@hollywaterfall we just updated our front doors to full lite french doors in dark bronze, so we won't be touching those.

I was suggesting going in the direction of a cedar look for the house. Could be various takes on that, as far as color range.

I am not surprised that the original house had cedar siding.

@freedomplace1 yeah, that makes sense. I think the semi-transparent stains are nice because the wood peeks through and gives the color a more natural wood appearance. Untreated cedar can turn grayish over time, so maybe the gray family is another natural pairing for cedar siding.

The color it is now recedes into background as you mention. I do not like the color either, but it does what you want. The house is weird and ugly on outside - it must be nice on the inside so that you even went inside to see it when you first drove up with the realtor. Leave it as is and enjoy the inside.

I love the screen room and greenhouse glass room on the back. Connecticut is an expensive place to live. You are blessed to be able to afford to live there. It is a beautiful state - visited there years ago a few times.

Is it possible to remove the frog eyes windows?

@terrib962 we have to paint the house this year because the current stain is peeling off and some of the wood has rot. We might as well choose a color we like. I don't mind the siding color, but the trim color doesn't work at all IMO. My husband absolutely hates the color. I think removing the two dormer windows would be an expensive project for minimal return.

Behr Tranquil Gray siding with Graphic Charcoal trim rendered (imperfectly) by Copilot

Behr Red Chipotle siding with Island Hopping trim rendered by Copilot

I would consider cutting down the big shrubs to the left of the front porch--to show more of the house to draw the eye down, and plant colorful flowers at ground level there, too.

Add some siding between the froggie windows to look like one long dormer.

I don't have software but here is a rough concept sketch (ignore the blockage of the small tree in the driveway circle).

The red cedar color is quite attractive. It's also the opposite of the green your husband dislikes. A creamy trim instead of bright stark white trim would be lovely and it doesn't show the dust as much.

As for the deer, they'll eat anything when hungry enough, though in my area, they are not very fond of daffodils. Since painters need a foot or so of access space around the house, try to think of the deer as providing a head start of pruning.

So many of the renderings are focused on the side view of the house, but (as you say) with the primary street view/approach showing more roof than house— we should all be judging any options with how well they work with your current roof color. What were your thoughts on Bev’s first photo (which thinkdesignlive believes to be a close to SW Gauntlet Gray)? It looks like this color could work well in pulling the darker hue out of your shingles. Regarding painting white metal (or vinyl?) trim— I’ve been pretty impressed with how well paint products I’ve used (esp Sherwin Williams) have held up against the elements when used on metal, old wood with the start of dry rot, etc. — just talk to your painter or a store rep about getting the best primer/paint possible to bond with the metal.

Not gonna lie— I kinda like the witch’s house lol. And sorry to hear about your deer problem. And I was actually thinking your yard looks like a gardener’s yard, but was forgetting how long you’ve been there and having a hard time assessing the landscape in your photos’ pre-spring off-season!

Behr Tranquil Gray siding with Graphic Charcoal trim rendered (imperfectly) by Copilot

So many great comments today! @wdccruise I love the Behr Tranquil Gray with charcoal trim, even WITH my white vinyl windows. Thank you for sharing those images for inspiration. I am leaning toward a medium greige with dark trim, and am convinced my husband with be happy with that palette as well. I will show him your images tonight. FYI, the last image is my neighbor's home, which I've been admiring.

@tracefloyd I really like what you did with the siding between the dormers. I never considered that possibility. I don't know if it is within our budget or how it would work exactly, but I can ask the carpenter when he stops by on Wed.

@apple_pie_order I don't know if you can sell me on anything in the red family. I don't mind it on someone else's house, but it doesn't look modern to me, which is my preferred aesthetic.

You're right that the deer pruning can actually be beneficial for the big rhodies around the house, but when they strip the foliage completely off the small conifers, those plants are toast. (or even worse, they pull up the whole plant by the root.) I had a beautiful garden in Seattle, filled with different plant species. Here, I spend most of my time managing the invasives (removing literally hundreds of Japanese barberry shrubs) and spraying plants with deer repellent. Gardening is more difficult in the NE for sure.

I echo your frustration with the deer. I lost several rose bushes before I realized I'd planted them where the deer could stroll by and eat them to the ground.

