jessica,,doors are much easier to change than the floors, so get a darker tone like the walnut. on the doors that face the wood floor, maybe you could have the flooring guy strip the doors and apply the same stain/finish to them? you may be able to do it yourself. if you give the doors a light sanding, 120-150 grit, you may be able to go over them w/a gel stain in the special walnut. (try varathane or General Finishes, no Minwax!) they look like Doug Fir. it will take away the orange tone and add a bit more depth to them. maybe try it on a door you plan on painting? like the inside of a room or something? if you can, remove it from the hinges, lay it on a sawhorse, do the sanding to remove the top coat, wipe w/a mineral spirits to clean, let dry a bit, then wipe on the gel stain, working it in and wiping off the excess. dries in a few hours. you should see a change. you are removing the carpet on the stairs? do we know what's underneath them? are the treads oak? are you putting in a runner? what color are you doing the walls? if doing a light color, you could redo the handrail in the same tone as the floor or the treads/risers. All depends where you're going w/that.

That's my..well, cal it "recipe" for kids Go to the paint store by yourself. Pick there two-three versions of darker warm blue(a teal?) and two-three versions of purple. But. Don't take bright, nice ones)) these look best on wood in high gloss, and tend to fall flat on walls and look like Barney etc. Pick bleaker, paler, grayer versions of those colors. The ones that look less cheerful.. more "meh" Believe me on the wall they'll be all right.. Of course you should like them yourself. your pre-approval should happen in that store..or maybe in some secret place where you can try samples on paper.. Then present the chips to the kids and ask them (especially important with your toddler)- "Which one you like more: THIS or THAT?" Here. You get the color you like, that will look sophisticated enough, and that your kids chose:) And I have a feeling these will go nicely with your trim too, given bedrooms have same trim. (don't ask painters-in case you don't pain yourself- how many colors a house should have..huge chance they'll say "people usually use two or three". I have 19 or 20, and my house is 1000 sq feet smaller than yours. True, many of them look pretty similar..lol Painters were very surprized,, Usually the bigger the room, the more open the plan-the easiest is to go with lighter paint. whatver it will be Just mind your colors being similar in terms of clean/muddy and warm//cool. Then it will flow)

You could certainly paint your Hardie siding. I wouldn't replace perfectly good siding just for aesthetic reasons. And that style, while appealing, will also quickly date a home. Please don't do what everyone else is doing, that gets old really quick. Your house is lovely. But I agree, the color could use a "jump." Have you looked at navy homes? It would look fabulous with the white trim and your porch... Oh, and paint your downspouts to match the siding.

@kjr0625 - before you change things, have an architect design the changes and create some renderings. I fear that removing the vertical lines will make that front look really boring and sparse, and it's worth the extra money to be able to really see how it's going to look before you actually do it. Personally, I think those lines are the best feature of that house and I would love to see it preserved. An architect could help you come up with other ideas that might make you happy. Of course it's your home so you should feel free to do what you want! @Patricia Colwell It also in not MCM but a great example of a 80's contemporary house stay true to that era for sure. It definitely captures the MCM spirit for sure though. I happen to love these, even when they do lean more 70s/80s!