You need to post a picture of the house.

Added now! :)

I do not like shingle siding but it is quite often used foor your style of house . I would however remove the shutters they do not belong on either set of windows I like the dark grey color but a nicer color for the door would be good.

Cute house! First thing I’d do is get rid of the shutters since they’re a wrong fit for the windows. What is the roof color? A slate blue with white trim could be very nice. Always paint downspouts to match the siding.

Thanks! The roof is gray but seriously old and so one of these days it will change, too.

So interesting that both of you flagged the shutters. Every house on our street has shutters like this, so I'll probably keep them for consistency, though that could be a last minute decision once we see how the rest of it looks. I'll keep your reactions in mind.

The dark gray in the mock-up is supposed to be the Pacific Blue lol.

What do you think about the mix of scallop and shingle? And is the extra color at the ridgeline too much? It's not really a Painted Lady house, but maybe it could be. A lot of houses around here that use blue and white use black for accents, or dark gray. That's less fun and dressier, but maybe safer if we expect to sell someday...

I would do the gray with all white trim. The door a similar color to the middle red on your sample colors above.

With this style home you really can’t go too wrong with any of those colors. Maybe shingles in the area you live in are common, but I think siding is a more popular choice .Something to consider if you plan to sell in the next few years

I like that in my pics AI created a nice linear look in the placement of the trim board, but honestly not sure if that can be placed there or how that would look on the other sides of the home. But it makes for a nice clean look. I do like that the trim board sets below the upper window and not thru it.

Here’s some options just playing around with the sample colors.

Use board and batten on the gables. If you use the scallop combined with the shingles it's too much texture that looks too similar.

I like @Emily’s sage green version. The different shingles on the gable make sense to me.

SW Rosemary with Black Shutters

Your home’s architecture reads more storybook/ cottage revival style to me, which would be fitting for the period in which it was built. Although scallop details were used for this style, for your application the scallop detail would more likely exist at the bottom edge of a board and batten siding in the gabled sections (ie the vertical boards terminating in a scallop at the bottom edge). Scalloped shingles on the other hand— although likely to still look good if you went ahead with them— do seem more appropriate for a Victorian era house than yours.

If it were me, I would either do (a) clapboard siding on the lower section and cedar shakes in the upper gabled sections, or (b) cedar shakes on the lower section with board and batten on the upper/ gabled sections.

I’m on the fence as to whether the dividing line for siding on the main portion of the house should be above your second floor windows or below them (ie in line with the front entry gable) as shown in other renderings. In general I would advocate for it being above the second floor windows (ie just the gabled areas), but having it fall below the second story windows does seem to add some nice balance with your home’s exterior. Either way you’ll have a great looking house and many of the color schemes posted— by yourself and others— would be a huge boost in curb appeal. Good luck!

Thank you all for these phenomenal and inspiring ideas!

@Emily Thanks for those renderings! I'm intrigued by the idea of using very slightly contrasting color, like in the light rendering you shared.

@Old Home Restorer so many interesting ideas here. Do you have photos you could share of board and batten ending in scallop? I've searched and haven't seen any... Around here, board and batten tends to be used by developers doing teardowns, so I associate that style with new construction, but maybe there are other ways to think about it.

It's interesting that nobody is saying yesyesyesyes use blue. Maybe that's just too trendy? The house next door is a very dark green, and the others around us are whites, sages, and sandy colors. So maybe we are better off with a gray.

Any thoughts about whether this should wrap around the side of the house? If we do the dividing line at the bottom of the second floor windows, I guess it could wrap around. But maybe better just to keep it simple on the other faces of the house.

Not a fan of the scalloped effect.

How about using the same color and application everywhere (remove shutters), but add character/interest to your entrance area with cedar shakes, applying just on the upper section or the entire area.

You could go blue if that’s what you like. No need to have to be exactly like the majority of neighbors, and blue would go well next to the dark green house.

I do like the vertical siding and think it would also be a nice choice for your home.

Here’s just some ideas I was playing around with.

Here is is in an off white.

Thanks, everyone! I'm leaning toward shingle above and plank below, sorry of the original idea but less fussy. Thanks for getting me to think about the planks. You've opened my eyes on some color ideas, too. Onward, with great appreciation!

I’ll have to snap a pic of one of my neighbors’ houses with this scallop detail, which I should clarify tends to be at the bottom of vertical siding (not board and batten) that covers gable areas. Our house has this detail, but as I’m not a fan of the scallop, we installed a horizontal piece of trim over the scalloped edge. Picture of our work-in-progress house is below— at the bottom of the vertical siding in the gables, just imagine a scalloped edge instead of those horizontal trim pieces!

Also— seeing the side of your house, I definitely think it would work well to have the cedar shakes starting below your second floor windows, and carry them around the house so that your shed dormers are fully covered with shakes (would add some nice visual interest to the side and back of the home). When you say “plank” siding, are you thinking horizontal or vertical siding?

@Old Home Restorer thanks for the photo and ideas. I'll play around with the idea of wrapping the texture around. By "planks" I meant horizontal siding, probably 8 in wood grain. And then above, either shakes or shingles, possibly staggered shingles. Alas, all this would be vinyl. But the certainteed cedar impressions line on our neighbor's homes look really good.

Certainteed seems to have come a long way with their products. FWIW— we used hardie board on our last home (both plank and shakes on a craftsman bungalow)— we were very happy with the end result and it’s still looking great (no maintenance) after ~20 years.

Unless you're planning to sell your home soon, I would go with whatever you like best! However, I do personally like the second option best. https://www.buildersservicecompany.com/what-are-the-best-home-exterior-colors