Cool to know, Marilyn. I wouldn't have thought of algae with the tree growth around this house.
You gotta be brave to get on a roof like that!

Brave or dumb? Lol.

You should clean the roof before you paint. Marilyn's method is good. As you set up for painting with ladders, scaffold or a lift- you do it then. It will do so much for the overall look. Definitely do the front. That's a big expanse and so open. I can't tell see the other angles. If you don't do it, it would look like wearing a nice new outfit with old worn shoes:( Awesome project!

Here are some more ideas.
The first one has a corbel arrangement like yours. Having trim like that directly below the corbels enables you to treat that space differently. If you did this, you could remove the corbels that are unrelated to any window without having to worry about leaving holes in the siding, since all siding above the line would be removed.

I would definitely go with beautiful light grey, black trim, black storm doors and dark red entry door.
I would get rid of railing on the porch and install new one - paint it black and get rid of tiny picket fence and arch and everything else that may be there.

That back porch railing doesn't bother me at all?!! Idk. It reminds me of a beach club my family belonged to when I was little. It doesn't even hit my- top 20 things to do list. I would invest in another project. One of the great things about the house is you don't have to do a lot on the exterior to get it really nice:)

Sherwin Williams has a new Color Assurance program where designers come to your house with all their colors and make suggestions. Check with your local Sherwin Williams to see if the program is in your area. I know it is in the Kansas City metro and Detroit, not sure where else it is.

Todd for the time being you may just want to paint the trim. It looks to me as if the siding is aluminum and that it covers some of the original trim features of the home. in particular the bay window on the front first floor. You mention that you have many major projects to save for and just painting the trim to make it a bit more "Todd" would save you a great deal of money. If it were me I'd paint all trim a medium shade of a color you enjoy. contrast the corbels, exterior lights and the doors in a deeper color. The porch railing looks sloped as if it may incorporate a bench seat. If it's not a bench you might want to explore replacing it. Leaning out over it may create a bit of a hazard. In our area the horizontal rails would not pass code as they create a ladder effect and are considered unsafe. It's a lovely property and I wish you the best of luck and good health there.

Thanks for the advice, that might be what I do to start. The trim and lights.... I don't think the siding is aluminum it might in fact be asbestos. This actually has me a bit concerned. I am having an inspection in the morning. What are the safety / liabilities concerns with having this type of siding?

Here is a photo of the siding. Am I right in assuming this my be asbestos?

yes

Its dangerous when broken. if you drill into it and the dust is inhaled. To remove it you probably have to get some permit from your town, they would be concerned that removal is safe and its disposed of properly. It would be so expensive.

Thanks for the input. I really got to think about this now.

Yes, asbestos. Don't freak out about it...it's relatively easy to safely remove when you get to that point. Expensive to hire out due to OSHA rules, though.
To safely do it, you need to keep it wet with soapy water the whole time, snip the nail heads off and lift off intact. Triple bag or dispose of with your state's requirements. (They may require a permit, too.). Use a drop cloth under, and use coveralls you take off after working and dispose of.

W removed this siding from our brick cottage; totally worth it!

I'd not paint the body; I'd wait until you can either remove and restore what is there, or residents appropriate siding. Asbestos is a "maintenance free siding", and often it covers perfectly awesome siding underneath (like our house and like current houses sheathed in vinyl).

It is safe when not broken, btw, and when wet.

I wouldn't be overly concerned, Todd. It takes matte paint like a dream, too- no peeling! Our neighbors had this siding on a large Queen Anne- brown! It was cost prohibitive to remove due in part to the housing market at that time. The new owners had it painted crimson with cream trim. More than ten years later, it still looks great.

Todd, Get a professional evaluation. Some of the later versions of the siding are fiber-cement. Also the removal rules vary by region. In our area you can hire a dumpster, layer it with four layers of heavy mill plastic and notify the landfill before you have it taken there. If it is painted over it really poses no real threat. Don't loose sleep over it.

Todd, I'm wondering if your house started life as a version of the American Foursquare style. Do you suppose it might have had a dormer on the front at one time? Your town might have more information on it. Here is a link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Foursquare

Todd, I am over the moon on your house!!! It is great! just paint the trim in two or three colors, "painted lady style"... you could use more masculine colors like grey/wine/sage/basil or other and make it even better. Or, find a sweet little lady to put in it.?.

