@einportlander. Am I not posting the right way, in the right place? I'm not getting any responses to two new posts.

More roses and some windowboxes full of flowers.

I think the issue is that there is not many ways to fix this. New roof =$$$$ and you said you won't paint, so that is a no go. So landscaping is left...

One more thing, remove your shutters. Your windows aren't designed for shutters (too wide). Here is a brief article to show you why: https://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/

I agree. The shutters need to go. They add too much contrast. Beige and white is a fine scheme. Here's a before and after that might provide some ideas...

http://www.mariakillam.com/whitegardens/

I have a plain ranch style house as well. I've been pinning a lot of pergolas thinking that I can add some architectural interest with a pergola and/or fencing across the front of my house. Here are some examples.

Marin Bungalow · More Info

Contemporary Remodel in Tiburon, California · More Info

Walker Meadow · More Info

what a cool roof! Agree about shutters. remove them and try painting the window trim in a dark shade. Maybe a dark bronze, charcoal, dark navy, Forest green, etc,,,

and yes to the landscaping, make the area under the windows more like a flower bed. those shrubs you have there now are doing nothing to enhance.

are you sure you can't paint the siding?

Thank you!! I will remove the shutters tomorrow and dig up the azaleas this weekend. Siding CAN be painted, but then it has to be repainted every 10-15 years. The roof is only a month old, a tree fell and caused some damage. I always wanted a gray or slate metal roof, but I was against painting the siding so I went with what I thought would look good with the siding. Ugh.

I bought the oval piece to put between the two windows on the left. (Photo below) Yes or no?

You gave me several options to choose from but I don't trust myself anymore to get it right, just tell me what to get and I'll post the pictures as proof!

The back of house looks like a two story and the block is painted black. Should I slate, brick or tile the front steps and porch or just paint it? Should the window trim, oval piece, block, front and side door be painted the same color? Oh! I also have a THIRD door behind the diagonal wood!

Trust me, I know I'm asking a lot! But I really want my house to look good. All the houses on my street look nice. I've been here 20 years, am a single parent and really want to have a home that looks good and one I can be proud of. Thank you!

Benjesbride, yes I love the last one. That might work over my kitchen window (far right window)

Denita, lol yes! I read that article a month ago and knew it applied to mine, but I just never thought removing them would look good! Ha! I can't wait to see what it looks like when they are off. Thank you

Tracy, we can't even see the porch, steps or the front door. post some pics that show the front door and a pic of the back of the house. get some close ups as well as a few further back (just enough to give perspective). And what's the diagonal wood? can only see a corner of it. the second pic is too far back to see clearly.

you have DIY skills? or do you have some handy people to help if need be? just trying to save on the budget.

after removing the shutters, put up the oval piece, snap a pic, and lets see how it looks.

Thank you, I'll get better pictures tomorrow. I'm actually embarrassed at how my house looks. My 20 year old son was killed in a car wreck 3 years ago and I'm just now noticing the things I've let go.

Thank you

Oh dear, don't be embarrassed! My heart aches for your loss. There are so many things in life that are more important than home improvement. I think your house looks lovely and homey as it is right now.

It's possible the best first step might be to paint your front door your favorite color. Something cheerful. The beauty of beige is that it's so complimentary. If your favorite color is lavender or hot pink I think you should give it a try. If it doesn't work out, its easy to change. Our front door is a coral color right now and it continues to make me happy every time I come home.

The worse thing to do is panic and make rash judgements. For whatever you do, create samples that can be viewed on site first and appraise these things from various angles and distances in order to get a good feel for how it will be. Test colors before committing to them. Make samples large enough to see. When testing colors, you don't have to test them on the actual object if that causes issues. You can paint some cardboard or something else in order to get a facsimile.

I'm in disagreement with everyone saying to remove the shutters regardless of what some brainiac wrote about it. Karl Marx, convincing millions, wrote a great dissertation about the way society should live ... but got it more that a little wrong in spite of his brilliant work and his ideas being heralded by so many! Evaluate your shutters from a distance. Are they wrong to you? If you think they might be, remove a pair and re-evaluate the window without shutters .... before you go hurriedly removing them all. For the most part shutters are window trim and trim enhances.

See if you can consult with the roofing manufacturer and ask them if the roofing can be painted with any special paints.

On second glance, I think your shutters would look nice if you can paint them the same white as your windows.

I wouldn't paint your siding. No maintenance siding is way too valuable in my opinion. Also, if you have any kind of warranty paint will likely void it.

Pftt. Your house looks fine. Don't armchair quarterback yourself! Your roses are gorgeous and the picket fence is cute. My only issue would be don't leave raw wood as an accent. With a small modest house like yours it looks unfinished. Paint, that might be a way to add a bit of color if you like. But monochrome color schemes are all the rage now. The only other thing I noticed is the shrubs in front aren't doing you any favors as far as appearance but maybe they are recently pruned. It really doesn't look bad as is and a metal roof is a great idea for many reasons so just give yourself time to get used to it.

