters on the two windows to the left are correctly sized, and just need to be painted. The shutters on the picture window look completely wrong, because they're way too small. I would just remove those. The shutters on the window on the right need to be wider. But this is all advice you've already been given.

For your shutters, I would probably replace all of them with something more rustic in a natural walnut color. That frees you up to do whatever color you want on the front door.

I always suggest that the front door color coordinate with the interior colors. From the outside, it gives a hint of what beautiful colors are inside. Plus, if you're like me, you'll have your front door open a lot in the warmer months. Having it coordinate with the interior ensures it doesn't clash with your decor when it's open.

We have a stone house with a large front porch that is stucco. When our house was originally built in 1999 it had dark green plastic louver shutters on the front porch and door. Sick of that we built our own cedar shutters and used a blue green Behr Marquee paint from Home Depot. I can't say enough about how great that paint is. It really does repel dirt and is resistant to fading. We live on a country gravel road and the dust is terrible.

I would remove those shutters. It looks so much more updated without. I love Groveraxles photo. House looks cool without them. The stone is beautiful! I love the windows. If they can be painted the window trim would really pop in a bronze tone. I would love that home! Sans shutters :) If you absolutely must keep them follow site_unseens photo . I like the dark color best.

I'm really impressed with all these great suggestions! Here's my 2 cents:

1. Get rid of the shutters—they don't look real and don't really belong to the ranch style.

2. Paint the blue fascia cream to match the rest of the existing house fascia color. Fascia should blend in and not be noticed. The dark color on the fascia makes it too visually heavy.

3. Paint the front door the light blue to blue/green color you are drawn to. Remove the kickplate! Long term goal: replace door with new solid wood (painted) with glass lites.

4. Remove the edging along the concrete walkway. It really clutters up the house.

I would love to see the "after picture," if you have gotten that far. Your house is beautiful. I like the idea of removing the shutters from the big picture window.

Take a hint from your roof color! The trim, front door, shutters, and foundation should all match.

Remove the shutters from the wide windows that open onto the porch. Replace the flimsy shutters on the two other windows that face the street with functional solid ones (like the ones Beverly featured in her photo) that cover those two windows.

Do something about the concrete walk & steps. They stand out like a sore thumb & detract from the beauty of the home. The easiest & cheapest thing to do would be to stain them to match the color of the house's facade. If you're a gardener, consider establishing wide borders on either side of the walkway.