It is a lovely house! Leave the house white, and paint the trims in black or dark grey for a crisp yet traditional look.

Don't feel like you have to do everything now. That house is beautiful - take your time with it.

I hope that you totally enjoy being the new "caretaker" of a great property.

I liked the taupe/beige colors Houssaon suggested. Also, call a good reputable roofing company to ask for a recommendation for a professional roof cleaner. When you do put on a new roof the rounded roof shingles like in Houssaon's picture would go with the style of your home and add detail. Go with a full lite storm door and a quality period door like Brickin suggested. But, definitely call a professional to clean the roof.

I like the dark gray someone above has suggested. However the roof overhang, facia board and brackets should be painted all white. The house looks strange the way the brackets have been picked out in the pink color...they are part of the roof trim and not the window trims. Gray shingled walls, all trim white and nice shinny black or slate blue front door.

My first house had a similar color scheme when I bought it. Even though it looked old and dated, I lived with it for a year or so while I looked at colors. One thing I would suggest is to avoid reds, they are notorious for fading (which probably where the pink you now have came from) unless you pay for a UV stable color.

You should also consider sun exposures when selecting colors as dark colors may fade when exposed to a southwest sun.

Get advice from a paint store professional. It'll save you from making a lot of mistakes.

Paint house a very light shade of mustard/gold yellow and trim in brown with red shutters. It looks amazing when finished.

PS Your shingles are aesbestos..prop installed late 50- 60s. Also you moghy consider replacing some of the eve brackets that look to be missing around the house. Your house is not victorian or edwardian. Its very american. Somone has provides a photo above of similar house..also with some missing brackets...they dont normally have any relationship to the windows and would have been equally spaced around the house on the facia board

I was since told the Shingles are a later version of Cement fiber board, installed in the late eighties early nineties. I am basically taking their word for it. any visible reason to think otherwise?

I love the medium gray suggested by Lkristine further above, I saw a similar house with the same gray, they added red (fire engine red) flower boxes, it gave it a great, rich look.

Look at putting the window pump out and door entry under one roof. A porch would be a personal favorite. Colors go for soft contrast in body and trim. Tones of grey are currently trending. I would go for sunset tones.

LKristine's photo-edited version looks beautiful! Throw on some black shutters, beautiful landscaping with colorful flowers, and you have yourself the most gorgeous house on the block!

It's official. I have bought the house!!! or Houzz haha
Looking forward to implementing some of the above ideas!

Thanks everyone......and keep the suggestions coming!

gorgeous house!! I would paint it light gray, window trim a darker gray, and a bright pop of color on the front door only.

Yes, it is a Foursquare and yours is the only one I've ever seen besides my house that doesn't have a dormer on the hipped roof. I did the deed research and found out that it was built in 1900 (see pic) - it is one of the original Foursquares in the country. I'd venture to say that your house was built between 1895 and 1910. It was after that when the Kit Houses were propogated by Sears, Aladdin, etc. Looks like you also have an after-market addition on the back. Is your house 30' x 30' for the main part? I'd be interested to see pictures of the interior as well. There were several styles that were added to the Foursquare - following the Arts and Crafts movement or the Classical Revival movement and it looks like you may have some CR features with the corbels. You may be able to get a historical grant to help renovate your house.

Foursquares did not have shutters, no siding (I'm taking mine off) and maintain the wood sashes for windows. Don't ruin your house by getting new vinyl windows!!!!! Porches are a great feature and if you'd like, i can send you some references for Foursquare architecture. I've been researching that style for three years now and would definitely do it prior to any renovations...

Farrow and Ball deals in historical colors and although they are expensive, they are well worth it adn have some of the earthier and muted colors that typified Foursquares. You do not want to use pastels at all on the interior or exterior.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Foursquare

Congratulations! Here's a palette to test - classic and masculine. If you go to the sherwin williams website, i think you can upload a photo and test different combos.

Body / siding in this classic light slate gray sherwin williams Krypton
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6247-krypton/
Trim - charcoal - not as blue but with the right undertone to harmonize - Gilbraltar
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6257-gibraltar/
Glossy front door and storm door - in dark navy - sw Naval - A little modern update to the classic black front door. http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6244-naval/

Paint all the eaves, fascia like the siding, but paint all your railings and porch ceilings, site woods the lightest silver blue white from the krypton card - called Quicksilver - it will just read white but it be very clean and fresh / work perfectly with the house in tone.
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6245-quicksilver/

White with Black trim is always a classic look.

