One way to pull your roof into the plan is to paint the trim on the windows the roof color (dark brown) , as in West Coast Contemporary and Chasten Remodel.

In the West Coast Contemporary that Ann just posted, in painting the body of the house the darkest tone of the brick, it brings out the richness in the stone, higlighting the contrast in the stone.

On the other hand, this does not seem to be your goal. You seem to want a more uniform color throughout......so going lighter would be the way to go.

Here is Fairview Taupe. It actually looks darker on the house. It also appears to be dusk when photo taken. I like the garage door color, but it's not green-tagged.

I like that garage door color too.

WW, sorry for the interruption, but we're thinking of adding a white barn door between our master bedroom and bathroom and I remember you added a great looking one in your previous bedroom. Do you still happen to have any pics of that and where did you buy it? I looked for that discussion and couldn't find it.

Hi Ann. I loved those barn doors! I don't seem to have any pics of them. The difficult part was finding the track. The doors were actually from Home Depot. We just painted them and hung them. I do like a salvaged wood door though.

Thanks WW. I think a Home Depot door would be just fine for us as white would be best for our house. The track would be important though. Our whole house has ORB and I'd want a nice ORB track and handle.

How do you open the door from the side where you can't have a handle sticking out so the barn door will slide open close to the drywall? I'm thinking you could only have a handle on one side - I must be missing something obvious:)

We did a beautiful handle in the hallway and a recessed handle inside the room.

I remember that door very well, you put it in along with the gorgeous kitchen counters right before you sold the condo. Definite selling points!

WW, that makes sense (about the handles) - thanks!

Yeah, I loved the kitchen too and the cool brick wall outside the windows. It kind of gave the condo an industrial feel just as having an internal brick wall does. WW, I bet you sold that well done condo in about 10 minutes after listing it.

I am researching brick stain. I didn't realize such a product existed. If I stain the stone, what approach should I take?
1) Stain only the salmon stones so they are a closer match to the brick?
2) Or stain all the stone uniformly in a colour complimentary to the brick and roof? If so, what colour?

So, you are okay with the house being all red like the brick. I am not saying it is a bad thing, just didn't know you wanted to go dark like that.

I'm really not sure CDR. I want the house to look the best it can! This seemed like an option to keep the texture of the brick and stone. Really unsure about colours though if we go this route.

ww ...I certainly admire your determination in finding a solution!! Bet you are cursing the person that thought the brick stone combination was a "good thing".

#1 & #2 will still leave you with the same look 2 distinct color blocks on the house

Is the snow gone yet?

Not yet!
And Lainie.. Yes! What were the builders thinking in 1957???!

I think the brick works with the stone. But, you don't like the contrast. I also sense, from what you have said, that dark would not work for you. Have you considered dying the brick a lighter color? It is saying there is a lightener.

ww .. perhaps the builders were thinking.."We can't decide on which to use so we will throw in a little bit of each"..LOL.. sorry I know it's no laughing matter.

Unfortunately if have seen this same treatment used recently. Maybe these people are going for a retro look.

We also still have snow but it's amazing what a day of sun can do on those snow banks!

The khaki stained stone with painted brick in a complimentary color might be a consideration. I think you can immediately eliminate yellow, orange, plum or the reds and even the brown for stone. It's so hard to tell from the chart, but I can see stone in possibly charcoal, khaki or mocha, if it's not too yellow. I wonder if the lightener would cover the pink stones? I'm still thinking the brick should be painted.

Can you stain the brick a lighter color? It doesn't seem likely.

I wonder, too, if staining the brick a lighter color would just yield pink.

Taking in all you have said over time, I am thinking the best solution for you would be to paint the entire house (brick and stone) one color. You would still see different texture.

Definitely don't want pink brick! It's going up to 50 Fahrenheit tomorrow. Woo hoo! I will try to get a coat of taupe on the garage door and see where that leaves us.
I so love the interior of the house. I want the exterior to match... Or at least blend better. Something fresher and more updated. I don't like MCM, but surely we can do better than what we have now!

I think it's a nice looking house on the outside and just needs a little tweaking. I'm hopeful you'll stick to the previous plan of painting the brick and leaving the stone as is. My fingers are crossed the coat of taupe paint on the garage tomorrow looks fantastic and takes you back to just the brick painting plan:)

You can certainly paint the brick, as we discussed, and paint the stone, only if the paint doesn't work with it.

