Our GC had a wonderful exercise for us. His assignment even before we met was to have DH & me write out our top 20 items/ideas for the house (in order of importance). We did this seperarately w/o knowing each other's top 20. We then brought this list to GC on our first meeting. This enabled him to get the big picture. We also took these lists to the architect. Along with this list, was a photo of what we desired & a layout we thought we liked. As the process has developed, all of our smaller, nitpicky items have come out. GC has appreciated the thought process that I've put into it all. He said it has made everything move smoothly. In the end, I will have less daily choices to make. Although I did SO much research prior to all of our meetings, I have welcomed GC's ideas & knowledge, as well. Afterall, we are hiring him for his skills, knowledge, & expertise. He has been doing this 30+ years & I have only just recently begun this process. I definitely would not go into this seeming like a total know-it-all or you will make GC's life quite unpleasant. Also, in all honesty, about 90% of our desires for our home, GC had already planned for, so I would really be looking for the best GC you can find.

Just an update since I always appreciate when people post the "after", we got the garage doors installed. Unfortunately we forgot to have them do the resistance test as they showed up very late and didn't finish up until we were having to get ready for a party. Once our non-stop rain stops that is on the top of our list though!

Avoid these fiberglass doors at all costs!!!! We are in zero degree weather and the door has major drafts all over. The bottom gasket gave out less than a year later. We could not even close the door until I figured out that there was wood blocking the deadbolt. The door warped in within a month and there is now a strong draft at the top of the door. Feather River has very liberal specs for warpage which allow for drafts. The door was "installed" (butchered in) by a Home Depot contractor (Sayre "remodeling") but the drafts themselves are a result of bad quality materials and manufacturing. The (rude) contractor installed the door and then claimed all the screw plugs were missing and that we were to contact Feather River for replacements. Feather River claimed they no longer had them and sent our a brown crayon to fill in the screw holes! No really ... that's what they did! I put in an attorney general complaint and miraculously they found some plastic plugs to send out. The side panels are askew. All three windows in the door have drafts and I am finding frost deposits around the window frame where the drafts are. Wish we kept our original door ... these doors and their customer service are absolutely horrible! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2EVpuoBJes

It's hard to tell from the picture, but I'm guessing that the painted shutters you have are vinyl shutters? It will not be possible to achieve the stained finish you have posted with vinyl or even composite wood shutters. However, you could paint those shutters to match a similar color. I did a similar job in Chicago with Western Red Cedar wood shutters, we put a dark stain on them and then mounted them on functional hinges with the little s-hooks, or shutter dogs as I guess they call them. It really adds to the authenticity of them. If your looking for something maintenance free... go with a composite wood shutter and then paint it a similar color to your stain. It won't have a wood grain :( In my opinion the shutters should be wider. Most shutters are vinyl, and vinyl shutters are only available up to about 18 inches wide. However, wood shutters can be made into any width. Especially because you have a lot of space open around the window. It also appears you have some color fading on the brick, which you'll be sure to cover up with wider shutters. We got the cedar shutters for the job in Chicago from www.Exteriorsolutions.com. The quality was VERY good and the price was better than anywhere. They offered to prime and paint....but we were staining. They custom built the shutters so it took a few weeks, but I got them when they said I would which isn't always the case with a lot of companys... So I appreciated that. I have a lot of shutter experience! Post any questions! Also, you will have to post some after pictures! I'm dying to see it finished. Here is a link that might be useful: Exterior Shutters