Ps: I think it is KEY , in combining the darker taupe with the rusty browns , to use a good dose of white to lighten and highlight that whole look.

Some similar color inspiration - although, your stonework would show even better because it is lighter. Also, notice how the rusty , golden tones work with everything here.

I like derk5's first recommendation but with a bright colored front door...maybe a good navy or deep green or your favorite color

niccidhg: The house you posted is lovely, but the colors are totally different from those in Laurie's housel The roof and the stonework are shades of gray vs shades of brown.

Derk, I do realize that . I also realize that the house is shingled and not stuccoed and that the door is wood- not painted white.... I chose that picture as an example of similar color ELEMENTS as those I was suggesting ,not as an exact facsimile of Laurie’s house. I was trying to offer a color combination that would not be all tan/brown . My thinking was that the existing rusty brown roof and stonework , which comprise a large part of the scheme, would be contrasted by a darker taupe stucco ( she had expressed an interest in possibly going darker ) AND highlighted by a lot of unifying white : fascia , trim ,shutters ,porch posts etc. That pic. I felt would allow one to have a glimpse at how the colors in that palette can play well together . Thank you for allowing me to clarify , as others may have been confused ,as well .Derk, it would be really great if you could show ,with the program you are using ,how these colors would look plugged in , but with Laurie’s existing roof .

PS: Derk, the BM Gargoyle color is a WARM dark taupe , not a steely Gray . Also, I had mentioned to take note that the doors ( garage and front ) in that picture are brown.

Thank you all for the fabulous feedback. Our houzz community is amazing! So many great suggestions.

Chloebud (nice to see you again!) - This is the only pic I have. I'm in KC now and the house is in Philly :( The only other pic I have is from the MLS listing. See below.

Pink_peony - I have been dying to use sea salt on the inside!

Derk5 and niccidhg - I love both of your ideas. The mock up with the lighter taupe looks beautiful, but I think I if I went that route I would keep the shutters a bit darker (black fox? urbane bronze?). That said, I'm a sucker for Smokehouse, my current KC house trim.

I also love the idea of the Gargoyle. I had actually saved a pic of a Gargoyle home exterior as directionally where I wanted to head. I think it's perhaps a riskier move, but if it worked, could be stunning. Do you know what a SW equivalent would be?

sammie J and threers - I like the idea of having a statement door. Even a real wood look could be beautiful. We had our current front door in KC painted to look like real wood and it's so pretty. It matches the real wood look of our shutters and garage doors as well.

Keep the ideas evolving! :)

FWIW, here is a pic (from MLS) of the family room fireplace which I believe is the same stone (not sure why it wouldn't be). Here it looks much less yellow / tan.

So pretty !

niccidhg: Here's an attempt at the colors you described (not my preference). Laurie: I added a natural wood door.

Thanks, derk5!

I like the paint and the front door but the shutters seem off. Do you think the taupe is too dark to use black on the shutters (black fox / urbane bronze / tricorn)?

Alternatively, not that I want to pay for new shutters, but would real wood batten board shutters work here or is that too many natural elements competing with one another? Here's what we put on our current house. I love the look with the brick but I don't know if it's right for this new stone house.

Derk5, that’s so nice that you did that ! ( I need to get and learn how to use one of those programs ! ) It does give a better visual - ( NOT suggesting you do this here !!! :) - BUT , I think the taupe of the stucco needs to be darker and the cream trim needs to be more white in order to approximate what I was suggesting . Thanks so much for taking the time to have a go at that .

niccidhg - I see Irongate (one lighter) looks beautiful too. If you went with such a dark stucco color, what color of shutters would you do? I really don't want the shutters to be lighter than the stucco.

I think either natural stained wood batten board shutters or black fox batten board shutters would also look nice. You could also do the batten board shutters in natural wood stain ( along with a natural wood door ) on just the stone part and then use black fox shutters on the darker stucco part .

Very interesting. Lots to sleep on tonight. My husband will be happy to hear that my exterior paint scheme research is now turning into a new front door, new shutters, and of course, new garage doors! lol. He's seen this movie before . . .

Thanks for the dialogue tonight all!

To clarify , I think the batten board shutters would look fabulous on this house . When I suggested using the natural on the stone and the black fox on the rest I meant ALL batten board shutters , but just the difference in color stain - dark with the stucco / natural with the stone . I think this would give such a distinct and custom look - really exciting .

