What product will you be using to side the building? We have vinyl and I hate it. It needs to be washed every 2 years to get rid of the mossy buildup on the west and north sides of the house. I would never recommend vinyl.

If you are doing something that needs painting, then I don't have much to say, lol, except it is a cute place.

Where are you? What is the climate? Are you oceanside, lakeside, in the mountains? Is it wet, dry, hot, cold?

Thanks for the input! We have never actually had a place with vinyl siding. We just thought it would be the easiest and most affordable option to finish it.

Latifolia we are in Saskatchewan, Canada (prairies with trees, no mountains) Very cold in winter with plenty of snow, but hot in summer with average amounts of rain. Basically we get all 4 seasons where we are and moisture depends on the year. It is a small lake and we are lakefront. The first picture is the lakefront side.

Here is the lake view which also shows one of the out buildings we have that is brown. Not sure if we will change that or not.

Since you'reI n Canada check out Novik Vinyl Shake Siding https://www.novik.com/en

We used it on our garage/workshop and are very happy with it. It's more expensive than some other products but it's high quality. I'm on my phone but can get pictures of your interested.

I love the blue with cedar accent look, but don't know how to pull it off with the style of our place. Not sure where to incorporate the cedar accents...other than the fireplace.

I have seen a lot of the cedar accents that does not keep its colour well. Beautiful when new though.

How about Midnight Train by Benjamin Moor and keep the brown windows or change the windows to cream. This colour goes well with the trees. Or do a white house with black trims will simplify things.

I totally disagree about vinyl siding. My sister, who lives ocean side, had it installed 35 years ago, no mold, they do power wash it every two years and it looks as good as the day it was installed. The had it done in a clapboard style. She used a lovely muted color, Savannah Wicker, and dark brown storm frames plus brown door. The trim was Desert Sand. They still make it. Her house is stunning.

Interesting re Vinyl siding. I would have thought that after 35 years it would have started disintegrating long ago. I have seen some old vinyl siding that seems to turn “powdering” on the surface, and goes dull. Your sister must have exceptionally good vinyl.

You could use the cedar on the fireplace and in the front from the corner of the L through the angled entry or just in the angled entry. It may need occasional staining but the aesthetics are worth a few hours of maintenance every 4 or 5 years. Cement board siding like HardiPlank is the best option but they do make vinyl siding that looks like board and batten. The vertical siding will give your house the appearance of being taller. This isn't even remotely perfect but it gives you a good idea of what it might look like. It's vinyl siding from Certainteed.

I have a double solid cedar garage door, believe me the cedar stain only lasts for a couple of years, not 4-5....but my garage door also faces south. I also did not paint it myself, it was professionally done.

Lynn, vinyl and Hardi Plank are going to be the least maintenance. Cedar or other woods will look great at the lake but entail more maintenance.

If you're interested in seeing what different materials and colors might look like on your new home check out my web site, Creative Visual Concepts. I do virtual make overs.

The "cedar" I posted was actually a Certainteed vinyl in a cedar look. No maintenance but still a nice change from all one color vinyl.

Good to know Katinparadise. I had thought you could get Cedar look vinyl, but was starting to wonder if I was wrong about that!

Certainly it would be preferable to use real cedar but this is certainly more maintenance free and less expensive.

What do you think of the look?

I like the look, but my concerns are:

1. will we be tired of the blue in 5 to 10 years...maybe more neutral has longer appeal?

2. is a darker house going to be hotter than if we go with a lighter color?

3. what do we do with the dark brown trim and window trim, paint it creamy or white? and also what to do with the brown wood looking garage (sorry, havent posted picture of that) and the boathouse. Will the blue totally clash with those? I guess we could paint or stain those as well if we do go with blue.

I know I am totally overthinking this, but it is such a big decision!

here's a link to "james hardie" siding. you don't have to do blue, there are many colors, but that dark blue is gorgeous!! browse around the website and see what u are drawn to. they put out a good product and it should hold up well in your area. i would get something with the least amount of maintenance and their product should fit the bill...

go on pinterest and houzz to get ideas.

House colours are not forever colours unless it is vinyl. I think you would get tire of the colour after 10 years and then it is time for a change. Do your research to see the cons of Hardie boards before committing to it.

the inside of a well insulated dark colour house should not be any hotter than a White House....

If your house is well insulated, the darker siding shouldn't affect internal temperature, as nsc6 said.

The only way you can assure you won't tire of the house is to use something like HardiPlank that you can paint in 7 to 10 years if you tire of the color. It's quite a bit more expensive than vinyl though.

Will you be living here full time or is this a vacation home? If it's a vacation home that you won't be driving up to every day, I think it would be a nice change to have something a bit different than you see driving down your street to your home every day. If it's a weekend and vacation getaway, it should feel special. Honestly, it should feel special even if it's going to be your everyday home.

You could leave the brown window trim. It would work well with the cedar siding.