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cyn222 Paint trim a softer grey. Stone around the door would be nice. They have a new product called Airstone that is easy to install. Change colors of the gable accents, and porch post. Nice home.

houssaon i think you have some good ideas already. If you want to change the garage doors, the ones in your inspiration picture look good. You might be able to just replace the top panel instead of the whole door. I think the door you have picked out is handsome, but too arts and crafts style. I would look for a wood door whcih will be a nice accent for your house. The vents look like the right shape. You can add more white in the trim and along the outer edges of the house, again, like the picute you posted.

This is a handsome door: Olentangy Falls ~ Delaware, OH. How about: Contemporary Exterior or Summit II.

I think you could benefit from some landscaping. I can see an ornamental tree on the left side of the house and some flowering bushes. Perennials, such as rudabeckia, sedum, hostas and daylilies would provide some added color.

sackos I would suggest possibly an arbor with substance (craftsman style) be built over the garage door in a med/dark stained wood and the post on the porch wrapped larger to match. Above yhecarbor add a false vent or windowcto scale. It would break up thiscarea. You could also consider doing a hardi- shingle on the face above the garage and put a belly band across to divide it. These could be in an accent or stain color and add a custom look. I feel it is this area that is making you feel there is too much of one color. I know you feel there is too much of same color, but i would paint the garage doors the same as the body of the house. The house is where you want to draw the attention and eye, not the garage door as the accent. Then i would get some large scale rounded heavy planters (3) (a color you love- not same tone as house!) to flank each garage door and plant a tall evergreen shrub in each- maybe add annual color around the base for color but not necessary. I would also place an Italian cypress (or tall narrow growing evergreen) to the left of the windows in front. A tree in front and maybe sculpt out the lawn and add color in foleage. I think landscape would help tremendously along with the ideas i mention and much less expensive. You have a very attractive home. I feel the color is architecturally pleasing.

sackos Also remove the house numbers and put a matching light. Mive the house numbers to the left of left light vertically placed.

barnettcj Thank you so much for takingt the time to comment...

cyn222: I looked at the Airstone and it seems like a great idea. It may be more sturdy for inside application than outside. I am going to take down the current gable decoration because they are wooden and the paint is peeling. I like your idea about painting the trim lighter.

houssaon and sackos: I actually changed the landscaping this last year. The first picture I posted is several years old but the house looks the same. My landscaping got out of hand so I had a professional come out and he made the front beds larger and rearranged the plants I had. We put in a dwarf apple tree off to the side. There are day lillies, sedum, peegee hydrangea, dark horse weigelas infront on the lower window, juniper on the corner, smaller evergreens, perennials and bulbs. It looks a lot better now. There is another bed off to the side with some roses, day lillies, other perennials, bulbs and another dwarf apple tree.

The planter came with the house and I haven't changed it yet. I am wondering if a juniper would grow in one since I live in Minnesota and perhaps it would freeze in a pot???

I like the idea of painting the garage doors because they just seem to stick out to me.

I found a picture of a house with an arbor - is this the look you are suggesting? I don't want the added expense of putting a window on the garage. I think a gable decoration and some shingles will work.

I like the examples of doors with a wood feel.

Now my questions are the following:

1. Should I put gable vents in all the gables or ....?
2. What colors should the gable vent and shingles (shakes) be? I need some help with a color palette. I saw some gable vents that had copper paint finish on them that looked interesting.
3. I am confused as to what I should be styling this house as - craftsman, prairie, modern, contemporary...

The inside of the house has rosewood floors, cherry cabinents, spa bathroom and ecelectic decorating since I travel a lot and have things from everywhere - but uncluttered. I hate extra "stuff". There isn't really one style inside - probably contemporary comfortable...

