Also…is there a need for dining on both levels?…whichever is closer to the kitchen would be the most convenient….the rear deck seems to be on a steep slope… is there a nice view? a nice view from there

may be be more enjoyable with a deeper shed roof

Even a screened in porch…as a child I loved sleeping outdoors on a screened in porch….

I got 4 peel and stick samples of the Anew Gray. Unsure. I thought it would be more taupe or griege. It looks pretty gray. I will post pics tomorrow

I like the weather wood look roof. I wouldn’t bother with shutters on the front or back of the house. The flower boxes and planters will be perfect! I also like the wood look garage door too. As for the paint color, I would get a quart of the Agreeable Gray. I have used the peel and stick for deciding the inside of our homes, but the exterior is just DIFFERENT.

I forget the name of this paint color but it's a gray green and it looks kind of spa fill and the phone didn't say the word right I'm leaving it my eyes are too tired to fix it and that would look good with the wood doors and the deck but I suppose you want a more neutral yet color

I’m not a fan of the shutters for your house. I think one set of shutters at the front looks odd and I don’t think you need them at the back… it doesn’t suit the style of the house in my opinion. I would go with the roof that you LIKE the best, and not worry about long-term colour changes on the house. There’s so many paint options out there. You could most certainly find something that works with whatever colour you choose. I agree the shrub right in front of the porch looks a bit large in scale. I would consider pruning it back or moving it.

At the back, there’s other things you could do for interest…that people have suggested here. It depends on how much you actually use that patio…as other people have pointed out. If you don’t spend a lot of time in the backyard, I wouldn’t invest out there… But if you do, then there’s lots that could happen there, including some landscaping and hardscaping.

A shed roof would also work, but of course it’s going to affect the light coming in those lower windows. A pergola could be attractive, possibly offer some shade or screening if you had curtains, but not block the light.

A pergola wouldn’t have to run the full length of the patio that you have there, it could be designed to fit the architecture of the house… and add some architectural interest. I don’t think shutters would look good at the back either they would be too random…based on the window layout.

Looking at your mock up, the one set of shutters does look OK…if you’re really in love with shutters! I understand… I’m very fond of them myself… and struggled for quite some time to figure out how to put them on my place. In the end, it just didn’t work.

Anew Gray in the shade…

Full sun next to white trim. Also can see deck color in full sun

On my shed that currently has a black roof

Hm. Yes, very grey.

The color doesn’t ring my chimes. If you really think it’s the one, please get the quart of paint first. Also, normally, I am not a fan of the black roofs. But considering that your shed has a black roof, and that area of the country’s winters, a black roof is a good option.

Added blue shutters like HIWE inspo pic

Shutters on lower windows on the back of the house 🤷‍♀️

Hi kjoy! I threw your latest image into AI and it spit out these 2 suggestions, one more involved than the other.

I think some sort of awning in the backyard would look nice but because the sun comes from across the yard and not over head over the house it is pretty useless out there. Pretty but useless. At this point mostly concerned about picking paint and roof color. Because those are 100% happening in his summer.

Kjoy your house color looks so good with your deck color. I’m sure that took time to pull together. I vote for a darker roof as well and might just change the color of your window trims and pillars with a wood garage door which looks nice and to me brings the outside into your interior style. If shutters happen you can only do a select number of windows there. Shutters to match a new trim and pillar color, but then again I’m not sure how it’s going to look with shutters only on some windows, especially on a full side or front. Some will have and some will not is what I’m thinking might not look right? Here again I’m just thinking out loud, something I thought to mention.

After seeing what such a beautiful job you did on your interior. I got to thinking. The wooden garage door does look nice and compatible with your style in the mock ups with a black roof and perhaps black trim and black pillars. I’m talking about the window trims as well with keeping your current wall color. Maybe that’s too much of contrast but a darker outlining the windows and adding the same accent color to the front with the pillars versus shutters.

For that matter, you could even go with the wooden front door and your side lights at your front door, trimmed out as well.

So Alice you are voting to paint the house the same color that the siding is now?

Unless you can find a better color that goes with your decking. The current color goes so well when you put thought into that color to begin with. I was thinking the shutter dilemma and “glow up” your seeking could be the wood garage door and perhaps wood front door with a change in all the trims and pillars. Add your delight on those areas since shutters cannot go “fit” on all the windows.

Let’s do some comparisons here… The one with the white garage door is your current status quo.

I think the light blue shutters don’t have enough weight in terms of contrast with the siding.

Thanks for those comparisons Liasch. My favorite so far is this one. Still up in the air how I would navigate the shutters in real life, especially on the back of the house

Here is a house in my neighborhood with a similar color scheme and shutters. I tried to walk back far enough so see what they did in their backyard with being to stockerish. No shutters on any of their backyard windows. So just on any window you can see from the street. My house is very visible from both the front and back though because I have roads on the front and back of my house

Hi kjoy!

I just love your house and style. It's always so pretty to look at :)

As soon as I saw HIWE's pics of the blue shutters I knew that was the one! It is so you. I like your mockup. I feel like you need a little more oomph in the color for tad bit more contrast. Kind of like your neighbor's but blue.

When do the hyndrangas bloom? I'm always so jealous bc they're very hard to grow here and even then they don't flourish.

Kjoy, just having fun thinking about your exerior. As Pool said, I always love your style so hate to weigh in when you know what you want. Just a couple thoughts - I really like the idea of the white deck railing posts being painted in a dark color to ground the deck a bit.. I also like the idea of the two front columns being beefed up if possible. I know you don't want white but just an example of the two things I'm mentioning.

Hi Pool! Thanks for weighing in. I am hoping for some flowers any day now. I am super jealous of your pool 🏊 I bet the kids are already having fun in it. Hubby has promised me a hot tub for our anniversary this month. We shall see 🤞

lisalane I like the beefed up columns. I am not against white if I have some other things that can make it unique like a wood look garage or shutters. Nice mockup!

Hi Kjoy I thought you might like to see Maria Killim’s house. The colors are what Julie proposed. Here are a couple of photos and a link to a post about the exterior. https://mariakillam.com/my-french-country-exterior-paint-colour-reveal-before-after/

Fun Molly! Thanks!!!

Her house is a dream. Can I copy every inch of it. Where can I add stone 😍

These are the two paint colors she used

Agree, upping contrast on blue shade of shutters…good idea…and darkening railing posts also. Stunning house…Maria Killam… would love to see the inside.

Lia there are probably other pictures on her blog. She has a great backyard!

How do those colors look on your house?

Here are the colors on your house with some stonework. And just for fun I added an awning. I’m sure it would look somewhat different in real life.

I got similar results Molly. Thank you for doing that for me! I think the color looks more subtle in her pics and maybe more gray. I will go get some peel and stick of accessible gray.

Kjoy,I thought shutters on the left window wouldn’t work due to bump out?

Here are the colors on your house with some stonework. And just for fun I added an awning. Get Accessible Beige, not Accessible Gray!

Yes beige. That is what I got!

Lisalane yes probably still in pretend stage. I will measure though

OK, I'm stopping after this. Too easy to go crazy with AI. So many options Kjoy that obviously depend on how much money and manpower you want to put into your exterior.

Just beefing up the window trim makes a difference IMO.

Accessible Beige next to my decking and white trim

I like the combo, do you?

I do like it so far Molly

With extra white and powder blue…

I had more room on either side of that bump out window in the front than I thought. 12 inches if including the trim piece. Not sure of average width of shutter