Thanks so much--I will check this out!

I have a red brick bungalow & I'm using these trim colors.

The Caviar is my window trim.



Along with minimal touches of white
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I can see your place with a black or charcoal, and another rich color....

I like that combo for the trim if I decide to keep the house white--the green softens the shartp contrast of the black. I just checked out the list of colors that Sherwin Williams has for vinyl siding and I like the SWVS 418-Stone Cold (bluish gray) if I take the plunge and paint the whole house. If I do that, what color window trim and porch floor color would work?

I'd do black and white too, add color with the front door, paint the porch ceiling blue, hand a flag out front, colorful pots, etc. so many ways to easily add color when the backdrop is a classic neutral palette.

If I keep house white and do black trim on windows, what color for door (other than the common red)?

I agree and would definitely do black and white. It's so classic and striking.

You asked about window trim, not the window sashes. I think it would be a big mistake to outline the white windows with black. These photos show WHITE trim with black window sashes. There is nothing wrong with an all white Craftsman. A charcoal or weathered wood-look roof would be nice. Remove the oddly placed hanging baskets and replace with large urns with ferns on either side of the door. Paint the door and the porch swing a color you like, it could be yellow, red, blue grey, and find some nice pillows.

Thanks--I am a bit hesitant on the black and white--always seemed so stark to me. Painting just the splashes could work. Also, I do like idea of painting swing; I also have 2 rocking chairs that I can paint and add colorful pillows. That plus door may work. Btw--the hanging plants are long gone. I like idea of potted ferns--another way to add color in ceramic pots. Great ideas!

Ok....Here's what I came up with just as an example. Using different levels of black & mossy greens. The upper windows I purposely did in 2 different levels of the green & a charcoal & a full on black.

Railings & other trimwork done in same. This is just using green as an example. I thought about reds, but with the brick walkway, you want to either match it exactly or stay away from reds altogether.

This is just showing what different values off the same color cards can get you.
I've been practicing my "paint" skills! haha

Great ideas and thanks for bringing the color possibilities to life!

Aubergine! Besides being a beautiful color (eggplant) it's fun to say! Paint the columns aubergine and the front door. The take a lighter aubergine (just add white paint) and paint the railings and trim with the lighter paint. Paint two large urn planters in the darker aubergine. To out on each side of your door, keep colored flowers or ferns going in the planters. I love this house. I want to paint it!

WE PAINTED OUR VINYL SIDING AND IT IS FINE. WE LIVE WHERE WE HAVE HARSH WINTERS ALSO. SEE YOUR SHERWIN WILLIAMS STORE FOR THE RIGHT PAINT TO PAINT VINYL SIDING.....

I'd keep the white, if you don't have to paint, why spend the money? I'd go for navy blue and light blue for the trim.

What a lovely home. . . let me think about this one with its red brick path. What colors do you use inside?

Thanks Darla--how did you know purple is my favorite color? Do you have a color to recommend?

Smartin--thanks for letting me know that you successfully painted vinyl. All of the "pros" have been scaring me away from trying this so glad to get a testimony.

Sigrid--really want to paint--tired of the wedding cake house! Plus 2 neighbors have white/light gray so my house just blends in with theirs

Libradesigneye-Inside walls are creamy yellow and I use all colors---browns, grays, greens with splashes of contrast like purple, orange.

Darla--just realized---purple won't work with the brick pathway. But thanks for the idea!

charming home!
just painting the small raised portion of the window trim is the default choice of the classic treatment on the west coast. this gives a nice detail without strong contrast, so black is often the choice here.

i have white vinyl and love the complete flexibility of the classic look. in the west coast climate the shaded sides can get an algae/moss buildup which needs periodic scrubbing/power washing--not something you want to do often on a repainted surface, regardless of the quality of the paint finish.