Thank you!

barnettcj Thank you for the nice comments on my house. I really like it - I just need to make the outside as nice as the inside...

olldcan I would stain some of the cedar to match your shingles, so go a darker grey. Keep some the existing grey. Your front door should be a wood colour like in the photo of the green house, same goes for the front door. I would replace the arched window just because it doesn't fit in. Rafter tails would look really good on your home (wood colour) and replace the gable decoration with one better suited for the size of your garage, this ones just too small in stature also in wood colour. Perhaps even change the style somewhat. Unless you actually need the gable vents for air circulation, I would not install them. Some stone in grey tan black combo would be nice on either side of the garage doors.

barnettcj olldcan - thank you for commenting. I am not planning on repainting the house because I like the paint color and except for the high areas of the front, it is in good condition. Did you mean that both the garage and front door should have a wood color?

What are rafter tails? Are they the pieces of wood under the rafters in the picture of the green house? I don't need gable vents - I was just thinking about using non-functioning ones for decoration. I see them a lot lately on new homes. I see them built out on the gables.

I am thinking of putting in ledger stone accents on both sides of the garage. Now that I look at it, I agree that the circular window doesn't fit. The issue is money.... I need to get the things done first that would effect the integrity of the house such as the rotten lapboards under the left window. My contractor thinks that he will have to rebuild the whole thing...

Thank you

barnettcj Here are some colors that my Sherwin Williams app gave me to go with the gray... Other suggestions? A side from gable vents, what other decorations would anyone suggest?

rtist9 Your home is gorgeous! Just find 3 to 4 shiny RED or shiny WHITE ceramic planters. Huge in size 3ft-4ft tall, 20"-26" diameter. (I put dollies from menards under the ones I want to move)And strategically place them along the front to balance the look out evenly. And you can put palm trees with flowers in them.Each spring you will have a blast planting beautiful arrangments.You can put lights in them and at christmas time put christmas trees in them.Thats all you need nothing else. All your neighbors will jealous asking you where you got them from so, they can copy. Make sure you say homegoods. So they wont get the exact ones you have.I really did get my three blue ones from homegoods though.Im from Wisconsin and mine have palm trees in them. Its January2013 and my palms are not dead yet.

skamay2166 We just painted our complete condo complex a color for sw which I believe is called thistle. The trim is called biscotti and the area around the windows is white. Underneath your window that protrudes would be painted the biscuit color. Our place looks beautiful. Our buildings are also cedar siding and the color gray helps the buildings from
Poking faded. We get nothing but compliments.

olldcan A darker grey paint/stain same colour only to add some visual interest, accent painting only. As you said it's large and grey, definitely would benefit by being broken up a bit a darker shade of grey is the safest way to do this. I would change the main double door to the wood colour and paint the other single, same colour as the siding around it so it disappears somewhat.

Yes, Rafter tails are those pieces of wood LOL most likely wood veneer, filled with foam. They would look great on your home and garage. Dressing up the garage is a must, just because it is so prominent on your property.

Yes, the rot needs to be address first and foremost and rebuilding it entirely, is not uncommon either :(
The ledger stone is a great idea, window, light fixtures etc. can all be done in stages, whenever money permits, darn money anyhow!!!!

skamay2166 From looking faded. I have to turn off auto correct. Lol

sackos Attached are some examples. I don't think you need a window. I would go with a darker charcole or graphite trim (like the garage doors, it's not ideal to accent gutters and facia-come off the roof with a darker color.) I would put corbels (chunky) in each peak. I would trim around your garage doors and add 1-2 belly bands and hardi plank shingles painted to look like wood, or darker grey, and also tie the front door post in to be chunky to match. Ideally An arbor over the large garage door with the posts stepping out front and cultured stone base, and also do that on the front door post to match. :) Your photo is the right idea with the arbor.

barnettcj rtist9 - thank you for the suggestion. I didn't think about dollies to move them around. There is a home store near me as well as a Mendards so I will take a look at pots.

sackos I meant to say not ideal to accent the gutters/facia boards with a LIGHTER color - darker is good like example 1 would look great. The corbels and shakes over the garage like example 4. An arbor similar to the front porch posts flanking the garage door (like your example)

Scott Design, Inc. If you are rebuilding the box bay window to the left of the front door you may want to consider shortening it to make it less bulky. Maybe put a couple of brackets underneath to complement the brackets that would be holding up your arbor over the garage doors. Also, I suggest doubling up on your front column and adding two to the right side.

sackos Note: if you want to use cultured stone, there is one called California cobble that would look great with the grey/tan tones. Some start pulling in pinks and believe it or not purples, but this one is very safe and will not be as trendy - more classic.

olldcan good catch scott design inc

barnettcj A million thanks for everyone taking the time to respond to my request!!!! Love all the feedback - it gives me lots of ideas.

