I would pull a color from the stone wall for the paint color, one of the soft blue grays would be pretty. White trim and a new garage door? Build up the plantings in the bed? You have a lot to work with, seems like it could be a fun project!

What are you thinking when you say "update"? Have you considered removing the stone porch/planter?

We have considered removing the stone. But are concerned with the size of the project, Suggestions? As of now we were thinking of paint, trim, door and landscaping.

Painting would lighten it up. I do not have a way to photoshop colors for you but, I am thinking a shade of gray would be great. I would keep the stone because it is also your chimney but I would soften then front stone with taller plantings so it was not so prominent. Nandina in my zone would look nice but I do not know what planting zone you are in. Add some flowering perennials to your front bed toward the left. Garage door definitely needs paint and a new front door with a color that stands out would be a nice addition and new house numbers

Do I need to change gutters, downspouts and flashing, or could it work?

Yeah, I would keep the stone too...with the right color on the house it could be really pretty.

This is REALLY rough, because I'm doing it on my ipad the the brown shows through all the colors, but...

Yes, I was thinking about either a greige, or dark blue/gray for everything, and make front door pop with color. I am concerned with the brown roof and gutters clashing.

Most gray blues like in the stone are coming out as green :c/

You would be really surprised at how much new gutters, fasia and trim can look. Maybe you could frame the windows. Here's a gray gray

This kind of Griege? Let me see what I can do with the door. Hmmmm....

Is this stained cedar? Or has it already been painted? If stained, I would hesitate to paint it.

For me, the only thing that doesn't look current is the stone. Would it be possible to stucco over it?

I like the cedar. Could it be refinished in a lighter shade? I think it would be a shame to paint over it.

I wouldn't paint over the wood either, but maybe some stain treatment would be doable to change the shade a bit.

I think the style overall calls for a darker earthy color, especially the garage door which I'd want to recede (and seems to be the only big thing that requires paintpaint). The house would be unhappy in a lighter beigey greigey cream color. White anywhere just would be wrong. You want that house to nestle into the woods.

I agree. I like the stained wood and I like the stonework. Before you paint, consider looking at stain options. Also keep in mind your roof color -- the house won't look good if you paint it a color that doesn't work well with the roof (and windows).

Two things stand out to me -- the garage door looks tired. Does it need to be replaced or just refreshed? And the shrubs pruned to a lollipop shape are, IMO, making the house look dull. I'd focus on making the front yard look modern and fresh. Can't really see the front door in the pics, but a fabulous new door and modern house numbers would be the bomb!

Enjoy your new house. It looks like a good one!

I agree with Ein. New pop of color door, snazzy new garage door, maybe something with windows and a lighter color, freshen landscaping to make more modern, voila, new looking house, much less work.

Geometric shrubbery all the same shade of green is not doing your front any favors, IMHO. You want something colorful and natural looking, it screams out for a japanese maple at least, to me, unless that is out of the question in your zone. Another pop of color could come from redtwig dogwood with varigated cream and green leaves.

Just an FYI ... you can get wood stain in almost any color you want. I'd also want to lighten up the color.

But unless it's opaque, how well does a lighter stain actually lighten a darker existing stain?

There is something about the cedar siding and the stone that just seems to work. I would focus change on the garage door. You could replace it with one with windows, which would break up that expanse of solid brown.

I don't know what to recommend that would be in the style of the house, but if you google search garage door and click on Images, you will get lots of ideas. Here's one - but like I said, I don't know what's appropriate for the style of your house:

ninigret

I really like the color. We also have to incorporate a brown tree deck and stained cedar fence. Changing the garage door could be a great option.

in the last year, this house has magically been transformed in my head from 'dated' to 'historically interesting' style, now 30+ years old. we added cedar board fences around our pool mechanicals and a/c, and i'm feeling very left coast even tho its RI. can't wait til the very faded yellow stain is gone.

I would update the garage door to something like this:

Contemporary Exterior · More Info

There are a lot of attractive wood or wood-like garage doors available. But then you get into maybe too much wood and having to match the garage wood to the house wood.