For the siding between the dormers, I was thinking a false front, a simple panel reenforced with cement board attached on each end, with a bit of space under it for drainage, a hinged flap along the bottom to flip up to clean out leaves, and/or add a lean-to of wire mesh behind it to fend off debris.

How about blue? Intense blues are modern, gray blues are trending, too. A sky blue can be quite a statement, too.

Modern Lake House at The Cliffs at Keowee Falls · More Info

Tropic Isles Residence · More Info

Ballard Outdoor Living Space · More Info

Modern One Story in Park Place, The Dalles OR · More Info

@Old Home Restorer yes, I like Bev's first photo, but let's be honest, that's a cool house, regardless of the color. The color seems darker than gauntlet gray(?), but those medium greiges are where I'm leaning. An LRV around 20-30 for the siding color seems about right, and then I could go darker with the trim for contrast. I have so many colors to sample. Kylie M. Interiors highlights 15 in this post alone: https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-medium-neutrals-mushroom-greige-taupe-beige/. I struggle with decision making.

I have read that sherwin williams makes a good product for vinyl. Painting the frames would void the manufacturer's warranty, and a dark color is not recommended because the extra heat absorption can lead to warping. I will need to weigh the options carefully.

@apple_pie_order I like your first image a lot and was considering a blue-black color for the main body. The other comments here have shifted me away from a dark cool tone because of the warm roof color. Some of the commenters worried the house would look gloomy and ominous in a dark color, but honestly, I don't mind that vibe lol. At some point, I will need to narrow down at least the color family.

@tracefloyd I think that design would look weird from the back where you would see the gap between dormers.

@apple_pie_order I like the color scheme of the Modern One Story in Park Place but the architecture of that house is what makes it feel especially modern and sleek. Plus the natural wood provides a nice contrast. Would the palette have the same effect on my house?

Kylie's exteriors in the best medium neutrals article show plain white trim. Would look good with white windows. I agree do not paint the vinyl.

Paint companies give you coordinating whites so they don't clash.

I didn't know you could see the backk of the dormers.

@tracefloyd but those houses in her post look traditional to me. The rendering wdccruiseposted with the dark trim around my white vinyl looked nice to me, but those AI images are highly stylized so I try not to put too much stock in them.

You could use an orange front door instead of cedar.

If you buy some 2 by 4 foot foamcore boards, you can start trying out paint or stain colors easily. There's nothing like driving up to a sample board to get an instant reaction to new colors.

You can also choose a front door color that coordinates well with your rhododendrons, adding to their exuberance.

@apple_pie_order we just updated our front doors to full lite french doors in dark bronze, so we won't be touching those. The foamcore boards are a good idea. I like to slap samples directly on the house, but I know painters don't like you to do that (plus it looks tacky).

Behr Express Blue siding and trim rendered by Copilot

You mentioned resale so ask your Realtor what colors buyers would expect or be appealing and in demand for a house like this in your market.

That would be more important than what colors you like. They say once you decide to sell it's not really your home anymore, it's a product.

@tracefloyd funny you should mention this. My realtor said "I personally think Contemporary homes look amazing in a charcoal color. I would look at Sherwin Williams Iron Ore or Benjamin Moore, Wrought Iron. I would go with soft white trim if you choose a dark color like one of these!" So her advice matches what you and others have recommended. It would be the safe route for sure and avoids the window frame problem.

@wdccruise I actually think the express blue siding would look better with my white window frames for contrast so that's interesting. Which rendering do you prefer?

Hah funny, your Realtor's comment made me think she meant that if this were her home...would it be different than if she were marketing the home?

That being said, it is better to use a color that is not polarizing when selling. Buyers hate having to think about painting.

I like the Behr Chipotle Red best. The trim is Behr Island Hopping. (This was rendered by Google Gemini which rendered the Behr paint colors more accurately and faster.)

I've been following along. If you're looking at a mid tone greige, I painted my house in SW Mega Greige cut to 75%. I'm in SW Florida and face East, so ymmv. I find it to be a nice, neutral color that again, in my light, doesn't lean either purple or green. I saw that Kylie M. mentioned it in the article you linked so thought I'd give my two cents. I'm also very familiar with your roof color and think a mid toned greige could work well.

google images of 1970's or 1980's contemporary exterior for ideas

this is SW Pewter Green

Lauren Leiss did this one

https://hookedonhouses.net/2015/08/06/before-after-how-lauren-liess-updated-her-house-from-the-70s/

It shows the inside as well^

I love the dark tones

https://jillianlare.com/a-new-roof-for-our-1980s-contemporary-home-exterior/

Here's the before shot of that one^

houzz has a few previous posts on similar homes.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5989427/70s-contemporary-exterior-paint-color

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5868781/updating-exterior-on-1970-s-contemporary-cedar-shed-style-home

https://architecturalobserver.com/a-1970s-shed-style-house-updated/

Not one of those homes have white factory windows....not a fair comparison IMO.