Yes, the boxy, bay window is rotted and needs to be repaired. Now that I look at it, it does look bulky. How much would we need to shorten it?

Graphite or dark gray for the trim - would that be just along the top of the house by the roof line? Would I just leave the other trim in the color it is now?

I learned something new - corbels (along with the rafter tails)

sackos I hope you add after photos once you make changes. Has been fun. It's a nice house- a few touches will make it great! All trim dark including posts, corbels, bands and arbor imo. If possible trim around the garage doors. Squaring and widening the posts to the right of current and make it more craftsman style (the current post looks colonial which this home is not) alone will make a HUGE difference. Get some dark paint swatches and hold them up to what you have to get the tone, and just make sure to go dark enough so it stands out well and is still in the grey tones, not too black. If you do stone, match it to the darkest grey in the stone.

Scott Design, Inc. I would shorten it to having a trim board only, no siding. The bottom trim board should be wider than the side boards and as wide if not wider than the valance board over the front stoop. It looks like it could be a 1" (or 5/4) x 10" trim board. When you do the work, stand back and take a look. You may also want to consider frieze boards under your overhangs. These are the boards that follow the roofline at the gable ends and run into the top of the corner boards. It adds some weight to the roof line and reduces the "all-siding" look as well.

Scott Design, Inc. Also, if you are eventually changing out the siding I would apply a wide casing (minimum of 3 1/2") around all windows, doors and garage doors. Right now it appears to be very narrow except on the box bay.

sackos Hire Scott Design - he/she has the right idea!

calikym you don't need to change the garage doors. they look nice in white. Scott Design has good ideas. I do think something is needed above the garage though since it is so big and blank.

barnettcj Thank you! I certainly will post an inprocess picture - it may take some time for new doors and stone. I still have two skylights that have to be replaced this year.

I will give my contractor the information for the bay window. I really like that suggestion.

Another question - Do I put the shakes on the whole front of the dormer? And on the top of the bay window?

Thank you,

Scott Design, Inc. I agree with the garage gable treatment and the arbor. I have attached a photo. The door style is not appropriate here but the gable treatment will go al long way to minimizing the vast expanse of siding and the arbor will diminish the bold statement of garage doors when it's the front entry that should be highlighted.

barnettcj Thank you Scott Design! I like the idea from this photo. So - what color would I use on the gable treatment - if I use a darker gray or cedar color for the shakes and a darker gray for the trim?

barnettcj Would this gable treatment go on all the gables or just the dormer and garage?

Scott Design, Inc. Would you please provide the following information: 1. Depth of roof overhang. Is it the same on the box bay, upper dormer and the garage? 2. Width of the boards on sides of the box bay window. 3. Width of the corner boards on the front of the garage. 4. Width of the trim around the garage door and front door.

barnettcj I will do my best to measure it tomorrow morning and I will let you know. Thank you!

Scott Design, Inc. You're welcome. Have a nice evening.

barnettcj Dear Scott Design,

Please find enclosed the measurements of the elements. I put them in a word document with the pictures so I hope it is easy to read. Thank you again!

barnettcj Word documents didn't work so here are some pictures with the information.

barnettcj So I was playing around with the ideas that everyone gave to me and renovating my house on the computer. I can't do anything now since it is 30 degrees outside. I am not very good at drawing but I can cut and paste fairly well... Here's an idea of the house... The trim is a dark gray but it is looking black on the picture. Actually, the other house in the neighborhood that is similar to mine has dark gray trim across the top of the house and the rest of the trim is the same color as the house. It looks ok. I couldn't figure out how to photoshop the cedar colored shakes into a darker gray.

Scott Design, Inc. Thank you for the information I requested. I appreciate your fighting the elements to hang out of windows and juggle a tape measure. Hats off to you.