Dear Giniaginia,

Love the picture of the white house with the dark shutters in your black or white option post. Could you send it to me directly? Seems one cannot open the image and save it and I would love to send it to my sister-in-law, who is planning a remodel. If you can send it, my email is wwadeiii@gmail.com In any case, thanks for posting such a great image.

I think you have a lot to work with....I like the body of the house painted gray with white trim...and the pop of color needed is the door painted yellow! Sunny and inviting. Have fun!

Anne Jones - I'm so happy you spoke up on behalf of the Classic American Foursquare. We've just started learning about this iconic house style as we are preparing to renovate a foursquare beach house. I read that this style came out of the Frank Lloyd Wright prairie movement and was a reaction to the over-decoration of Victorians. I'd love to know what information you have turned up in your research. For example, I did not know they never had siding (ours is stucco) or shutters. Originally ours had little awnings over the windows; very cute but not practical in a high wind area. I've attached a picture. We are looking into adding a screened porch and possibly into opening up the interior a bit to work well w/today's beach lifestyle.

You can get the siding tested, to be sure. There's a mail testing company out of California that did mine for $15...well worth it to be sure!

Congrats Todd. It's a beautiful home. I love the grey that Lkristine suggested. Lkristine, how did you transpose the grey color onto his house?

Interior Green, there are a few virtual paint applications available. The one I use is on the Benjamin Moore website. It is very user friendly IMO. Hope that helps you out!

I recommend cleaning the roof then matching the trim pain to the roof color. Look to the white house photo posted by
giniaginia for inspiration and paint the horizontal area above the door and window and consider adding shutters to the upper windows.

painting the accents black similar to

Hi Todd...I lived in Nova Scotia several years ago before moving to New Zealand. I have a hundred plus year old home with Los of gorgeous architectural detailing. I wanted to do something different but not garish. What I found works really well is is go to a shop with upholstery fabrics and find one with a combination of colours that you immediately love. If you pick out colours from a good textile design the colours will work together. I did this for my house from a beautiful Sanderson fabric and I used the lightest colour for the main colours and three other colours of the trim and accents. It has been very successful and much admired. You could probably do the same thing with a piece of china but textiles re great because along the selvage edge you get a breakdown of the colours used the create the overall design. Might take a photo of my bits of inspiration to post in next day or so. It's dark now....kinda pointless...good luck!

Why not go the traditional 3 color palette... think about (example only) deep charcoal, eggplant and, say, deep cranberry as the color hit. That's if you like deep tones. You could go to a palette influenced by Newfoundland if you like vibrant (lemon yellows, lavendar, reds etc. ) Myself, I would incorporate the roof into my chosen palette. Think about it: its a vast area that is often overlooked & in your house it could become part of its features. Steel roofs offer a wide variety of colour options & look really sleek on vintage homes. And that could be done down the road as budget allows. A friend of mine is putting on a 50 year rubber slate look product that is fantastic ... it really does look like slate. Anyway, best of luck & enjoy the process.

Take your time. Look at houses in your neighborhood and especially in old house books/journals/magazines. I had a house with the same siding as yours. Takes paint like a dream, as someone else said. I think the grey palette suggestions with a dark red door would be masculine but eye-catching. But don't ever rush to paint your house because you will live with the combination for YEARS. Also, do test patches before doing the whole thing. Look at it in different light on different sides of the house. And clean the roof before deciding your colors. That was great advice too! Gorgeous, gorgeous house. Best of luck to you! What a find.

great house! Congratulations! Will try to upload photo of a similar home, yellow with white trim and a thin line of a third color, darker, maroon, cranberry, to outline and draw attention to areas you are highlighting. Door can be a great color you love.

You have a beautiful American Foursquare! If your budget allows, paint it in post-Victorian colors (see AntiqueHome.com website for colors of the time). If you're on a tight budget, just paint the major trim a moderately deep color, while painting smaller trim or details an even darker shade. That will make it pop.

Also FYI, not ALL Foursquares were built with dormers. There were many variations on the style and while many are similar, no two are quite the same. Check your history.