Tina, thanks for the morning smile! Retirement may not come that quickly, but there's a slight possibility. We're both totally happy living in Louisiana until mid-summer hits. There's nothing worse than the constant heat and humidity. I know a lot of areas across the country get it for a few weeks every year, but months on end are so draining. So we start talking about leaving the area. We both come from northern states, but neither of us is willing to deal with long winters again. Looking for a compromise. Convenience is necessary. We're city people. Would like a city smaller than BR, but not too small. Out of curiosity I looked at a few "active adult" communities online. I found prices much higher in NC. Then I expanded the search to eastern Tennessee. Much more reasonable. Would love to get more feedback. Yours was a great start!

My daughter would hop on your wagon with lilac. Looking at lilac shades, this is a perfect time to peek at the lilacs blooming. In their natural state you could confer with their colors and paint chips. Perhaps even find a bunch and sit them on your porch to gather inspiration on shades. I like shutters if done correctly, an upgrade to the era of your home may make a difference in what you see overall. Many forget what shutters are for, ending up with decorative accents. I have two on a window the PO put on and they would be useless in reality. It is a huge window with these slim add on shutters. Would need six more on each side for any value. My suggestion is do do away with your shutters. The porch windows look really nice to me without them. Although it would be difficult to put any within the space as it is. Perhaps add a trim to the upper windows to come closer to the middle one seen. Love your home. And, MaryLu...I'm in an area that has many homes painted as yours. Love what you have done. Driving by them I am always intrigued by how they came up with colors that "work". I've thought many times to photograph these houses and put them into holiday groups...so many wonderful colors. Christmas, Easter, July 4th, Valentines, Thanksgiving. Always a fun drive around here seeing them.

Sorry I can't help you with the Photoshop but I really like your house! Personally,I think the stone would look great on the bump out as well as the lower portion of the whole house.I don't think it would be overkill with your landscaping at all.Stone is so popular now.I'm seeing it everywhere,even used with brick.

Whew...finally figured it out. Both the old pic and the new pic had the same filename. @@ I moved the crepe myrtle over a bit so you can see more of the left side. I imagine your stone will be a bit darker than it came out in the virtual but it's hard to say. Have you seen this stone on a house? When we were searching for stone, I really found the sample boards to be way off and we had to actually see it up on a house to get a true picture of it.