@tracefloyd I had asked the realtor her thoughts on color considering resale value, and she flips houses, so she was probably thinking about potential buyers in her response.

I was thinking the exact same thing about those recent images. The houses are beautiful and none of them have white vinyl. Dang.

@katinparadise thank you for suggesting SW Mega Greige. I like it and would probably use it at 100% because I like dark saturated colors. I should test it with the suggested coordinating color attitude gray. I showed my husband the rendering with Behr Tranquil Gray tonight and he hated it, so I am a bit nervous about greiges, but Mega Greige is much darker than Tranquil Gray. Maybe once he sees a sample in person, he'll understand my vision. lol

I would show your husband the Pewter Green house too.

As for the rhododendrons, I inherited a few just like yours at my previous house. My landscaping friend came over and cut them down to a foot high. They grew back and were GLORIOUS. Don’t be afraid to aggressively cut them.

@RedRyder My husband would probably like pewter green the least of all the colors. He's really anti-green for some reason, but he likes the dark, almost black colors.

My husband has been cutting the rhodies back aggressively. He thought I would be mad, but I told him rhodies can sprout from old wood, and old scrawny rhodies benefit from rejuvenation pruning. The ones close to the house still have most of their height though.

@Beth H. :I like all the images you posted. You seem to understand my aesthetic. I'm worried those palettes won't look the same on my house because of my white vinyl windows, like tracefloyd mentioned.

@wdccruise I haven't tried google gemini. I was using chatgpt and getting frustrated because the colors didn't look accurate when compared to the real swatches. Maybe gemini is better at matching and integrating colors.

"I was using chatgpt and getting frustrated because the colors didn't look accurate..."

I was having the same problem with Copilot. However, Copilot recommended I include the LRV and RGB of the paint in my instructions so I did that with Google Gemini which rendered correctly. Here was my instruction for Behr Chipotle Red:

[paste a screenshot of the house]

Here is a photo of my house.

Repaint all siding using this exact color: Behr S160-7 Red Chipotle — Solid Stain version LRV 10 R 173 G 162 B 149.

Use this Sherwin-Williams solid‑stain swatch reference for accurate color calibration: https://www.behr.com/consumer/ColorDetailView/S160-7#solid_stain (Red Chipotle — Solid Color Waterproofing Stain & Sealer)

Use neutral daylight (around 5500K)

Here is a photo of my house.

Repaint all siding using this exact color: SW 7031 Mega Greige — Solid Color House Stain LRV 37 R 173 G 162 B 149.

Use this Sherwin-Williams solid color house stain swatch reference for accurate color calibration: https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/woodscapes-exterior-acrylic-solid-color-house-stain?colorPartNumber=SW7031 (WoodScapes Exterior Acrylic Solid Color House Stain)

Use neutral daylight (around 5500K)

@wdccruise I never thought about using the LRV and RGB in my prompt. That's genius. I was pasting an image of the color into chatgpt, which worked better than providing a link, but still didn't seem accurate. I will try your prompt. Thanks!

First suggestion is to remove or greatly trim the trees in the first photo you showed us. It's difficult to see your home thru the foliage that I'm not sure it makes much difference which color you use.

Of course any sample you look at inside will be lighter when you put it outside. The only way you'll know for sure is to test it on all sides of your house in all different lights. I used Alpaca at 75% for my trim which is supposed to have purple undertones, but in my light it is just a pure off-white.

@katinparadise That's a good tip. Do you have a picture of your exterior you could share please? Thank you!

Have you considered returning your house to its original look by reshingling it with cedar shakes? I think that would look anazing- much better than any paint job. Of course, it would be expensive.

@Marjorie McCracken my designer neighbor suggested sanding off the old paint down to bare wood, but I think even that would be cost prohibitive. Plus the maintenance for a transparent wood stain is pretty high.

Please post an update when you are ready.

I will grab a few pics later today and post them.