What zone are you in?

An off-white or bronze trim would be really nice, I think.

Obviously some colorful plantings would be great. You could plant impatiens around the base of the trees, for example, as they grow well in shade and really add nice color. They're an annual, though.

Yes -- trellis above the garage plus consider adding a low stone wall along the pathway to the front door.

If possible -- consider uplighting for a couple of the tall trees near the front pathway ......

Also -- perhaps think about adding wider flat wood trim around the windows before painting the trim .... although your home is really pretty and very visually cohesive in its color scheme now! :)

Perhaps add larger modern outdoor lanterns by the garage doors?

I sure wouldn't paint your trim an off white - it would jump out visually and distract from what is now a house set in the woods, so to speak. It's a handsome house from what I can see and I like the quiet nature of it. Landscaping would be my first thought if you want to punch it but I'd keep it flowing and natural. The garage portion does seem oddly tall but I'm not sure how to address that best - perhaps a horizontal trellis above the doors - maybe someone here can photoshop that for you.

Thank you all! please keep the ideas coming! I love them!

There was another thread recently about the same thing, and the homeowner ended up putting faux windows on his garage doors. They looked AWESOME! I honestly thought he'd gotten new doors with windows in them. they made a HUGE difference.

Here's a kind of sloppy presentation of off-white trim.

The garage probably gives the most accurate representation of off-white trim, it wouldn't be so brilliant on the shadowed part of the house. But I think the matching or blending trim as it is now is more appropriate. The off-white divides things up too much.

Pal, can you do a mockup with bronze trim?

With houses of this style (like many in our neighborhood), I don't think the trim should be enhanced too much because it's really not all that decorative. I prefer to see lower contrast with trim when it's a home like yours (and mine). We just painted over summer, and this is how it turned out with low-contrast trim:

I wanted to do something really bold with the entry, because it's so dark and recessed, but my DH isn't into bold at all; we ended up just reversing the colors (the main entry color is the trim color, and the trim in the entry is the house color). Very subtle, pointless and extra hassle according to my DH, but I think it adds a bit of interest without drawing a lot of attention.

I think something to draw the eye to the entry of your home would be really nice. Maybe use a lighter door color. I like your idea of trellis above the garage. But, overall, focus on the landscaping. I think a home like this style is meant to sort of exist with the landscape, not stand out.

I would love to see some hydrangeas hostas and ferns in there. Maybe a bed extending from the far corner of the house curving around wide and following the line of the home to the corner out just a little past the corner of the garage.

Hmmm..I like the thin, dark trim. Agree some lighting on the garage areaâ¦maybe a lantern on each side of the upper window?

And the faux windows on the garage doors. Maybe something like these faux windows?

What a lovely setting you have....I also would not paint the trim white and would keep the look of the house blending with the surroundings.

I'm noot much help about how to do that, but that is certainly the look I'd be going for.

A few ideas to ponder:

Your house has really nice horizontal lines: good contemporary styling. It's very nice as is color-wise, it just needs landscaping and a few visual tricks to make it more cohesive.

Pulling a wide entry way forward would do a lot to draw your eye to the front door. Bringing it forward would tie the main house with the front plane of the addition, so it looks like they belong together. It ought to connect with the driveway, of course, but I couldn't draw that in well. Maybe somebody here can do a better job.

That addition on the right is too monolithic, & the verticals fight the horizontals of the house. If you add a trim band at the same height as your main house's gutter, it will add horizontal continuity & break up the monolith. Make it the same color as your window trim, though, so it doesn't jump out at you too much. Also paint the garage doors a darker color (your door color?) to break up the block & ground it. A pergola would be nice, I just couldn't draw one in very well.

melle_sacto, your house turned out very nice!

Maybe a shed roof over the garage doors would look nice too:

Oakleaf hydrangeas in white. They light up shady areas.

My house is similar to melle's and I have creamy white trim which I think my house needs. It's quite small and would look rather drab without it. However, I don't think yours needs that contrast. It's such a beautiful setting. A vertical trellis over the garage doors with a plant with white or creamy flowers would be divine.

Awm03- thanks! I think it has a nice understated quality now...chucking the shutters was a great decision!

I like you're mock-up with the entry, definitely draws the eye away from the garage.

What about painting the whole bottom half of the garage, the walls and the doors, a darker color?

Or upper part lighter? Not sure.

I think your house looks great!

The only thing to add beyond what others have suggested is to plant a smaller type of tree or plant to the immediate left of the garage that will grow no higher than 2/3 the height of the garage. Then add a few full bushes and flowers under it to soften the noticeable height differences between the garage and house.

Maybe it could be a purpleleaf sand cherry, which is a plant that grows tall, but not as much in a canopy as many trees. Yet, it resembles a tree with bark on long, slim branches. That way, it won't block much of the windows behind it.

Your house is great. That low key nestled-into-nature look is perfect for the house. I could see a pergola adding a horizontal line to the garage...keeping it modern and darker, not white. No white trim. Although emphasized front entries are logical and common, that shaded and protected front entry is also perfect for the style of house. You could maybe out a pergola over that as well, that's an addition I've seen around here to this style of house. Anything that contributes to that protected feeling for the front door.

Large lanterns, contemporary style, and this is a house that could take big modern house numbers as well. I also love the suggestion of beefing up the front pathway.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 23:07

wow thank you all so much for your ideas! I really like the trellis idea now and the wide entry way toward the front door. Thank you all so much for taking your time to respond. If you have any more ideas I'd love to hear them!

Cass Turnbull, in her "Guide to Pruning" books (informative and fun reads!) talks about landscaping with plants to have the following as an ideal: a balance of "Papa bears, Mama bears and Baby bears." You seem to have just Papas (trees) and Babies, but are missing those Mamas. I like the peaceful setting!

I really like AWM's mock up. It balances out the garage and adds focus to the front door, but in a subtle way. Adding some landscaping will also help tremendously.

I agree - awm's mock up with the banding or shed roof or the idea of a pergola (which is what I meant instead of trellis) on the garage is perfect. Accent that horizontal line but not with contrast color trim. Instead rely on the natural shadowing that will come from the suggestions. Love the larger walkway. You could make it out of large rectangular stone slabs (again emphasize that horizontal line) and separate them with narrow strips of grass - moss would be ideal if you have the site for it.

I think Awm nailed it. Love the idea of a trellis over the garage. I'd keep colorful plantings confined to the front door area and maybe some large pots on each side of the garage. I wouldn't put flowers around your trees...there are too many and I think it will look too patchworky and draw attention away from the house.

Love the dark trim idea