Personally, I prefer the lighter taupe stucco with dark (or natural wood) shutters and a natural wood door. I think darker greyish stucco looks too much like concrete and detracts from the lovely stonework. But it's not my house!!!

You two rock! I love both of these approaches!

derk5 - I have never been able to do gray :( Inside or out. The color would have to be much more taupe than gray. The entire interior will be canvas tan (I tried greige and just couldn't do it!). I'll have to play around with the level of darkness for sure. If I'm going to invest in new shutters (yikes), I want them to be shown off and not lost on a color that's too dark for sure.

niccidhg - love the custom look you suggest with the shutter combo. brilliant!

I’m sorry but all that brown on brown on Brown is very drab and boring. I agree with pink peony in that the trim and stucco should be white. Freshens it up.

Thanks, Tina. Is this kind of what you mean? I do like the freshness. Although, this stone is much prettier than mine. ;)

I need to see my stone in person again to see how tan it skews to know if the white stucco would work. I think it's the combo of the black shutters, on the creamy stucco and tan-ish stone that isn't doing it for me. Something has to change, and maybe it is more about the shutters and the trim.

Laurie the stone on the house you pictured isn’t that much different. Where the difference lies is in the mortar. Theirs is dark and blends in. Theirs has a smaller seem.. might be because it’s a manufactured stone. Yours is light and stands out. It matches your stucco now. Painting your stucco darker is going to make the mortar stand out more..

Pick the colour of one of the darker stones for the stucco.

Lauria, yes. That’s exactly what I meant. It has so much potential. Can’t wait to see what direction you go.

What about keeping stucco white and changing shutters to white/cream?

Here are three options. The first has stucco the color of the grout. The second has stucco the lightest taupe shade from the stonework. The third has stucco the darkest taupe shade from the stonework. All have light trim at the roofline and a natural wood door.

I see it as having two “darker “ stones .one is a dark golden brown ( predominantly) ,the other a dark taupe brown . That is one reason I thought using the taupe , something like Gargoyle, would lessen the brown on brown ....look you mentioned,Tina. Also, if the darkest golden brown stone color were to be used ,that effect would be magnified , because the roof and the stucco would all blend together . Love the natural batten shutters, the black batten , the combo. But, I also still like WHITE ,white trim on everything as I and Pink initially suggested. I agree with Laurie, too, that the prob.in the picture w. the darker stucco is that the trim was all CREAM beige , not WHITE . Several good ways to go - Laurie, either way it will be an amazing looking home .

Sounds like you got all the advice you need. Just be careful with the painters: check how they prep. Prep is the hard work and invisible in the end,..... but years later, poor prep will cause you to re-paint. Best of luck.

For those who asked for white trim, here's an option with the original stucco unchanged.

Thank you all!

I think I like the really light taupe or the darker taupe vs. the medium taupe. Seems like it's best to commit to one end or another, otherwise, it gets all washed out like Tina said. I think those two options, plus the all white with maybe deep smoky blue shutters (like the example I posted) would all be really nice.

I ALWAYS post after pics, but be patient with me as we don't take possession until mid June and we have some stucco repair that needs to occur :( Stay tuned!

I just read on another post on Houzz that you can't go wrong if you chose the same color as the grout/mortar of brick/stone for the house color with a few shades lighter/darker for the accent color. Thought I'd share!

Quick update. My current thinking is SW Colonial Revival Stone for the stucco, SW Dover White for the trim and SW Cyberspace for the shutters. Maybe natural wood front door. Gut reaction?

SW Colonial Revival Stone for the stucco looks okay. SW Dover White for the trim seems a bit light. SW Cyberspace for the shutters is a cool dark gray with bluish tones; consider a warm gray/brown like SW Sealskin or Black Fox instead. Be sure to try sample color boards against the house at different times of day before you make your final selections. Good luck.

You’ll have to play with the Cyberspace in different lights. I tried to use it and it looked like a purple eggplant color in the lighting we had. Same could be said for any color . Test and see. Colonial revival could look really mustard.

I like your choices, Laurie . However I think the Dover White for trim has a lot of yellow undertone . Not sure about that one. I think it would be fine w. Derk’s Sealskin (shutters) suggestion - BUT , I love the more slate/charcoal hue of the Cyberspace shutters ! Guess it just still boils down to my personal preference for cooler contrast colors to tone down and balance all the brown tones . I like either a natural wood door or maybe a painted dark navy door if you use the Cyberspace shutters .

