Wistrade, your house is very beautiful. And fitting in it's surroundings. But I don't think that Marilyn's cottage in the woods should have such Craftsfman columns, I find that is taking it too far. I would keep it simple and remember the location it's in.

That is not my home nor is the design recommended. It shows how many ways there is to plan a new back porch.

Oh ok, too bad, it's beautiful.

wistrade, great knowledge to have! Great experience!

The peer knowledge and learning is one of the best things I find about using houzz. We get to share our passion for the built environment and sense of place, and the brainstorming is often the best way to get the right solution to a challenge. In this case, we get to kibbitz on one of the most charming properties in a place we may never get to physically visit. Wonderful of you to share it with us Marilyn.

Remember I said I was. I am no longer involved except with my own homes. And I have an abundant amount of free time because I am disabled from all the Malox, lol.

Well I really do appreciate everyone's unique input on this. I like the house white and I think I would like the house with some woodsy green colors on it. So, after we deal with the inside we will have a lot of choices to make regarding the exterior. The area is very sandy and has pretty acid soil, so sweeping lawns are out of the question. I found a wholesale nursery that sells to the public up there. They are on Lake Michigan. I plan to plant a variety of native trees and shrubs.

Sounds good, Marilyn, good luck!

Yes, wistrade, I can feel with you.

http://www.englertinc.com/award-wining-projects.html (the roof is a question as well. Like a shake roof how ever they do not seem to hold up as well as they used to.

The roof on this house does look really good. It is asphalt but some day it would be good to replace it with metal due to the snow loads. Please excuse my finger in the photos!

LOL I have that Eggplant door ( and shutters) with that color scheme. It looks so much better than the 1970 chocolate but hubby did grab an egg plant out of the kitchen and held it to my freshly painted door and said "this is egg plant not that." The shutters are shaded by foliage and still almost read brown but the door get full sun so the same paint looks much brighter. So no matter which paint you choose the natural light will change it some.
Seriously with all the natural beauty and color, the white will not upstages it.

Well, it's called Grappa, so maybe we should call it grape??? lol Grapes are part of nature..right?

You know you have a 6/12 pitch roof. And just about every design you sent this site in the begining was at least a 12/12 pitch. That is the issue I had with the painted ladie paints . That (in my opinion) needs a 12/12 min pitch to look like it belongs. But I recently saw a home like yours with a darker grey standing seam steel roof the looked great but your roof looks too good to fool with , Steel is more$ than Shakes but it is so strong and maint free of a roof that it seems worth it. Take a look at the white Campus house with the red door in this site. A Forest green door will look even better. Send your interior pictures you would be surprized on how much talent there is on this site giving you advise . They all know what they are talking about and they all have pictures in their minds eye that will help you. In the kitchen , is it dated?
http://www.englertinc.com/award-wining-projects.html , I now see your fire place is lannon type stone; is that correct?
ALso it just needs a bit of tuck pointing and all will be fine with it. Do not try and do stone on this place. It is hard for people that don't live in the UP to understand the elegance of your home because of the surroundings and the state forrest being so cool and surrounding your property. The windows look good and so does the paint job. As the Beatles say :"Let It Be"! But there is plenty of neat things to keep you busy when you retire without loosing the farm!
Also the steel roof has nothing to do with snow loads that is in the structure. There is plenty of strength there now. I was thinking of easy non molding and easy to clean and fire resistant.

I love that red door on that modern white home on your link. It really stands out. Our current house is pale yellow with forest green garage doors. I love green too. You are absolutely right. The chimney is a stone look already. There is a fireplace with a wood burning insert in the living room.

http://www.monacellistone.com/veneer-stone/splitface-veneer.html

Funny we didn't notice that like you did. We have been in the process of buying this house for exactly four months today. There have been many delays and it is over a three hour drive up there. We have actually been in it maybe 5 times. Yes, the kitchen is very dated and that is our first project. We will keep it simple and not spend over $7000 on it by doing the work ourselves. We did our kitchen here in 2010. The oak hardwood floors aren't in bad shape. Our home inspector was very impressed with the quality of the workmanship that went into it. Here is a sketch of the proposed kitchen. I considered black cabinets but oak is in keeping with the woods feel. The large space on the back wall will have a large framed vintage print of a man fly fishing on the Manistee River which is a mile away.

This is the print that will hang in the kitchen.

