Very cute house! I would consider a soft peach color. I had a neighbor once who used it with white trim on a very colonial-revival looking house under huge shady trees, and it was charming. As for the assymetry of the windows, you can balance that with plantings. A tallish shrub or trellis to the left of the left window, something less than window height under that window, and something medium height between the window and the door? I wouldn't use shutters on your house.

Soft peach with trim a little lighter OR soft peach, same trim (no shutters) and blue-gray front door with brass hardware.

(I know you don't like that but your house is not a modern sleek home and brushed nickel is going not going to give your house the "pop" you need for the colors).

Another option is taupe with taupe trim, Chinese red door, brass hardware OR taupe with darker taupe front door.

Uh, that would be asymmetry. Sorry about that rude typo. :)

How cute is your cottage?!!! Very sweet.

I would go for a very soft yellow. It would look great with a reddish door, or black for that matter.

And I think the nickel accessories would work well.

Very pretty! I'm partial to the white, but then again there are different variations on white, leaning towards an antique white or cream. I like the idea of a soft yellow too. If it were mine, I'd leave white and concentrate on the door color, I like the idea of a dark rich chocalate brown color. With minimal yard work, window boxes, new door color, it's going to look great.
The windows don't look unbalanced, there is an odd number and to try and even it up would counter-act the charm. Would love to see pictures when you're done.

I'm not good at giving color advice, but a cottage garden in front would be beautiful! It's a lot of work, but it's fun too. Flowers under the big tree, on both sides of the sidewalk, where ever you can stick one in the ground! I would definitely cut back the big bush on the side of the house.

I'm also partial to white and if it were me, I wouldn't paint it. Just the trim and front door.

It's such a neat house with so much potential...especially the front yard!

I do love your white cottage -- but perhaps a color like Benjamin Moore Sag Harbor Gray HC-95 or Old Salem Gray HC-94? With fresh white trim -- and a black door! Or how about a great color like deep purple? Benjamin Moore's Cottage Red is an exterior paint -- and a classic for front doors. Be Sure to "spread" the color around the whole area -- maybe a couple of vintage porch chairs? Or a small bench? Red flowers?

Well symmetry couldn't work here -- so go for quirky charming asymmetry. For the window on the left-hand side of the house -- plant a tall bush on the left hand side of it. You could add black shutters -- but I'd rather see white window boxes under the large window for real cottage charm.

Clean out the gardens throughly, check for proper drainage, add lots of compost -- and add a small seating area on the left-hand side of the front stairs. Add gardens down the front pathway with annual color. Add lots of herbs if possible.

How cute is your cottage?!!! Very sweet.

I would go for a very soft yellow. It would look great with a reddish door, or black for that matter.

And I think the nickel accessories would work well.

Another yellow vote - there's nothing cuter than a little yellow cottage with white trim and a red door. Your house has a ton of charm.

Teacats, there is plenty of compost right there in her garden. All she needs is to rent a chipper and voila, compost. Nothing better than what grows well there to fertilize the earth. Run by Starbucks, Waffle House, Cracker Barrel and all the java shops and ask the to save the grounds (but supply them with containers first). There is no better compost on earth.

A pale blue would look really good with white trim.

Teacats stole my post! ;-p
Well, not really, but she said exactly what I wanted to say!

Window boxes under the triple window, a tall shrub on the left, small seating area and cottage garden on the left side, bright, cheery door -- maybe in a totally unexpected color that picks up on your flowers?

I also like the idea of white and painting the trim something else. I also think window boxes would be adorable. I love the cottage! Please keep us posted. I can't wait to see what you do.

I would love to see some of the suggested colors on a house, too. But you might do some research on the upkeep to painted aluminum siding. Once you paint it, you're in it for life. You might be pleased to see how much better the siding would look with a good power washing. I did that on a former home and wished I had done it earlier. You could then concentrate on choosing colors for the door, trim, and porch ceiling. A new mailbox and light fixture will make a big difference. You could also elevate you trees and let in a bit more light. It's a charming cottage -- enjoy.

I think I would choose between light blue, green, cream or white for the siding. The color has to go with the gray roof.

thanks for all the great ideas. the house has actually been re-roofed 2 weeks ago (these pics are from the day before closing) - the color is weathered wood - i think that's the name - architectural shingles in mainly brown, charcoal and green/blue tones.

I think I'm leaning toward a Sage green paint color. There are some nearby grey houses that look terrible - and a couple yellow across the street - I want something that stands out a bit, but still fits in a historic neighborhood. I love the ideas for the seating area under the tree, lots of flowers.

I bought this house long term as my own - but short term, I've got to rent for a year while I sell my other home. It's only 1,000 sf, I currently live in nearly 5,000 sf - so this will be an adjustment. I'll be putting on an addition as soon as I move in - so it'll get bigger - about 1800 sf total. So, I don't really care about painting aluminum right now (it doesn't bother me if it only lasts 3-4 years). There is wood clapboard underneath - no telling in what condition. But, when I put on the addition in the rear, I'll likely put up hardi siding and maybe re-side the front then as well. I'll be sure to post pictures again - I think I'll actually paint the house tomorrow. This is my 7th renovation -- but due to a divorce - the one with the smallest budget... so I'm the painter this time :-) (and cabinet installer, tile person, landscaper, and general fix it person)...

