I can't believe we are doing it.....but.....we are selling our 2600 sf craftsman and moving around the corner to a 1500 sf 1980's ranch. Hello downsizing! Majority of the budget is consumed by the interior update and back porch addition. Painting the brick is not a option...at least, not now. I have a few ideas for a facelift and would appreciate advise/opinions. Remove tiny porch columns and railing. Replace with three cedar (stained) columns. Replace storm door with a cedar (stained) storm door. Definitely remove shutters from window under porch (wrong size) I'm not sure about removing all shutters. I don't think the existing shutters are the correct size. But I am concerned that removing them would make the home too plain. I would like to add cedar window boxes...I think. :) Shingles are dark grey. I really need help with paint colors for trim. I am considering removing the window muntins and painting the window sills black (inside and out) and trimming with a creamy white. Yikes! Make me nervous!! The windows are all wood and in excellent condition. If I keep the shutters, what color? Charcoal, Dark Blue/Navy, Olive Green? Of course, the landscaping will be redone. I really need some advise on exterior color choices and some of my ideas. I love this little ranch. She is so adorable! My style is mostly transitional - nothing too trendy.

I think you neeed to get drwaings of the planned addition and IMO a door going into the house from the porch but at the front is preferable to a side entry .I would aslo run a porch all across that wall you show in the planning pic. You really need an architect to make this appear as if it was there all the time . I think doing the siding before doing the additon is abad idea since unless you buy all the siding for the whole house and store somehwere chances are it will not match when you are ready for the rest. I like your plan to add the gable and overhang but it needs to be done perfectly or it will just look like a tack on.

Your mock up looks great. It looks like the windows are a dark bronze color? i would stain the porch the same. It is 100% worth doing the labor intensive process of stripping/sanding the existing red paint off. Ask me how I know? Or even pullling them up and turning them to the underside (unpainted Ill assume ). Ask me how I know? We had a painted red porch floor done with porch specified paint in our last home. After some years we decided to paint it a different color (gray) and used the same brand paint different color. Saned it and prepped it as instructed . It was from there on out a nightmare. Constantly chipping. Slick to walk on etc etc. Take it to the natural wood and stain it the dark bronze color of your windows.

RedRyder, you've made a few compelling points; building out that original roofline into an overhang would work now with the existing siding, and then when that siding eventually needs replacing, board and batten would complement it nicely. Marine blue seemed like the best choice when I applied it to the existing structure, but if I were to do the overhang, I think the eventual board and batten should be lighter in colour (even though I do like the blue) to combat any gloom that the added shade from the overhang would bring. Your other comment about light to the front rooms is very important, and was a big reason I initially wasn't considering a full overhang. It sounds like you've done something similar, and the light reduction was significant - would you say that you regret it? Those front rooms have 8-ft ceilings, so I'd want to be conscious of how much the lower light would make those rooms feel even more closed in. As I've mentioned earlier, I don't anticipate that this front area will be used an awful lot in practice, even for guests; a wide pathway invites people from the street to the side door. So it makes sense to me to consider what I do to the front to be principally a matter of curb appeal, and limit the scope/budget accordingly. The only change I can think of that would make a meaningful difference to how we use the space would be to construct a lean-to conservatory/greenhouse, accessible via the front door. This would be dreamy, a potential sanity-saver during the winter months where it's too cold to enjoy the yard, and would not impact the light levels as much in the front rooms. But I don't know enough about greenhouses to weigh things like cost and impact on the house itself of such an addition.