A nice soft Dove Gray. It's darker than white which will still help with contrast, but isn't as stark as black (which I think will make it look too "Federal" in feeling).

PS: I had black shutters and hated them, everything (pollen, dust, spiderwebs, etc.) showed up on them and they constantly looked dirty.

Would it look silly to do a brighter blue for the shutters? I'm not afraid of color when it comes to home exterior, I just happen to hate yellow.

I did have an interesting near-turquoise on there that looked pretty good, but also reminded me of houses in the gulf a bit... depending on your location, I'd say GO FOR IT... :-)

Info on shutters.

I'd try the house without them.

Paint foundation dark.

See [this thread[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/seeking-curb-appeal-exterior-design-advice-dsvw-vd~4770847) for ideas on a porch roof when you have some extra money.

It's a really cute house! I would definitely remove the shutters. The navy siding with white trim around the windows would look great. Even decorative shutters should be sized right, or at least close to it. That means each shutter should be half the window's width. Impossible to do on the large window.

Remove the shutters. They aren't properly sized. That is gorgeous blue siding. Congratulations on the new house.

HI -- Congratulations on your first home . Take your time with any projects .. one can lead to another and another and get out of control . This house does not need the decorative shutters . Paint the foundation a dark grey and the steps too with a masonry paint . Basically first fix or get rid of anything you do not like ... that is a start . The very first thing to do ... have all the locks recoded and get new keys cut ... very, very important !! When the locksmith is there they should also do a security check of the home .

I would remove the shutters. People sometimes use just "decorative" shutters like because they think their too skinny window trim looks too plain, but you have nicely sized trim, so they're of no real help since they're not the correct size. When we painted our foundation we chose a shade just a little lighter than our siding. It gave the entire house a cohesive look, instead of looking like 2 separate spaces, so it made the house look a little larger. Just a thought.

I agree that your beautiful trim is being overshadowed by the shutters that are just too small. I would paint the foundation the same color as the steps. Painting your front door a fun color like a raspberry, lime green, or seafoam green will help it stand out as well.