I do not see what the problem is . It looks like the exact thing you want a country cottage I think a bit of cottage landscaping will be a much better use of money Google English cottage landscaping Not sure where you are in the US but a good garden center can help with what grows where you are .

I agree. It’s tastefully done with everything (but the roof) blending well with your handsome brick. I would not paint anything to contrast except maybe the door. Bronze door? Sage green door? Your current trim color looks real nice.

Down the road I would certainly replace the roof with something in the tan color family so it will also blend with the brick. And yes you could add a larger statement light near the door. Bronze finish?

The following is my personal bias - furniture on the front porch where no one ever sits. My neighbor has a midcentury table with FOUR chairs crammed next to her front door! And since I’m at the end of this deadend street I pass the house at least twice a day so I know no one ever sits there. Bugs me. It’s like ”oh this space feels empty so I will put some furniture here.” I have no idea how visitors sidle past it when coming up to the door. A wide open, clear pathway to the door seems much more inviting to me. I’d remove the table and chairs and slide that large flower pot over there. Ok, rant over. And if you sit at that table, disregard. 😉

The house is lovely, the current paint color works really well with the brick. If you want a cottage look, extend your gardens and go crazy with flowers. There are plenty of flowers that will thrive in shade. Dicentra Eximia (Turkey corn), Astilbes, Tiarella cordifolia (foamflower), etc, etc

Your home is lovely as is. I would not paint the door another color. You need to landscape. So much color in nature.

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Wow thanks so much everyone. Really appreciate your time and comments. Wondering if where I'm struggling is that my original vision of low contrast / cottage goes against what most people in my neighborhood do to update these 1970s backsplits. They add lots of contrast - trying to make them feel more midcentury or else just doing black or white windows - so it feels like thats what we should have done even though it Isn’t necessarily what I like. Just need a reminder and some validation!

The window of the house is slightly deeper / less yellow than the door so maybe when I refresh the paint on the door / garage door I will do the same with them.

We will be getting a new roof this year so I’m excited to get rid of the concrete grey there!

We will turn our attention to landscaping plans. We built a massive one across the entire back of our yard because there was nothing there and did beautiful shade gardens. The only issue is that with living in Canada (Southern Ontario) the landscaping is barren for half the year so cant rely on it entirely.

We are switching to darker door hardware and i thought about a light like one of these? They are about 5” larger than whats there and 1/4 the height of the door.. we tried 1/3 and it felt huge in the enclosed space

The lantern is nice. I have read recommendations that a front door lantern should be 1/3 the height of the door, so this one is barely big enough. Remember that things look much smaller outside than inside.

How ornate do we think i can get away with? Was thinking it may be nice to tie in the art deco of the front door glass lite since i quite like the pattern.

Here us my very tall husband (6’5”) holding one up thay was 1/3 the door. The fact thst i found the style too contrmporary or modern farmhouse for my taste probably doesnt help but we and a few others we asked thoughy it felt stoo large. I think the 1/3 rule whrn there is one light may need a bit of adjustment when its a single story and enclosed space.

for reference - the light that was already installed is about 14.5” tall (way too small) and the one we tried to put up was about 25.5” tall. Im looking for around 20-22”

Also trying to look for a style that drops down so it doesnt get too close to the ceiling.

I like it! And he certainly is very tall.

I just noticed in this picture that your door handle is brass. Have you considered a brass light? Though the dark one hubby is holding looks quite nice and appears to be the same color as your house number plaque.

I think were going to change the door hardware amd light fixture to black or bronze. i do love the brass (our old lantern was brass) but you can really only see them up close especially with how shaded our porch is from all the surrounding mature trees and i figure its my one chance to get some contrast!

Your home is charming! Love that you have a cottage vibe. Your colors look great. Maybe a sage green door, but the creamy trim works beautifully with your brick. Unify the color between trim, windows, and garage and focus on beautiful landscape in your front yard. You might consider this transitional style wall sconce for beside your door. I think you can get it in Canada.

Your house is so charming! I love it.

And it’s so refreshing to see an exterior thread wanting something different than MCM.

I prefer this light:

I had that exact one in ORB at my last house (traditional brick and stone) and loved it. I think the others you showed would look nice, too.

Trust your insticts — you have excellent taste and clearly know what you like. :)

ETA: I disagree that your roof looks wrong, as you have gray in your bricks. It looks fine.

Was posting at the same time as ptreckel … love that light suggestion!

I would choose bronze over black for your light fixture, although the black isn't terrible. And if you still want to paint your front door, either green or SW Urbane Bronze. I don't think blue or black is a good choice against the brick. The gray roof is kind of unfortunate; you don't want to double down on that with a cool front door color. Your brick is a warm color.

Love the house! I would choose bronze over black, the house colors coordinate beautifully and black would shout. I agree that better landscaping will have a big impact.

Love the front windows and trim color. It doesn't seem to need any contrast there. Very cute house.

I would not go with black for the front door. I could see that just overpowering everything good that you've done so far. The house seems much more suited for a lovely blue or green door like you've shown in the photo.

I don't think it needs much besides the paint on the front door and some flowers planted. You seem to have a great start so far!

I love your house! I would love to see a dark burgundy door, Your trim area under the windiw looks ideal to install window boxes.

I was thinking of Cotswald cottages when i selected blue or green as door inspo. I know our home isnt stone so maybe doesnt give the same effect.

may be better to just go with a cream? either way it needs to be cleaned up!

SW Anonymous for the siding and garage door and SW Rain for the front door.

leave the actual windows as they are. sorry I couldn't get the swatches to post.

Cotswold green would look fabulous on your front door!!!!! Your brick is the color of Cotswold stone. Perfection!

The color that was around your old window would look nice as a front door color. It pulled some of the darker stone out of your brick.

When replacing your roof, I would look at a shingle that is predominantly one color. Your brick is varigated and varigated shingles look too busy in that situation. A mid town brown would be nice and different from your neighbor's grey.

Cute house!!

I would go with a slate blue door. Remember, your roof is light gray, and the color has to go with the beige brick, the cream trim and the gray roof. I'd recommend Benjamin Moore Van Deusen Blue or Newburyport Blue. A saturated gray-blue would bring some life to the muted colors. For under the window, install "shadow box" trim to make it look like its panelized. 2 panels will balance the 3 windows above.

We do have to replace our roof - likely in the fall - so dont have to consider the grey as much when considering a color for the front door which is nice

Another question i had was if i should paint the door, sidelight and trim all one uniform color or just the door a colour and keep the rest a lighter trim shade or the door and sidelight a color and then the trim brighter?

I prefer a door + trim + sidelights all one color. Otherwise it looks choppy.

That was my thought. thanks!

Take these good photos of your house to any major roof shingle manufacturer, load it up to their visualizer tool, then try out the various shingle colors and textures until you find one that you like the best.

When I first looked at the photo, the only thing that I disliked was the current roof color. I tend to think that a weathered wood looking shingle would fit the overall vibe of the house. I have rarely seen a solid brown roof that I liked, mostly because they can lean too orange or too warm. A medium gray - brown, that reads rather neutral would work, I think, like the upper roof in the photo that ptreckel posted. (Several manufacturers have colors called "weathered wood", but they aren't the same. Some are more brown, some more gray, some more variegated.)

As others have said, the house is quite charming with the current paint. Resist the impulse to match the ornateness of the door glass anywhere else - that would be too much for this elegantly simple structure. I do think that the large fixture that your husband held up is too large - I think for your house, 1/4 the height of the door would be plenty.