Thank for those great ideas.

I searched for shingle style and found lots of beautiful houses and colors of paint and stain. Have fun painting!

Are the cedar shingles currently painted? If not consider TWP tinted sealr.

They were painted by the previous owner. I love the weathered color of natural shingles though, so I'm drawn to those colors for painting them. Thank you for the idea though.

I would suggest choosing a color theme for the house from the Color911 app. There are premade themes within the app with colors that all go together beautifully. I attached a screen shot of one of those themes from the Color911 to show you what the themes look like but what you can do is find a theme that you like, and chose a color for the first floor, and a different shade for the second and third floor. From the same theme you can choose accent colors and contrasting colors for the front door or porch floors etc. When you go to the paint store bring your iPhone or iPad and show them the colors and they can match them in the store, I have done it many times. There are many themes to choose from, I thought this one might inspire you. Check it out! Color911.com

Very cool, thanks. That is a new app to me. I like the palette you posted too.

I've been poking around on shearerpainting.com -- they have a ton of ideas and advice, and they do color consulting. (They specialize in old houses.)

Thanks. I love seeing people passionate about restoration, so I'll check their site for inspiration.

Thanks. I think I get stuck when looking for colors because it's difficult to pinpoint the style. It has some elements of a four square, some colonial revival, and it's surrounded by craftsman bungalows. I'm excited to restore it.

Four-square is a housing type, which could take on various styles, typically elements of Colonial Revival or Craftsman. Your house a vernacular structure--simple plan and form, minimal complications. It is similar to a typical Foursquare, but doesn't have the hip roof. Gable-front houses have been popular for two centuries in the US. My 1903 house is somewhat similar.

Here are some period renderings of houses similar to yours. As you can see, two-toning was very popular. You are lucky to still have wood siding and the belt courses, and decent pillars on the porch. Actual colors can vary, but it can give you some ideas on placement.

Houses like this were popular for a long time and look very different depending on the color choices. With dark trim and a mid-tone body, it will look Victorian, with earthy greens, browns, rusts, tans, and two-toned-- Craftsman, light yellows, peach (as it is) blue, etc.. with white trim, early Colonial Revival/Edwardian.

I would try the Sherwin Williams site--they even have some houses preloaded something like this (mostly under the "Colonial" category)..

Thanks for the great advice and insight. I think we're going to go with a warm dark gray, with lighter trim in the same family. I'll post pictures next week of the "after."

I know, I know the trend is gray for everything and everyone. My feeling is that if you live where there are not a lot of sunny days, I wouldn't want to be gloomy with gray surrounding me. I like gray but for me it has to have a warm contrast to work with it. Just me I guess. I'm sorry to be different. I don't know if I would use gray colors. I like the homes in the photos above as they have life.

I also think there might have been porch railings at one time. I would add them. Creates more charm.

Thanks for your input too. I definitely don't want the house to feel cold or too dark, either inside or outside. With the shingle siding, I'm drawn to a weathers Cape Cod look, hence the warm grays. I plan on painting the door a rich green/blue for a pop of color. Here are pictures around the house as we're still painting inside: http://my.diynetwork.com/crash-me-please/South/Memphis-TN/detail.esi?oid=30714526

I agree about the porch railings. You can even see where they once were, and the neighbors have confirmed it for me. It's also a safety issue for young children. Hopefully we can find it in our budget to redo the railing, because I love a great front porch.

Many craftsman style houses have mixed siding. Tone on tone works well in a variety of colors.

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