@Marilyn - the stone is a manufactured thin stone veneer. The stone veneer is a less expensive, lighter alternative to real stone. It looks beautiful and applies easily. There are many different styles of stone veneer you could use. If you're looking for a round stone, you could go with a Wisconsin river rock veneer which gives you the rounded look, or a cobblestone/fieldstone mix which would give you a more square stone with some rounded and odd shape stones mixed in. Here's some of the different styles- http://www.northstarstone.biz/stone-styles.htm Let us know if you have any questions. And that's a beautiful print for the kitchen! :)

North Star Stone, I love the cobblestone. It really adds a lot of character to the homes in the gallery. The chimney at this house is indeed a type of Lannon stone. We were thinking of a stone veneer for the brick fireplace.
Thanks for the compliment on the print for the kitchen. The house is in one of the premier fly fishing areas of Michigan. World records have been caught there. Lots of trout and salmon. Here is a link to the local fly shop which is about a mile away.

http://www.schmidtoutfitters.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.display&page_id=17

Yikes, you don't have to be so kind Wistrade. Tell me how you really feel. LOL
This is the kitchen we are putting in. The floor will be porcelain tile and the walls will be a shade of green...not necessarily what you see in the picture. It's only a picture. Isn't it wonderful that we all have different tastes?

wistrade "where do the windows look out to in the kitchen?"
A toxic waste dump, of course. I'm finished reading your comments. Bye. :)

Marilyn, I just came across a cottage-makeover that might interest you. I have bookmarked it. Let's see if it transfers. https://www.houzz.com/magazine/houzz-tour-sunlight-and-family-friendliness-for-a-california-cottage-stsetivw-vs~8436835 .... Hoe iTools, let me know please.

MW - i never take the tools of mock up quite so literally as our kibbitzer wistrade - basic 3d programs never do what a rendering does, but they are great for layout options.I actually thought he was being funny/kidding at first when he said a kitchen is no good if it doesn't have white subway backsplash tile. Lots of different beautiful options and styles - and gosh it would be boring if everyone wanted the same things!

I understand you were showing where you are headed first inside. I love having a separated oven from my cooktop, and the inspiration art you shared with us for your kitchen is sublime. Thanks again for sharing your excitement with us.

Just a thought - have you considered green cabinets? A friend who had oak just worked with me to paint hers out - of course now you can order epoxy finished classic neutral kitchen green when you order cabinets for less than oak finish. I was so happy for her because they added so much light coming up from the wood tones. They are a terrific neutral that goes with so many color schemes but still feel like a cottage. She is planning to add butcherblock countertops at some point when she can move forward - the inspiration photo made me think of her.

Something about the yellow tones in the greens actually adds cheer but also was much lighter in the room. Her final color was sherwin williams koi pond - she tested several and that was best in her light, and she had borrowed the green door from the local big box store as an example of a standard / classic green. That just was best in her light. Since a holiday space can be a little more unique, thought you would enjoy the story. I like the idea of black, honestly. Black and pale green walls would be classic, old fashioned, and very handsome.

Helga, that is a nice room. Looks like oak counters, which we are planning. Now I never thought I would want oak cabinets - too dark and dated. But this house is in an area where wood is king. Everyone uses wood inside their homes and of course, many cedar homes and cabins. I love white cabinets, but they just seem wrong for the location. Black would be a compromise I could live with and one of my designs uses a nice black cabinet. We are going with Ikea and doing the work ourselves. We did a complete kitchen from the studs and rafters and floor joists in this house in 2010. We have light birch cabinets here with a stone look porcelain on the floor, a double island with birch butcher block, farm sink and separate round bar sink coffee area. It came out beautiful and a real estate appraiser said he had never seen a nicer kitchen in a small house. We were very surprised at that. Anyhow, this year Ikea came out with a really nice oak cabinet line. I will attach a photo of one of their kitchens. We both think it is what would fit best in this house.

Black cabinets

Back to your original question about exterior colors: how about a pale yellow green or mossy green with a brick red color for the trim? The front door could then be the same brick red or dark gray/black. Chimney and other stone in reddish and grays. Black iron for outdoor accents such as lamppost, door sconce, etc.. Enjoy the house and environment, lucky you!

Marilyn, if you have black cabinets, you will have to use a better countertop than oak. Oak is kind of ugly. There re much prettier and livelier woods. The one above is one of the most beautiful. It's walnut. But I saw another one that is lighter in color and more lively, and that is hickory. I will try and ind a picture of that also.