If you do not care for the brick, I would suggest you choose a beige/grey shade in the stone and then find matching paint to use on the brick. I would stick with the very white trim for contrast, and I would suggest painting the risers or backs of the steps white to make them stand out. Once the brick is painted, I would suggest dark shutters that harmonize or match the roof color and bring out the dark color seen around the pieces of stone. The same dark color would be nice for the porch floor as well. When it is time to replace the roof, you might consider a a nearly black dark grey or a rich dark brown that is the color of black coffee and then have the shutters match. The landscaping appears to be very full and pretty in the summer months and then very bare in the winter. Perhaps you could use some of the plants elsewhere and/or alternate the deciduous plants with small evergreens like boxwood, along with evergreen azaleas, rhododendrons, and camellias. Some deciduous plants do well in containers, provided they have adequate winter protection, and you might see if yours are suitable for that.

Tony Taupe on the garage. One coat today.
Snow is melting fast! Thank goodness..

It's tough to tell because the whole house pic is rather dark, but to me, that looks to be a great color with your stone! Also appears to look nice with the roof color. How does it look in person?

Yes....hard to tell because of the lack of light. Garage door looks a little green compared to stones, but still might work.

How's this? I think the light is a bit better today.

ww .. could you prop the sample board up along side the brick that is to the right side of the front door to see the look with the stone. Just put a long board under it.

I think it looks like a great color with your stone and would be a great color for your brick.

I must say Tony Taupe looks far more green in these photos than I ever would have expected. Not sure if it's the light? Or the reflection from the red brick?
The large sample of the garage is much more helpful though than the small boards ever were. I wonder if I should try a Studio Taupe on the next warm day..? It was the best match yo the stone. Although it was very gold..

If we ever replace the front windows, would you change them in any way? Just wondering what possibilities exist.

I think Studio Taupe is going to be too green also. What is the best match to the lightest color of stone that is in your mix of stones?

ww ... I find that when a sample that has a green undertone (Tony Taupe) is put with a red (brick) the green will look greener & the red will look redder. If it is by the stone only it will probably not show as green.

http://homesstyle.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/remodeling-ranch-style-homes.jpg

ww .. check out the pic above ... lots of this type of window on ranch houses in my area.

Here is Tony Taupe on the garage once again. It's a little brighter out now. How does it look against the stone?

One more very important question. We are considering replacing the walkway this summer. We are going to make it a foot wider (4 feet instead of 3.) Should we keep it in the same location it is now? Or curve it across the slope and have it intersect with the driveway a little lower down?
A little more information to help you decide: We are also looking to open up the porch. We want to knock out the stone wall, extend the porch and move the pillar to the right by about a foot, and re-clad the landing and steps in the same stone as the walkway. As always... Thanks for your input!

There are still a lot of shadows, but seems to work in this photo. You might try painting a large piece of cardboard and placing it closer to the stone.

Yes, you should curve it across the slope and have it intersect with the driveway a little lower down. Your sidewalk now cannot be seen from the street and it seems there is a car blocking the sidewalk most of the time. Placing the sidewalk closer to the street will be much more welcoming.

Here's an example of what we are trying to achieve with our porch. We won't be adding a sidelight though. And we will do a square beam instead of a metal pillar. (Probably about 8". Six feels a little skimpy.)

Please cast your vote here:
http://houzz.com/discussions/3044145
Thank you!

Here are a few thoughts on moving your pillar over a foot..... that way the pillar will be closer to the adjacent small window which will make the small window appear to be pushed closer to the step & most importantly looks like the pillar will not be in line where the wall stone ends (to the right of the door). Also the pillar will not land on the eves equally as it is now. If you don't mind, it don't matter.

Are you saying that you will remove the hand rail completely? Maybe simply by removing the stone wall/rail that is bordering the step & widen the steps to cover the entire width of the porch & using a larger pillar will achieve the same look.

POSTED APRIL 2014

Still loads of work to do... Including painting the brick. But here's a little update.

ww, wow what a difference that simply widening the step has made! Very inviting. Like the new walkway & spot for what looks like a lamppost to accent the walk at night.

Wow. What an improvement. The front steps widened as well as the walk!

Thanks CDr! We're getting there.

Have you considered adding larger front porch yet? You might consider removing the stone to the right of the front stoop and extending your stoop to be a larger porch all across the front of the house or at least the right side.

http://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/38e19d450f58d655_4-8460/traditional-porch.jpg

You've made a large investment in your sidewalk as is and it is an improvement.

Anything painted inevitably needs repainting and looks icky before that. I wouldn't paint the brick but might try staining it to a gray similar to the gray in the stone. Would not paint the stone. What did you decide?

Hi Suezbell,
We actually did enlarged the stoop and stairs quite a bit. Steps were lengthened from two feet to seven. We are very happy with the result. Anxious for the landscaping to fill in just a bit. Next project for the exterior is selecting a lamppost (about the same height as my honey.. See below) and painting or staining the brick. I would also love to change out the aluminium fascia and soffits for something like the painted bead board we did over the porch. Will be a summer project though.. As we live in Montreal!