Well, lovetorenovate, you live your screen name. If the roof is now a brownish color, I think the green will work well. Very earthy and fitting in well with the trees.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with this house. Is your other house, the one for sale, staged to sell? We can help with that too.

GW Home Decorating Forum is like a charity design firm.

I think a sage green exterior with white trim would look nice. I would strip and stain the barrel (ceiling of entrance) and front door. Pavers would look good on the entrance porch too.

Hope I got the roof right.

{{!gwi}}

threegrad - you girls are great. I actually posted photos of my current house almost 2 years ago when I was finishing that one up. I am a "serial" renovator - I buy one every 2 years - then move and sell the last house for a tax free gain. Where I live now was a 4 unit apartment building that I turned into a single family home -- my "dream home". I NEVER wanted to move - I still don't - but it's killing me financially. Here are pics:

before as a fourplex:
{{!gwi}}

looks like i need new front photos - because i landscaped in january 08 - just don't have new pics of the front:
{{!gwi}}

my kitchen:
{{!gwi}}

my older son's room (airplane fanatic at 5):

younger son's room:

playroom:

oh, here's what a made a few weeks ago - a swinging daybed - it's 1/2 of a kids bunkbed. I trimmed the legs, put on a coat of exterior paint, added the hardware to hang, and put on a twin air mattress. it's awesome!

Doing that house was a great experience and fun project..... but it's time to downsize! I do love renovating, decorating, design, construction... but sadly, had to go back to a desk job at a software company last summer. I'll be back doing what I love full-time again someday :-) thanks for looking at my pics - and sharing all your great ideas everyone! I'll be back for staging tips when I'm ready to put it on the market. Our market is still slow for large homes here - so I'll be waiting until next spring to try to sell.

My upper roof (above the shake) has Weathered Wood shingles - our house is a custom color - but we got it by mixing BM Stratton Blue and Sea Pine (so we call it Sea Stratton ;-) ) I think it looks good with the white trim, brown roof, red door.

(we're still under construction - Landscaping goes in next week!)

kpaquette, i love your house! adoarble - and beautiful color scheme!

Thanks! We get tons of compliments on the color - there are lots of colorful victorians and colonials in our neighborhood, so it seems to work. I found the paint can downstairs - if you want to try a quart the formula is -
OY - 8.88
BK - 9.95
BB - 3.06
GY - 3.00

At least I think that's the formula - not sure what all these numbers mean LOL. We got it by mixing the two colors and painting scraps of wood until we found what we liked.

this one is a pretty accurate one of the color (on my monitor, anyway)

I am so stealing that bunk-bed swing idea! What a fabulous house--I'm sure you'll miss it, but the new one will be fun to fix up, and is really cute. The lot looks great--love the big trees.

Thanks for posting this and the kitchen in the kit forum. We renovate a lot, too, and know you can do it on a very small budget, but you don't see that reflected much on this site. It's mostly $50K+ kitchens, etc, and I think it can sometimes discourage people. You're doing a wonderful job on this, and the big house turned out perfect.

I am probably too late, but I would think about a soft olive green, rather than a sage. I think the warmer tones of the olive would be nice in the shady space, and with a red door and warm white trim, along with the roof color, would be a wonderful combo!

Have you considered adding simple trellises on either side of the lone window on the left? I would be nice with the cottage feel of the home, and would give some visual weight to balance the three windows on the other side.

Paint the ceiling of the porch in a light blue, and change out the railings to wood ones.

A charming cottage!

Your current home is wonderful, and I can understand you hating to leave. But down the line, especially since remodeling is your passion, you will have something even more amazing, I am sure. For now, the cottage may feel small, but will also give you a sense of coziness and security that could be an island of peace in the storm.

I remember your posts last year on your current home! It is wonderful. You have a great eye for design. The kitchen is fabulous!

For your new home, I agree with Les on the olive green. (But not sure if it will go with your new roof?) There was someone here that painted their small house in olive and it waa awesome (I think they were in FLA.)

Best of luck with your new project.

haha - my house was olive before we painted it blue. It was a bit drab for me - but maybe a different olive would be better. (taken before/during lanscaping being removed.)

Wow, lovetorenovate! You really have a talent for redesign. Why are you asking us for advice?!

A neighbor just painted her house a wonderful peach/apricot color. I'm amazed how pretty it looks. White trim, glossy black shutters and door -- very smart looking. The peach color has a lot of nuance without being too heavy looking or too sweet. It sometimes appears apricot, sometimes pinkish, glowing either way. I'll knock on her door to ask what the paint is. I'll try to get a picture too, though, I've a feeling the camera won't capture how nice it is.

Here's a my darker sage green house -- hope this helps!

Long time lurker and finally have to post! I have been looking for a limey green/blue area rug and love the one in your younger son's room Can you tell me where you found it? Your home is beautiful!

I have SW Svelte sage on my house and I think it would look good on yours. We have a weathered cedar coloring on our asphalt shingles.