i also love the classic black of the roof, but the colour choice on the santa monica beach house is lovely as well. softer [as you don't like strong contrast] and also flexible with various trim choices. PLEASE avoid something with a strong pattern or any colour but neutral--they really can tie your hands trim-wise down the road, or affect resale of a classic style home. also consider your gutter colour/quality/maintainance

i love mo's drawing showing the horizontal trim detail at the base of the columns, but not the spindles...continuing the line along the railing and repeating the detail at the top of the columns will make yours stand out amongst your neighbours, and may start a trend:) it also minimizes maintenace repaints and gives great flexibility in future colour choices with minimal effort.

strong yellow doors make a welcoming statement and have been researched as helping to promote a sale! great choice with black, charcoal, blue, gray and aubergine:)

Thanks for your ideas. So many great ideas from everyone--I wish I had 3 houses to paint :) I do like your idea of painting the columns. And MO's coloring helped me see that a lttle bit of black on the splashes (didn't even know what these were before!) actually looks nice--not too stark as I had feared. Now--if I go with the black trim, does the door have to be black too?

I would paint your door one of your trim "colors", other than the charcoal. You can get a cute wooden screen door & paint that the charcoal like the window trims with slight accents in the contrasting color. The charcoal areas should all be a slim area. Meaning, the bigg areas of the post...or porch floor...or any other large area, should not be done in the charcoal.

I tried to make the porch floor a light version of the green trims. Color wasn't what I was really wanting, but this was just a general idea for contrasts, more than color. Just showing ideas for 3 levels of one color & the charcoal being a fourth.

Dark gray house, off white trim, rust or deep orange front door

Thanks! I'm leaning towards not painting the siding--I want the siding much darker but the dark color for the vinyl is a big change and therefore may cause buckling ( so the painting pros have told me--even with SW special paint for vinyl--but still researching),

You can always stain the walkway a neutral color so you don't have to worry about the house colors clashing with it.

Thanks! It's brick (which I like) plus there's a low brick "fence" in the front separating the house from the sidewalk so may not be possible.

i agree with those voting NOT to paint the vinyl. Having just painted our house, my husband and I are committed to vinyl for our next (and last) house. Being able to hose it clean is a blessing. The $$$ savings is a serious consideration.

I had a "plain white house" before and did the traditional black-shutters-red-door combination with brass hardware. I got tons of compliments. However, I understand your need for something more fun. My suggestion would be to use grey on tne shutters ( so many good shades to choose from) and have a wonderful happy color on the door - such as yellow, orange or a periwinkle bluish purple. A riotous colored door makes heads turn and people smile.
Once you start playing with the front door color, the right grey will present itself easily.

I would consider outlining the windows with the same grey or one shade darker. But AFTER painting the door and shutters.

Your house is so adorable that you will get compliments no matter what. Save money for a striking, exceptional handle and lock system.

I just replaced my windows on a white house and got black muntins. Love the look.

In your case, to go along with the Craftsman cottage feel, how about a deep, dark red for the muntins?

This is the dream house that I have kept it in my ideabook! Love this house and it's in my city. I like the mahogany on the windows (muntins? are these same as "sashes" I'm learning all the lingo! lol). Would also compliment my brick walkway....hmmmmm

Wow. If it's in your neighborhood, why not send them a handwritten note telling them you love their house and what are the colors used??? I think the deep red/mahogany would be a great start for your house too.

It's in Houzz so they have included the names/#s of colors! Will check them out to see how they blend with my white house :)

Isn't it a great house? In the picture, the color look red, not stained wood. Paint would be easier than stripping and staining and you could still use a wooden front door.

Thanks!

use whatever YOU like!! if it were mine i would paint the house a grey blue with stark white trim. but that's my taste!! the house is gorgeous and i think a couple of rocking chairs on the porch or a porch swing, oodles of colourful potted plants and tidy up the greenery. i would have green lawns rather than the mulch? i think details are the trick and the colour is yours to choose!!

Thanks everyone. We're testing a few sample paints to help finalize our decision. We will post a picture when it's done!

What about window boxes and painting your door also shudders?

If you can paint the vinyl siding I would do something like this. If you can't paint the vinyl then do the reverse, use taupe as your accent color for your windows columns etc.

I would suggest an Olive green or Barn red with a light trim. Lovely house by the way!

