What trim are you referring to? I don't see any trim that needs to be pained, what I do see is some stone that needs to be replaced. Never seen anything like that before. I wonder if you could paint the stone to match the brick.

Unfortunately, it’s not in the budget to do any major updates to the exterior... the trim that needs to be painted is around the door and side windows.

Stones aren’t actually loose... it’s just an 80s look. And one I’m stuck with for now.

I would white wash the bricks in the entry to match the stone and paint the trim around the door a white to match. That way the entry wont be a dark cave and the door will stand out as the star.

Rawketgirl.... good idea for future project but because of more pressing interior project not one we can tackle now. Just need a quick fix for the door trim and maybe the niche...to make it bearable in the mean time.

Whitish gray to go with the stone & grout.

It’s actually more tan/cream...not grey in the stone. Would you go lighter that way? I’m nervous of not matching/ but being too close to the house siding and trim. I know it’s odd...and not looking for miracles, but the red wood next to the dk brown wood is making me cringe.

Wondering if your door might once have been an all dark burgundy stain that has faded unevenly?

I like large windows providing natural light; aside from that, your dark door and its frame are the most attractive feature of the front of your home. If it were not for all that faux stone jutting out inside your porch, I'd like your front porch.

Because the door and trim have a dark, almost black finish; if it just needs to be refinished or repainted, you could redo the dark stain or repaint if black; however, if what you feel it needs is to be something other than black, then consider what impression you want to make.

As to the stone/brick mix alongside the horizontal siding: As politely as possible … ugh.

HOWEVER, IF you remove the entire faux white stone pony wall to the right of the porch and remove the faux white stones from what appears to be a post supporting the roof, leaving (or replacing it with) a large wood post with the same wood finish or painted the same color as your door and frame, that would be a good beginning.

I'd suggest you leave all your window frames white and either stain your entry door and frame dark or paint your entry door and its frame black -- satin, not glossy. If you don't want black, white would likely be your next best choice.

If you finish or paint the door and its frame something other than dark/black, make sure your color choice coordinates with your horizontal siding.

More actually needs to be done.

Seeing a picture of only your porch, IF I were unaware of the same odd mix of brick w/faux white stone jutting out from other parts of the house and from the posts and wall in the front yard, then the design mix that you have would bring to mind mistakes, at best -- either someone failed to order enough of any one material or someone that scavenged scraps of materials and just used what was cheap or free did a poor job of placing what they had.

If you like the stone, keep it; however, If I'm being entirely candid: If I had inherited this house or bought it because it was the best thing within my budget, then I'd do without something for a month or two or three or four or more -- forego tea, coffee, juice, etc., and drink only tap water for as long as it took -- so I could afford to rip off the faux stone, at least from the walls within the front porch, especially those two jutting pillars at the beginning at the front corner.

I'm usually not a fan of painting or whitewashing brick or stone; in fact, I'm usually strongly against it, however, if you cannot remove that jutting white faux stone from within your front porch, do consider painting the entire interior of your porch -- both side walls and the wall with the door -- the same color as the ceiling of your porch and your siding. If you do that, you could paint your door and its frame any bold accent color you want. Unless and until you get rid of the visual jolt of the brick and faux stone mix, anything other than dark/black or white for your door and its frame will just add to the "cluttered" feel of the porch.

Whatever you decide, do keep us updated -- post after pics.

Thank you for your ideas.

Regaurding the door, and surround... the trim/surrounding wood is not the same as the door. The door is a nice wood rich brown with black accents. The trim around the door and sidelights is a weird faded reddish brown. I do not want to paint the door, just considering painting the trim. Black is an option as there are accents of wrought iron. The other color I would consider would be the house trim color, that matches the siding. I think white would not be a good option. If I could match the stain on the door I’d like it even more...but doubt that Is possible given the two different starting finishes.

I appreciate your thoughts about the exterior stone, it is in future plans for a complete redo... but need to finish interior project first. The stone treatment is in other areas of the exterior and landscaping. Stone was laid with the brick...so all needs to be replaced at once, I’d rather wait for a true fix than do a whitewash of the brick or stone that wouldn’t really solve the problem and don’t see doing it on only part of the home, as then we’d be adding even more finishes to an already busy exterior.

No comments on the interesting tile niche?

Interesting. Having the stone on the two forward facing gables rather than one would still look better if you removed the pony wall between the two front wings of the house and that stone wrapped post between the two wings of the house -- also, if possible, at least those two stone pillars/corners at the front edge inside the porch that protrude into the porch. Just really not a fan of those.

I’m not disagreeing... just not sure it would be enough of a fix to justify the expense of replacing all the brick in the porch area until we can Afford to have them come out and replace it all.

Wow, this house has a lot going on. I would consider stripping down and sanding the trim, then matching the door stain (dark walnut might be a close match).

Bri..thank you. I wonder how close we can get to matching the stain given the different woods. But it can’t look worse than the current mismatch.

It’s more visible to you than it is to anyone else I’m sure! Good luck!

I think the door looks ok but if you want a better match, agree staining to match the door would be a good idea. Gel stain can be used without stripping if I’m not mistaken, you might want to check it out. Not sure if it can be used outdoors but your entry is sheltered.

Easier than messing with the stone, maybe painting the other siding at some point to blend with the stone and roof better would be an improvement, when you’re ready to address the outside. Some larger pots than you have there now with annuals for the summer would brighten it up and distract from the niche and any uneven finish on the door. I buy inexpensive substantial looking plastic pots and spray paint them a stone color with rustoleum camo spray paint from wm. They don’t look bad if you don’t look too close.

disguise the niche with a tall plant in a container. A vining plant on a support or whatever tall plant can summer outdoors in your climate. Don’t know where you are. Small tree? Palm tree? Or ignore it.

some landscaping would also settle the house into the property better, post on the Landscape design forum for ideas. Could be very charming with some tweaks, IMO.

Thank you for suggesting plants. We are in zone 4.

I'm thinking black to match the fence and paint the door black too.

I agree with HALLETT & Co. paint the full door surround the same as your window trim leaving your door as is. I might paint the ceiling the trim colour too hoping to gain some reflective light or install LED pot lights and leave them on all the time. Tall full lush planters flanking the low step outside the entry would have more impact, I would remove the small pots.

What HALLET said.

I agree with HALLET as well. Maybe consider adding some accent pieces to change the feel of the front porch. I understand that the budget may not call for major adjustments. So this would be a more cost efficient option.

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions... still trying to figure out what to do with the tile niche, I can limit it’s impact with larger plants on the entry, was thinking if I could find a wood like the door I could put closed shutters, but that would darken the area and may not be worth the effort.