Again, I think my thoughts on using a really neutral soft white - not too creamy(yellow undertone ) and not too gray of an undertone is driven by thinking the trim should be a crisp, neutral white to delineate the cool / warm mix of the other colors .

You could also paint your trim the same as the shutters . For a white trim take a look at SW snowbound and BM Chantilly lace .I think the original white of your stucco ? Would be a good white trim color. Which color will your chimney be, Laurie ?

Thank you all for the quick feedback. This is a process for sure.

Derk5 - I love Black Fox and currently it have on my fireplace mantel and kitchen island. Awesome color. This would be my husband's preference, so I won't be surprised if that's where we land. He's scared of the blue shutters :/

Niccidhg - I definitely don't want a trim with yellow undertones. I want a nice white, but one that doesn't blind you. Thoughts on Alabaster or Pure White? I think the chimney should be the stucco color with the exception of the trim at the top of the chimney, which would match the trim color. Note we actually have two chimneys. See pic for back view of second chimney.

Pink_peony - I would not want any purple undertones. ls there a deep, smoky blue color that would not have sneaky undertones? I think Naval is too blue. I do not want a mustardy look that Colonial might provide. I'm particularly sensitive to it as it relates to the cedar roof which is also very tan / orange.

I see the point in balancing slightly cool with all of the browns, but I think there's a fine line in using a stucco color that is too contrasting, causing the home to not have a cohesive feel. What do you all think about keystone gray or warm stone for the stucco? Still warm, but more gray / taupe and less tan than colonial. I also like Stone Lion, although it would be going a bit lighter. Thoughts on either of those two families?

I think we're narrowing this down! Thank you all!

The back of your house is as lovely as the front. Seeing a two-story expanse of stucco, however, reinforces my original inclination to go with a light, rather than a dark, warm taupe on the stucco.

To further confuse things, have you considered doing a color coat of stucco, rather than paint? It will be more costly, but will last much longer. We did a silicone-based elastomeric stucco coat (expands and contracts with temperature changes) on our house in 2001 and have not had to do anything with it since then. If you do choose to paint, be sure to select a brand that is recommended for stucco.

Hi Derk5 - I'm so glad you brought up elastomeric. I didn't want to add complexity to the discussion either but have been considering elastomeric as well, particularly due to the investment we need to make in repairing damaged stucco at closing. Can you choose any color from SW with that type of paint or are there "set" elastomeric colors you have to choose from?

Assuming we are able to choose a SW color (elastomeric or not) Do you think Stone Lion is light enough? It has an LRV of 38. Our entire basement is Stone Lion now and I think it's such a beautiful color. Not too tan, not too gray, no pink undertones, etc.

Ok - Just got off the phone with SW and it's my understanding that I can still choose the color I want. :)

There is a difference between an elastomeric stucco color coat (which I have) and an elastomeric paint. On the latter, there seems to be some discussion about whether elastomeric paint or acrylic paint is better for stucco. On the actual stucco color coat, some stucco brands (I have Sto; I'm in the southwest) can customize colors.

According to the website, Sherwin Williams recommends their Rejuvenate acrylic paint line for stucco. Stone Lion is a nice shade, but you need to hold a sample against the house (stone and roof) to be sure.

Hello Houzz friends! Painting is complete. We went with SW Colonial Revival Stone on the Stucco, SW Creamy on the trim and SW Black Magic on the shutters and front door. We are absolutely thrilled with the result! It looks better in person.

Thank you everyone! :) On to landscaping!

Very nice! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your new home.

Love the colors you chose, Laurie . Very attractive . Wishing you much happiness in your new home.

Meant to say - it was so nice of you, Laurie to take the time to share . Thank you.

https://www.houzz.com/user/lauriecoplin Lovely!

Laurie, on your previous home with the red brick, what colors did you use for the trim and siding? We are dealing with a house like that and are trying to make friends with our redish/brownish/terracotta ish color brick. I love your colors there. Thank you!

Hi brookeandbran

I texted the new owner and she will look it up tonight!! Stay tuned. Laurie

Hi brookeandbran,

Stucco is Tavern Taupe (SW7508). Trim is Smokehouse (SW7040)

I hope this helps!

Laurie