My first thought was for a gray-toned purple front door to accent your preferred grayish blue trim, keeping the home white.

I'd follow your heart on this one. You seem to know you want the grayish blue trim for the white, and it really works!

What is challenging for the white with black design is that indeed it is very classic, for Colonial homes. Yours is a Craftsman. The black shown in many of the photos is for the shutters, which are not on your Craftsman home. Bluenan gave the best examples with those photo choices also being Craftsman and a farmhouse. Also calling out the SASHES (this is the frame of the window that holds the glass--not "SPLASHES") in black is a good suggestion for where to bring in the black on a Craftsman design. In general, with the philosophy of the Arts & Crafts movement, we would not have seen a white with black color design. Much more natural colors that flow and blend in with nature are the norm for Craftsman homes. From our perspective, the architecture is the place to start with design to work with the spirit of the home.

Of course, with a situation like exists here with vinyl siding, sometimes we are just stuck with what is.

Much of what makes an exterior design really work is the intentional placement of color on different architectural elements, like the window sashes, fascia board, columns, drip caps, etc. We have exterior color designs for sale on our website, which specify not only the exact Benjamin Moore Paint color, but also the placement of those different architectural elements. We invite you to check them out! http://colorinspace.com/exterior_color.php

Thanks so much--this is very helpful! Will check out the website.

Paint the ceiling of the porch a seafoam green or pale blue...paint the trim around windows dark grey and the door a light grey!

Well, go with a blue roof. Then trim around windows purple charcoal sash.

I think putting in some color would really look nice on your house! Spice things up a bit. Doesn't sounds like you're too excited about black and white. I would do a dark green for the trimmings, but that's my personal preference. This is a chance for you to be bold if you want with color because with the white siding, it won't look like too much. If you change the color of the siding, you'd probably want to stick with a neutral, conservative color. Good luck!

HGTV has 8 named collections at Sherwin Williams. Each collection has 20 colors that mix and match each other beautifully, or so said D. Bromstad! He was right; I've used 2 of the collections (2 different houses, that is) with great results. It took my fear away completely.

The second time around I didn't have SW mix the colors. A big box store did it for me and did a fantastic job matching. There are large samples at SW of all 160 HGTV colors. You can check online first, which helps a lot, but slightly off.

"Liveable Luxe" contains what you may really be looking for. It was my first, no regrets!
I'd consider 2!! complementary trim colors, with Expressive Plum front door :)

Yes--we've seen these at SW and currently are considering one of the combos :) Thanks!

Despite suggestions to paint the vinyl, I can't help but feel this would be a HUGE mistake, as vinyl is flexible and paint can easily chip off. What a mess. Since you are stuck with white vinyl for now, then you have to work with that. Since you are replacing the roofing, this is a great opportunity to bring in a bold color and I would recommend green shingles. Paint the trim a darker shade of green. Keep the columns white. That door looks colonial and should be replaced with a craftsman style of door. Get a fiberglass door in a Mahogany color. Down the road, when you can afford it, replace the vinyl siding with cement board siding (James Hardie brand) in a cedar shake style, then you can paint it a traditional Craftsman color. Sherwin Williams has some great color combos to look at in their store or on their website.

Thanks. We have decided not to paint the vinyl and the photo is a bit dated---door was replaced with craftsman door and hanging plants long gone. We plan to keep the roof in a dark gray to give us more options to change paint color in the future because as soon as that vinyl wears out we are getting some color!! :)

I'd go with the dark barn red from gliddons classic homes line with white trim

Forgot to add...paint the bottom the columns with the dark grey from the same collection

white siding, dark gray roof and black trims is a great combination. it looks classy and fresh at the same time. keep the color in flowers, front door, flower pots, rocking chairs.
LOVE YOUR HOUSE. post pictures

We don't know if this is in your budget but the base of the columns you could add stone veneer. It would give a bit more of texture an color at the bottom of your home.

Thanks everyone!
Saca--this is the plan we're leaning towards :)
Rempfer--love the idea but not in the budget this year :(
New roof in a few weeks; painting early next month. Will post pics when done!!