Your Photo Shop approach with the understanding of color limitations confirms my initial thoughts about your project. I would not add architectural detail that is atypical of a home of this style for the sake of minimizing expanse of color or increasing personality. The result would be curb appeal confusion...just as you were stating earlier... "I am confused as to what I should be styling this house as - craftsman, prairie, modern, contemporary." Unless you intend to invest alot of money, you will always have an off putting hybrid so don't even go there. Capitalize on the style of the house and bring back or beef up the elements that are a common thread throughout all good looking homes such as robust, detailed window and door casing, frieze boards and rake molding, gable detailing, wider corner boards, water table boards, overhangs, deeper eaves, strong entry elements, appropriate materials. This will not change the style of the home. Instead, it will give it stature as well as reduce the amount of grey siding. However, please note that this "big, grey house" feel is also about your expanse of grey roof. To add more deeper tones of grey particularly on trim that emphasizes all of the different shapes and angles of the house is not going to reduce the grey. Furthermore, you won't see a house, you will see boxes and triangles as well as emphasize the half-round window.

The reason I asked for the dimensions was to determine the size and depth of the gable treatments and how much to adjust the existing house trim and style elements. You will be surprised at how much these adjustments can affect the curb appeal of your home and the balance of color.

inkwitch Okay. Ignoring what everyone else has said, I"m gonna put my 2 cents worth in here. Having just painted my experior (gray) and ending up repainting all of it because I changed my mind about the color after the metal roof was put on (!), I feel your dilemma. Please forgive me if I am too blunt. No criticism intended.
1. 2/3 of the front of your house is garage door. And empty gables. To begin with, different garage doors with some detail that makes them interesting. You're sorta gonna have to decide on your style in order to do anything. If you lean toward modern, some translucent lit-from-inside doors. If you lean toward Frank Lloyd Wright (this type house is being built everywhere and really doesn't fit in any category besides "suburban"), doing something linear in tones of gray and black. You need 3 garage garage lights, a lot bigger, and decide if you want black accessories or silver in front. Black would be more dramatic, show up better, and would need to be balanced in the area of the door.

2. 3 tall skinny evergreens in (appropriately) big pots (deep red? cobalt blue? black? yellow?) at the side of both garage doors.

3. Extend the front porch to the corner of the garage. DOesn't have to be covered, so forget about extending the roof. That side of the house needs more emphasis to counteract all that sq footage of garage door! Big pot of some spiky plant, something artistic. Yard sales and potters, here you come! THis could take a while, which is the fun.

4, If you have photoshop, play around with trim colors. I don't like the white. Blah. What about black window trim? LIke someone above said, it's a huge gray house, so embrace its grayness. Even consider painting the column black. houzz did a layout on black houses recently.

5. Put in a BIG front door. Forget the sidelight. It's too small and does nothing for the house. A BIG door painted a smashing color: flaming red, chrome yellow (with gray? dynamite!), orange -- whatever you love. Even black. Or a door with unique character -- depending on what style you decide on. A door from a Spanish monestery isn't that expensive, trust me. A front door could set your style.

Good luck! Happy hunting!

barnettcj Thank you both for the very helpful comments. I really do want the house to be "who it is". I am not comfortable making it into something it naturally doesn't want to be. People come to the house and think the outside is just "ok" and then inside wows them. I want to make it all cohesive.

I bought the house 7 years ago and it was gray - it has the cedar siding that is generally in good condition except for parts of the front because the house faces south and there is no shade that falls on it. I tried to figure out what they put on the house - paint or stain and after traveling to numerous paint stores, no one could tell me for sure so I just painted it the same color that it was. So far, after 6 years, the paint is holding up very well on all areas of the house except the front. I don't want to paint it again - my father and I painted the majority of it by hand and I was extremely meticulous about the preparation and the paint I used.

So now, the paint is peeling in the front in areas high up and on the trim that I can't easily reach. The box bay has some rot because the stripping under the window wasn't put on correctly. The trim needs painting as well. I don't want to spend a lot of money - I already have spent a lot working on the inside and I still need to replace the skylights.

