I do have a trailing plant that makes it through the winter in a container, outside on my deck, zone 5. I just don't know the name of it! It's a spreading/trailing groundcover-type plant; it's green, no flowers, with yellow/green roundish leaves. I bought it three years ago and threw away the tag because I was sure it would be an annual in my pot. Imagine my surprise when the next spring it started turning green again. I've since moved it to another container, divided it, and it still comes back each year. Hopefully someone else might know the name from my poor description.

I'm thinking that if you add a shed roof garage, you will add so much "weight" to that side of the house. With two front doors it's already a bit confusing (which door do I go to when I show up for coffee the first time??) and putting so much more mass to the right puts the right hand door in the center of the house. (Maybe that is the main door?) So even though you don't like the gable, it's not going away and I think you'll get a more attractive result by adding a front-facing garage with a gable roof that matches the house, and siding to match the house. Then paint out the solid door and trim to match the siding of that's not the main door. You mentioned resale a couple of times and I think most buyers will be looking for stylistic cohesion.

There is a large camp of no shutter people on Houzz. If they don't function or are not as large as they should be to function - get rid of them. I sometimes agree, and sometimes feel like the shutters add color and interest and are there purely for decorative reason, and this is perfectly okay. Your description of Victorian Inspired is also fine. It is not a Gothic (Think Haunted House) or Queen Anne Victorian, but it has the general shape and feel of a Victorian home, which is why you used the word "inspired." "Queen Anne homes are the quintessential Victorian home: They are asymmetrical, two or three (or more) stories tall, have steeply pitched roofs and large wrap-around porches. They are often adorned with differing wall textures and ornate trim—which gives them the “gingerbread” effect commonly associated with Victorian homes—that is typically painted in a variety of accent colors. Some Queen Anne homes also have octagonal towers (topped with a round pointed roof) and ornate bay windows—in short, nothing about these homes is subtle." Not all Victorians are the quintessential Victorian. Here is one that was featured in Architectural Digest. If all you want to do is change the color of the shutters, door and garage door and you found something that you think is beautiful a few blocks away, I would go knock on their door and ask what colors they used. My experience is that people are truly flattered when you knock on their door and ask something about their color choices or landscape choices. I have ended up in long conversations and even been given home and garden tours by doing this. I have gotten plant cuttings and been given samples of paint when the label was unreadable. I have never been turned away or scolded for admiring someone's home.

Ken - I would hardly call sticking a bunch of torenia in a window box anything other than amateur. I'd love to claim I was something other than that but I have no clue what I'm doing and get extremely overwhelmed at the nursery. I have 2 kids and get to work on this for about 3 hours a season. For instance, I'm now starting to think that the front of house is "part sun to shade". The sun starts turning the corner to our window boxes around 1:30 and fin ally hits the furthest window box at 2:30-3. From the many opinions I've heard at the various nurseries afternoon sun can be quite challenging to grow in. With this new found information what would you consider this area? Also, any idea for some "spillers" with color that would be suitable for this environment? I just picked up some torenia, but need something to overflow these boxes!!! (WHITE OR YELLOW WOULD BE IDEAL) Come on, come all with ideas.