And here is a photo of the front of the house

Look to your roof and the brick for color inspiration for both the front door and shutters. Those elements are very hard and pricey to change. Personally, I prefer all the attention to be on my front door and the rest of the elements to blend in as much as possible. It's the front door that needs to grab the attention, not the shutters. In a past home with similar roof and brick colors, I painted all wood a gray and my front door a bright yellow. After a month or so, I didn't like the bright yellow so I repainted it a lighter gray. I painted the front porch's railings and porch columns white to keep the eye centered on the front door.

Looking at the photos, I don't know that a delft blue would be "bright enough," if you know what I mean. The bricks look like a mix of oranges, grays, browns and even a pinkish-tone. The roof looks gray, although there could be some black in them. Granted, the proposed blue would go with the orange-y tones. Is there a full-view glass door, trimmed in brown? If so, you'd have to consider how that would look against any proposed door color. From the photos, the clapboards look too creamy, IMO.

The bay window is a visually strong element and grabs my eye. To counter this reaction and pull my eye to the right to the front door area, you might consider placing a tall, large planter (at least 2' tall, or build something to at least that height) in the flowerbed next to the steps. Fill it with lots and lots of yellow or orange marigolds, for example.....nonetheless a very bright color (not red, it would blend in too much).

As I continue looking at your house, it occurs to me that you could paint all of the clapboard, brick, trim and those columns in one color...perhaps a gray. If you really want to paint the shutters at that point, you could paint them the next tone down on the paint chip card. Not enough that they "stand out" but just enough to say that you "paid attention to them."

THEN you would have a neutral palate and could paint the door a bright blue or bright red. THEN those flowers could be yellow for an additional pop of color. I agree with you about the bright front doors seen in other countries. They are so welcoming!

I remember that Martha Stewart painted her houses all one color, too. You might want to root around the Internet and look at her houses for inspiration. Some photos must still be available.

Thank you so much for your feedback! A few thoughts:

1. Our front door is an old 4 lite 60s wood door. I'm getting it replaced by a fiberglass six lite door that will look like this:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Masonite-Craftsman-6-Lite-Primed-Smooth-Fiberglass-Entry-Door-with-Brickmold-27158/203114641

2. My wife will not let me paint the brick-she loves the color of the brick as it so. So, can't go down that road.

Thanks gain for all the other advice!

The brick on your house is beautiful. Please do not paint it! The siding looks greenish in the photos, I would paint it the same color as the trim. The cream and black combination goes well with the brick and roof colors. If you want a subtle change, you could paint the shutters charcoal. Or, you could paint them a dark taupe (brownish-grey) that picks up the dark colors in the brick. If you want the front door to stand out, I would go with a burnt red. I've never been a fan of blue on the exterior of a house.

Thanks Derkacs for the tips. I think that a red door is what we are going to lean for. I like the idea of keeping the trim cream, and going with a slightly darker shade for the siding. Thanks again for your advice!