My intention is to work on the front to:

1. Make it look more appealing but not spend thousands of dollars with a whole re-do because the lower siding is ok

2. Use materials that are lower maintenance on the trim, dormer and higher up on the garage and gables so I don't have worry about trying to maintain them with the vigor I am now. I can't easily reach them.

3. Keep the cedar that is in good shape on the house and replace those boards that are rotted.

4. Increase the curb appeal and make the front in sync with the rest of the house.

I am really grateful for your ideas and help. Thank you so much for all your comments. Scott Design - I like your thinking. I really just want to embrace the front of the house and optimize what is good and downplay what isn't so good.

Inkwitch - thank you for your candor. I don't like to be like everyone else. This house has a lot of cool features on the inside that make it unique and funky. I think I need ot bring some of that to the front with a nicer, more interesting door and garage doors. I like your idea about the pots. Those would add some uniqueness.

Carol

barnettcj By the way, my father loves the idea of the arbor over the garage.

sackos I like this look and it would work on your house - picture this in the center dormer and also the corble(white) in the peak, contrast/different shade on shake and wide belly band between the existing horizontal siding and the shake.
Repeat this on the garage (more shake area). Also put a white corble on the far left tall peak.(3 total) If you do the arbor, the brackets below will tie together w these corbles.. Wider trim out around windows and garage doors would be nice. :) Take your time, start looking at homes you see and like, and have fun. It needs to agree with a style you like. Personal opinion, I do like black on some homes, but I would go darker but not black on the trim of this one.

sackos a pic of an arbor you might like - also a color idea for the shakes.

inkwitch Houzz has done some ideabooks on garage doors. There's bound to be one that will work. I agree, some sort of ledge across that huge garage door face would break it up. Given the porch design, an arbor or loggia effect might not be the best design, although a more "formal" pediment (is that the right word?) might be more formal than you like.

Plants in pots add to your curb appeal and brings an energy to the front -- not to mention breaks up that expanse. If you want to minimize cost and not replace the garage doors, I'd be inclined to paint them black or a charcoal gray. The white is just too glaring. My house is also gray, but no white anywhere.

Sympathize on your repair issues. Same here. Hire a professional. There are always local workmen (needing work) who are highly competent. I always look for a Menonite community/craftsmen.

barnettcj Thank you Sackos and Inkwitch for your ideas!

barnettcj I was looking through the Houzz site and I found some gable decorations that might look good on my house - comments? I like the idea Sackos gave me just above. I want to give the contractor several "looks" to see what the price comes out to be.

barnettcj Here are some more... Would the top left gable look funny with a smaller version of the other gable decorations? It is partially hid but the gable below it.

Carrie We used a barn red, vinyl shingle for our upper peaks (front and back) and have red metal vertical siding to go on the bottom. We still have to do our front porch and roof, so it looks unfinished but you get the idea. I would paint your red peaked areas that stick out in a red or burnt orange but like everything else to do with your house.

barnettcj I do like the ocre color with the gray. Thank you Carrie for taking the time to upload your house. I like what you have done thus far.

Carrie Our house was typical 50's green and white metal siding with old windows, roof and doors. We gutted everything and put a new roof on. The back has leaded glass french doors and the red up above too. We did the siding ourselves but I draw the line at roofs (especially this high and steep!) We ran out of "good weather" before we could finish, so we'll continue in the spring. We moved the farm house onto a new basement and have also gutted the interior (still a work in progress). P.S. I love ocre and gray, and even with a burgundy added in there! :) I got my general design idea from a P.N.E. Raffle home that was being raffled in BC, Canada a few years ago.

barnettcj I had someone do some drawings for me to try to enhance the house. I like the fact that he didn't make it into another style but just enhanced what it wants to be which is 1980's whatever. My only concern is the gable on the garage - I will have to cut the cedar siding and the cuts along the new gable could rot if the contractor doesn't do it right. Also, a new gable would be more expensive... But I still have the same problem I started with, I can't reach the top of the garage to repaint easily. I am thinking I would like something in the top existing gable that is more maintence free. Any thoughts?