PineCreekFarm...My husband and I just built a house...it is mostly brick. We painted ALL of the hardi board, sofit and trim one color (a grey)...The dormers are grey as well. The shutters were painted a dark brown and the door a rusty red...that's it...we didn't distinguish between the hardiboard siding and the trim...it is all one color. That made it easy and pleasing to the eye, I think...just three colors... Another thing to consider is any guttering that you are wanting to install. That should match your trim color somewhat closely. That won't be hard unless you choose a color that is "way out there".. HTH Capegirl

How light is your kitchen? I would have loved to have had an all-white kitchen, but I have a huge (5') bay window over the sink, that is west-facing. The light in the winter (no leaves on the trees) is blinding in that room, and I've tried custom blinds/shades on that window but they're difficult to install and to reach to put them up and down. White would have been way too bright, so I chose SW Repose Gray. I painted the walls the same color but 1/2 strength. It suits my very traditional, 70 year old house very well, and is light without being blinding. You say you are taking cabinets to the ceiling which is 10' tall. You do realize that getting to those upper cabinets will require a stepladder, not just a kitchen ladder/stool. 9' is a good height for a kitchen ceiling if you want cabinets to go to the ceiling. I have 8' and it's quite adequate - still have to grab the kitchen step-stool to reach the top shelves. When I made changes to my kitchen the first time (33 years ago!), it was not a total gut but changes were made. I didn't take into account "access" and no pro ever mentioned it. I put in this huge bay kitchen window over my sink - it's quite deep and the side windows are casement and open/close. Or DID open/close! No one told me I would have to climb up on the counter while straddling the sink, to latch these windows or pull blinds up/down! It never occurred to me, either! All pros but clueless about function. My only excuse is that I was in my early 40's and had only recently started doing design work - maybe 3 years experience, and none in a kitchen. The GC and subs were all far older and very experienced! As a result of that experience (casements are now closed and will never again be opened as they stick and one must climb up on a ladder on the terrace to hammer them shut), I am now all about function. I see these two-story rooms with pot lights and my first thought is dusting and how does one change the light bulbs? It's hard enough with an 8' ceiling and pot lights or even a hall pendent. All these fancy pendents over islands and cook tops - most with glass. Who's going to clean them and how often will they need to be cleaned? One must LIVE in ones home. Form means a great deal to me as I'm a designer, but function must be taken into account, and in kitchens and baths, it must trump everything else.

Here are a couple of ideas. Make all the front windows the same. Entry door seems really tall -- make the same height as the windows and add row of vertical brick above. I added sidelights as the door seems lonely. Make columns larger. Added full returns (circled in red on 2nd image) below gables with siding. If not, then a larger band of trim. I would not use a different siding on the dormer. You have chosen a mix of styles with a more formal brick and steeply pitched roof with short overhangs, but then adding the stained decorative truss and columns, and shakes on the dormer. I'll suggest not trying to mix in "craftsman" or farmhouse, and stay with the more traditional.

My siding is a yellow color and I can't figure out what color to paint my trim / fascia