Your stone is bedford stone. It has a yellowish tone to it. It also clashes with the yellow you have right now. I like the idea of a haint (more turquoisy color) on the porch ceiling. I would do the eves in white. Dark grays and blacks and whites all go with your bedford stone. My entire house is the exact same stone.

Its sandstone.

Hi Susan, I would paint everything more of a pink-beige, to match the stone as closely as possible; and its best to paint large samples directly on the house before you decide. Add a contrasting color for your front door, maybe a deep warm gray. If you are planning to stay in the home, you might want to consider a new front door, more in the midcentury style of your home. Put something colorful in the planters. And new supports for the porch, nix those frilly ones that look as though they belong in old New Orleans (and also nix the haint blue ceilings, for the same reason; I tried them on my MCM house, and was not at all happy with the result. You could use a slightly warm white such as SW Pure White here instead). With just a few tweaks, you have the makings of a beautiful and memorable home!

Thanks Sheila! Yes the front door and the porch supports will definately be changing! I hate that door! Good idea on color in planters too. Really no blue ceiling? Good to know. I also agree with you on testing colors directly on the house. I just cant bring myself to even consider any kind of pink-beige. What would you think of a neutral grey/greige?

Hi Susan, I really would avoid a blue ceiling because 1. it was never used this way in midcentury homes 2. it doesn't relate to any of the colors in your stone and 3. it would make choosing the siding color a lot more complicated. I sympathize with your not liking pink-beige, it isn't one of my favorites either. If you want to choose a grey, make sure it matches one of the colors in your stone or even your mortar, so that it will look intentional, not accidental. Dark colors are trending right now (see brickandbatten.com) so you might want to pull out the darkest color from your stone for the siding, and use a bright color contrast for the front door and flowers in the planters. Also mariakillam.com has some good discussions about how to match paint colors to your stone or brick. Those three monumental trees in your front yard are gorgeous, and with just a little color coordination, you can have a real midcentury gem on your hands!

My husband and I thank you so much!

Sheila, I was thinking of something like this since the stone is so similar. What do you think?

I think that is a really good looking color combination, and with a very stylish midcentury vibe! Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze might be one color to look at; I have it on my house, which has brick that is a little more toward orange than your stone is. Don't forget that any color used outdoors will look a couple of shades lighter than it does on the chip. Since your sandstone has a rough surface I would use eggshell or another low sheen finish for the darker color, but contrast it with a very glossy finish on the beautiful turquoise door (I like the Pool Blue sample that houssaon sent you). A quick fix for the porch supports would be to have your husband or a carpenter just box them in with wood. Is your porch painted red? It definitely needs to be a more neutral color. I don't think the roof color will be a problem because very little of it shows, but when it's time to replace it, you can pick a dark color similar to the siding. What planting zone are you in, and which direction does your house face? Because it's never too soon to start thinking about what to put in those planters. I can just tell that your home is going to be a beauty and an inspiration to your neighborhood!

Oh you have been the biggest help and are so cute to think that my husband does the carpentry. I do the carpentry. I do it all. Currently I am prepping the exterior so I can repaint the house myself. A woman’s work is never done. So update to the photos. I have a new TPO roof that is light (very light) grey. It has cut our monthly electric bill in half! You are right though and it really can’t be seen unless you are in my across the street neighbors upstairs bedroom. 😅. The drip edge installed matches Urbane Bronze perfectly so I was already leaning that way. As far as the columns go, I was planning something along the lines of the attached picture. The front porch has a brick red tile floor. Which I also can’t stand and I was thinking of basically boxing over it with wood to go with the wood covered frilly iron columns. The house faces North but we see most is a Southern view of patio and backyard out our huge glass windows. I was wondering even though exterior light will lighten the Urbane Bronze a lot the LRV is still way low. How about something like the picture I attach with a lighter (but not too light) color pulled from the stone for walls and anything that isn’t trim, and the Urbane Bronze saved for fascia and trim. What do you think about that? My husband won’t give any suggestions except to say he likes lighter colors. Arrrgh!!! Oh and my house stone does come across as very orange too.

Planting zone 9a

Hi Susan, good for you, for being your own carpenter! I like your pic of the wood surrounds for the porch columns. They go well with the wooden porch floor, although if you want to save $ and time, you could just paint the floor for now; it would probably last for a couple of years, giving you time for some higher priority items. I don't think the front of your house is going to look like pic #2 or #4, because they both show a lot of siding, and your house doesn't have that, it is more like the pic of the house with the beautiful turquoise door. So I would paint the fascia, trim, and garage door the darker color (to make the garage door recede). If you want to use a second lighter color, it could go on the downspouts (to blend in with the stone) and the porch ceiling. In the back you could use the lighter color on the walls and porch ceiling, and the darker color for the fascia, trim, and some new porch furniture. And finally, in your planters, there are a lot of things that will stay green through your zone 9a winters: ferns, horsetail (Equisetum), spider lily (Hymenocallis), lily of the Nile (Agapanthus), dwarf Indian hawthorne (Rhaohiolepis), etc. For a modern look I would plant all the same thing, maybe with a line of smaller plants spilling over the edge in front. Elephant ears would look great in the summer and would contrast nicely with ferns.

Sheila you’re the best! The horsetail & smaller spilling over plants the planters edge oh wow!!! Love it! I probably will paint the porch floor for now. You have been the greatest help. I can’t thank you enough! I’ll send you some after pictures as soon as I finish.

Susan, one good thing about horsetail is that it spreads rapidly, so you don't need very many plants to start with. It has a little black ring at each joint, so it might be nice to get something with matching black or very dark leaves to spill over the planters edges. Black mondo grass and Blackie sweet potato vine come to mind. Best of luck, and I hope you will be quick, because I can hardly wait to see your finished pictures!

I would love to see pictures of your house! How do you know so much?

What do you think the color the front porch floor should be? Maybe it should be the lighter paint color like the downspouts and the walls in the back of the house?

Susan, here are some pictures of my house: diegoalejandrodesign.com/rue-magazine-may-2017 and here is my garden: cadence-living.com/projects/oakland-park-bungalow. I also usually have an ongoing project; here is the most recent one, a water garden: mailchi.mp/898e855eb17d/150gbz7481 For your house, I agree that the porch floor should be the lighter color, at least until you change it to wood. Don't forget to send us your pictures!

I agree with Sheila Rowan. Nix the haint blue ceilings. That is a cottage or farm-style decor element, and is not appropriate for a modern ranch or MCM home, in my opinion. Her suggestion (for the ceilings) of a lighter tone of the same paint used on the rest of the house is a good one.