I cannot get the picture to work. - Tomorrow! Good night.

Helga, I don't think oak is ugly. This is what I am going to buy. The price is reasonable and to us it is beautiful. As I told Wistrade...everyone has different tastes. I was just looking for ideas for the outside when and if we decide to paint it. I would never hire someone to decide what to buy. My budget would never stretch to include walnut counters, etc. I believe I have heard enough unkind comments to last me for a long while. Sorry I brought it up. I will never ask for ideas on Houzz again.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90057394/

Bumblebee728, thanks for your color ideas. I like them!

You're very welcome. And I'm so sorry to see you got upset. Hope you decide to come back so I can see how your beautiful home turns out. Hope you build many happy memories there!

Hi Marilyn,

Thanks for posting this!...

I was just thinking about your cottage, and saw your inspiration photo!..the one from
Camber construction!.... I like the ideabook, too!

I ironically was thinking the same thing, and went into our design projects! we have
one just like it!....

Here is my facade, one I designed. Also some colors below.

1.

Paint colors:

(although this is a 'garage' I like the paint colors as options for your house and trim)

There are two colors:

1.

2.

3.

I hope to see what you do! and your final colors, and work product!

Marilyn, not all other woods are expensive. There is the laminated maple, I think even Home Depot carries it. It's so lovely. I had it myself in my last kitchen. It's strips laminated together. It's light colored and pleasant and easy to clean. I used to scrub it down once a year with comet, then put some grease on it that is made especially for wood countertops you put food on. It would be so cool, and it will probably be cheaper than what you are looking for. I will try again to get a picture.

Modern Kitchen Countertops by Other Metro Furniture And Accessories IKEA

Hmm. I had the picture, but it didn't transfer. Just look at it, please, Marilyn. I found it in houzz, under Kitchens>countertops.

I just saw the countertop you posted. It does look nice, but if you go to IKEA and see everything in person, that is probably the best.

Arlene Warda, Architecture+Interior Design, I love your house facade design and the colors are exactly what I have been trying to convey. They are colors that you would find in nature. I feel that is the main consideration up there. Of course the Laedtke home is gorgeous cedar shingles which add an architectural element to the design but the natural cedar color could work on any home I feel. The green is soft and not jarring. They were very lucky to have you as a designer. Thank you for sharing it.

For some strange reason I keep getting 50 pound Restoration Hardware catalogs. I've never bought anything from them. Why are they so monotone? Everything looks grayed out...kind of like sepia toned. Expensive and not my kind of place.

Thankyou, Marilyn! It was exciting as a project to work on. Thankyou for the kind words, they are inspirational!..Todd (Laedtke) my client loved the wine country of Northern, California. He replicated this feel at home, while in Chicago. It was a great project to work on with him. I posted more pictures of this project on my profile on Houzz and my website, awarda.com. Even some before pictures!...as you can't believe the before!... I will send you an article which was published, in Home book in Chicago. Just e-mail me on my website! Thanks,

houzz.com/photos/89700/Condo-unit-interior-renovation-contemporary-kitchen-dc-metro

MW - type "green and black kitchen" in the search space then hit search , you will be pleasantly surprised . I did not know this had such a great search engine ! Houzz, just amazing!

Yup Wistrade, it does. I typed in green kitchen and it came up with a lot of great things like the one above. But white (as popular as it is) is not right for this house and location. I saw wonderful green cabinets in many kitchen photos as well. But we are settled on Ikea and we will assemble them ourselves like last time.

Yes Wistrade, the internet is a strange place because it is kind of artificial interaction. People say things while typing they would never say to someone's face. I will try the black green and oak kitchen search.

Green cabinets!!

ASK This old house; Tommy had a cabinet job from Ikea the week before this Saturday(3 days ago), he did a neat thing with assemble tricks.

Tommy is awesome!

Yes, their whole crew is awesome. I miss watching it. I wonder if the episodes are online too. We found that the best trick was to buy the right bits for the screwdriver. The Blum hinges don't use regular philips head screws. You need a bit called a pozidrive instead. ..ordered online...lots of them! Also' the Ikea hanging rails are great! They make it easy to hit a stud for solid attachment. The hardest part of the project is inventorying all the parts when you get delivery. We had 23 cabinets with all of their various parts stacked in the garage.

Great looking place with lots of potential for creating your own look and feel.

I very much hope you added a front porch when you removed the ramp and painted the front door a truly bold color such as cobalt blue or emerald green.

Update?