One of the many things I love about my house is the *earthy* slate-rock facing. It has so many different colors and such appealing variety. I'm not fond of the off-white front door, the faded brown trim along the gutters, and the bland oatmeal color that is used on the rest of the outside facade.

In an eternal quest to improve the appearance, I want to find a vibrant color to paint the front door with another color along the inside trim. My hope is that those colors POP out from the rock-face and give some pizazz, but don't upset the flow of the landscaping where we've used a lot of green plants with red accents. At first I thought a deep brick red would work, but now I'm imagining a pumpkin-spice orange or a burnt-Umber color with either brown or tan trim.

My second dilemma is what to paint the concrete-block portions of the house? The gutters and trim are brown now which is fine. I wish the entire front was slate rock on top of the concrete block, but no such luck, and I don't see myself buying that because it's expensive. Sure, I could probably find an artist to do a Trompe-l'œil and replicate the look, but my fear is that once it faded, there would be a visible difference.

Those of you who are great at selecting colors for the outside of a house, please offer some suggestions. Thanks!