I'm not sure skylights would be in the budget, but excellent idea!

The gold doesn't work well at all with your stone. I like the rendering with the brown garage doors.

I'd paint the trim and the shutters a lighter color. A birghter door might help. Paint it cream.

I'd give the stone house a classic look with a warm white. " For warm white stucco exteriors, popular and highly recommended options include Sherwin-Williams Alabaster, Benjamin Moore White Dove, and Sherwin-Williams Greek Villa. These shades offer a soft, creamy warmth that creates a welcoming and inviting atmosphere while remaining versatile for various architectural styles and colour palettes."

Hang a white bed sheet over your door. Stand back and see if it is more visible than your current door color or if everything gets the light sucked out of it in the cave.

@lisedv nailed it again with the white color. Much better than the taupes you are going for.

Lighter color for the door; paint the porch ceiling a light color, not the current dark brown. Paint the stucco that is inside the porch a lighter color.

Such great ideas everyone, thank you!! @lisedv, I really love the warm white, especially on the fascia! Would you recommend painting the soffits, fascia, wood trim and shutters in one color and then the stucco in a different shade of white?

Kendrah, I can't wait to hang a sheet tomorrow:)

Commenting only on landscaping: create a planting bed that leads to the entryway to make it more inviting:

Royal York · More Info

Definitely change the door color to something much lighter and paint the porch ceiling and the porch wall as well .

I would change out the outdoor sconces and replace them with something much larger. They will add curb appeal.

You could add a solar light to the entry way, powered by an unobtrusive small solar panel on one side of the porch roof, in lieu of a skylight.

I’m with PPF on this one - your dark stone doesn’t support a white house. Do you have a bright ceiling light in the porch? If so can you turn it on and take a picture of that from afar?

The brown front door is ugly. Paint it a much lighter shade and get some pretty planters for the entranceway to the front door. Where the flower beds are, get some color in there: azalea bushes, rose bushes, etc. That should brighten it up.

Unless you get more light into your entryway it's going to remain pretty dark even if you do paint the door white. Am going to suggest that you rework the entry by removing portions of the side walls so that you are essentially left with columns at the two front corners. Am assuming this is possible to do but you will need to consult a structural engineer or a builder who has lots of experience. This should bring in some light.

Just painting the ceiling is going to make a significant difference. The ceiling comprises the most square footage of 'dark paint' surface in the porch. Most logical & inexpensive change to start with. A lighter ceiling will reflect the available light vs absorbing it as it does now.

Personally, I don’t think the rendering is an improvement in any way. I would paint the front door a lighter color than it is now, perhaps the same color as the garage doors currently. Painting the ceiling white in the front porch should help to reflect some light as well.

I like the door the brown color. I would paint the interior a nice bright very light color, and add more lighting to the entry. Some new lights on the exterior of the entry, and some nice colorful potted plants. I do not like the color the siding is now, but, the brown trim looks good, and goes well with your stone and your roof. I would not paint any of the house white.

@ajemerick I would paint everything the same warm white, the different textures will be sufficient to make it look different.

If skylights aren't in the budget, reworking stone walls is going to be out of the question (though I agree that would help a lot).

The best way to make the space lighter is to add lights! I love apple_pie's suggestion for a solar light. I would put a light on the porch ceiling, and put it on a timer so it is on during waking hours - even during the day. LED lights will last at least a year, left on 24/7.

You can also backlight the door and and create a welcoming glow by illuminating the transom, side & door windows. There are dusk to dawn lightbulbs available or you can use a timer on interior lights. One of the elements that makes Lisedv's rendering look good is that the garage is also backlit.

I would love to hire a team to reconstruct the entryway, but looking for something more economical as this isn't my forever home.

Yes, the landscaping will get some much needed attention, but I wanted to get the house painted first. I think larger sconces would look better, too, @deegw.

For those who like a darker house, I don't think I could do all dark brown. I definitely want darker garage doors and could keep the wood trim dark around the windows and the eaves, but maybe a lighter color stucco and door. I attached a photo of other colors for the stucco that I was considering (the SW Black Fox would be for garage doors and wood trim).

@thinkdesignlive I attached a photo of the entry at midday, full sun, with porch ceiling lights on (2 canned lights on each side of of the cathedral ceiling that only create a harsh, hideous spotlight in the evening).

I haven't hung the sheet yet as Kendrah suggested, but I just noticed that the cream colored doorbell camera is visible in the faraway entry photo. Maybe there is hope for a cheaper fix, ie paint job, afterall!

And, of course the transom is visible too.

European · More Info

No shutter.

The shutters appear to be inlaid, the stonework is built around. Not sure that I can do much with them.