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bevballew Dark brown garage and railing. Everything else is dark so I would keep it consistent. It is a cool house and the dark brown works. Fixing up the landscaping will embellish it and make it stunning. Front door can be a fun color. You need to paint the area that is white under the cantilevered area where the small window is.

PaintColorHelp.com Dallas I'm afraid that lightening the garage door will draw too much attention to that surface, which takes up the majority of that facade area. I agree with bev that I would darken the railing, and the section of light-colored foundation on the right side of the photo. Limit your color to the front door, which could potentially become a warm gold or a yellow-green. I'd upload this photo to a website like Sherwin Williams color visualizer and play around with some different hues to get a feel for what appeals to you. Using plants in light colors will contrast against the siding and brighten the overall look. You might also consider new light fixtures in a lighter color.

The Color People The only thing that will lighten the house is to lighten the trim. If you use a tan or khaki it will tend to look like an off white. An off white will be too much contrast with the dark body and look bright white. Paint the window/door trim, the fascias and soffits, and the railing in the trim color. Painting the garage a very dark red brown will also make the body color look lighter than it is. This is really all about playing visual games with contrasts. We want to effectively make the body appear more like a mid-tone color. Make sure you paint the foundation in the garage door color as well. Lastly paint the front door a light color so that it draws attention to the entrance. A yellow might be good but that will depend on the interior or your home. You don't need to have the same color for the door but the tone of the interior should be reflected in the color of the door so that their is not a disturbing disconnect when you enter the home.

Bekki Atkinson The interior of the house has a lot of woods, bronze, blacks, and lots of neutral colors so I think the outside would reflect it nicely once touched up. I don't necessarily want to make it look "lighter", I guess "fresh" is the word i'm looking for. So far i'm getting from everyone a darker red/brown for the garage door, paint the white part of the foundation, and paint the railing (I was thinking black). Should the door be a completely different color than the garage door? I originally thought the same color but some of you recomended a lighter color....a yellow could look nice. What about the shutters and the window boxes? I don't want to paint all the window caseings and eaves and soffits...so they ideally would stay a darker brown. Thank you everyone, I appreciate all of your input!

bevballew Shutters same as the trim and or garage door. I see so many front doors with the most unusual bright colors and they look stunning. I am not good at that but a soft sage green, a bright red, a burnt orange, coral?

CMR Interiors & Design Consultations Inc. Love the house . Looks like the roof is not doing so well. What are those striations on it? That is indicative of moisture in the attic. I love the thought of a cedar color. What about SW-7027 Well Bred Brown with a black roof?
Or a slate color like Slate Tile from SW-7624

aniluap2 I agree with Those above and I think a gold yellow door or sage green would make it more interesting. I think that orange might clad with the reddish tones??? I the railing is wood I would keep it the same as the other wood trim...dark brown.

quickzen I'm an artist and I love color, but I just stained my house red cedar and used graphite (a warm charcoal gray) for the trim and doors. My neighbor liked so much she painted her front door gray, too! It's not as harsh as black, but you get the same dramatic effect!

All shades of gray are in this year... and dark gray works great for doors because dirty little hand prints and paw prints simply don't show. The dark gray color on the garage door would make a statement.

You may want to consider painting your short window wall, on the right side, the same color to "ground" your house. Or you could cover it with some more plants because it pulls your eyes away from your front door.

Terri Symington, ASID I would go with a dark charcoal grey... and I see that quickzen is on the same wave length as myself. With the contemporary lines of the house it would be very striking. I would also do the railing in the grey and redo the landscaping in front of the railing in a low manicured style.

bevballew Gorgeous with gray I am sure!

Terri Symington, ASID I would also run the grey color on the foundation wall where it looks like there is a basement window in the front right section of the house.

Bekki Atkinson Thanks everyone...I've been on homehardware.ca and was able to try out some colors on the doors...makes me feel so much more confident about my choices and your advice. Thanks again :)

gwnorth Oh, just checked out the home hardware site. Much easier to use than Sherman Williams. Exactly what I was looking for!