Of all the colors samples above and pictures of other houses, what color scheme would go best, in your opinion. Leave shutters?-I need help with colors!

My 2 cents ... I like the color scheme of the first picture (w/ red walk) submitted by Tracy Powers. It is cheerful, inviting, upbeat, happy looking, with the body and roof colors very similar to yours.

I do too! I'll try it! Thank you!

Don't remove the shrubs in front just because someone here, even me lol!, doesn't like them. The question is, do you like them and do they serve a purpose for you? Maybe they have gorgeous blooms and it makes you happy once a year to see the show. Maybe they are blocking an ugly view. The only reason I mentioned them is your "inspiration pictures" seem to show an expanse of unobstructed lawn in front of those houses. I am fine with people wanting to hide their houses behind a row of shrubs, but it does tend to make the house look "less inviting." I personally don't care how "inviting" my house looks. If I want company I invite them over and the hospitality I show to actual guests is what I think makes my house inviting. If I could I would hide my house behind a wall of evergreens, but between the deer and the shade and roots of some large trees on my property, it's a no go.

I agree the roof and siding colors don't go together, it's too monochromatic and looks like you were trying to match but didn't quite do it. No amount of landscaping, shutter removal or other elements will change that. Not sure what you mean when you say you won't paint the siding "because of bad results many people have"? Isn't your siding painted now? Since changing the roof color isn't possible, the only alternative is painting the siding. Find a good painting contractor and see what can be done.

I clearly wasn't trying to match it. I never liked the siding color, (which isn't painted) and now I have a roof color that I THOUGHT was darker than the siding. The sample piece looked much darker. Once it was installed, it was A LOT lighter than I thought it was going to be. This is the contrast I thought I was going to have.

Everything review I have read about painted siding is negative. The pre conditioning has to be perfect, plus I don't want the maintenance of painting vinyl siding. If I was going to paint it, I would have picked what I really wanted for the roof, a slate or gray color.

I pinkmountain. I initially thought everyone was saying to cut the azaleas under the windows, then I realized the shrubs by the road are the ones everyone was saying don't do anything for the curb appeal. Which ones? I personally don't care, anything that will help, I'll do. I planted the ones by the road to block the old lady across the street, but she died, so.....lol. I haven't gotten any cream colored paint yet to test shutter color. Do either of these work? I seriously just need someone to tell me what to do. I'm about to lose it over all the wrong

that middle blue is very nice.

the azaleas are nice. (I'm sure you know they are acid loving and need a certain fertilizer?) just trim them a bit and perhaps integrate some other flowers. Maybe some hydrangeas or hostas or some other flowers. Look at how these flower beds are laid out.

your roses are pretty, but could use a little shaping and cleaning up around them.

do you have a little birdbath? maybe make that a focal point somewhere and plant flowers around it. cover w/some mulch and pavers.

Yes, I couldn't believe it when I got home from work and saw it. I was sick about it. Especially since I didn't rush into choosing the color. NOT the look I was going for at all. Now to find paint that matches the actual color of the roof (buckskin). Yes I love that door color also. I think that's what I'll do. Thank you for sticking with me through this! I'm researching putting slate and/or pavers over the porch and sidewalk. I'll remove the wrought the railings by the road and those shrubs, paint the diagonal wood the color of the shutters, plant flowers, mulch, hang the oval thing between bedrooms and maybe window boxes? That ought to do it! I'll post when completed. Not sure how to "tag" you on here so you can see? Again, thank you so very much! I feel like it'll look good then. Next up...This is what's going on in my living room lol smh

I cant wait to see!

It's so easy to misjudge exterior color. I spent weeks painting swatches of color on our siding, but it was early springtime, overcast and on the east side of the house. I thought I was choosing a dark green gray. Well, it was more green than gray and unfortunately, in the summer afternoons when the sun was orangey-er in color, the west side of the house (our back yard) took on the nastiest greenish brown color. UGH! It really bothered me for the first few months in the summer, but I eventually didn't think about it anymore.

sherwin williams has a handy app that allows you to take a photo of something and use it to find their paint colors to match.

If you'd like help with your sidewalk/front step project, you might start a new thread with photos focused on the walkways. Personally, I like concrete sidewalks I just might replace what you have with wider paths.

I'm downloading the SW App, it's really changed since I was on it last.

Thanks, I'll do that with the sidewalk. I have a tendency to have multiple projects going, then I'll start another one and get overwhelmed then hire someone to finish lol

Everyone on here was very helpful, encouraging and positive, then Rapp Architecture commented and kinda brought me down for a bit, but that's ok, it could be worse!

I choose my metal roof too light as well and hate it....it was supposed to be charcoal but it looks like sandstone when sun is on it uggggg! I have white sidingsidingsidingsidi what color should I use for shutters and brick foundation

They just finished my metal roof. I picked charcoal also and my house is a light blue. It turned out so light I want to cry.