Hi Houzzers! We are in the planning stages of making some exterior improvements to our home. Our home is 19 years old, 3 years ago the roof was replaced with IKO Cambridge architectural shingles in “driftwood” (if memory serves), which is a combo of browns and greys. 2 years ago the veranda was replaced with composite decking in a brown and charcoal mix colour with white trim, and a white and glass railing. These things will remain unchanged. The front door system with sidelights is 4 years old. We prefer not to change it, but are open to the idea. It is called “cranberry”-a burgundy with purple undertones.

Planned improvements:

1. Change the siding (and increase the insulation underneath). Looking for colour suggestions. It is currently beige, but has faded considerably from its original colour. The front of the house faces south overlooking the Atlantic, so we get a lot of reflection off the water. A cheaper option would be to paint the siding, but I have my reservations. I don’t know how the paint would fair with all the salt air. Also, we are in Canada so get a considerable fluctuation in seasonal temperatures.

2. Change the garage door. Our trim is vinyl and is white, so I think a white door would look best, but I’m open to suggestions. I’m leaning toward a more craftsman style, perhaps with a row of windows (with or without mullions?) at the top. Interested in hearing others thoughts.

3. Change the windows-well, the panes really. They are vinyl and installed well, but the seals between the panes are breaking, so need to be replaced. Should we keep or lose the mullions/grills? As we’d like to keep the front door (which had millions), one idea I had was to keep the mullions in the centre window above the door, but lose them in the other windows. I’m open to ideas.

4. Improve the driveway. It is currently gravel with some crushed recycled asphalt. The driveway is on a bit of an incline, and again, we have the whole temperature fluctuation and salt air factors to consider. We would either like to pave it with asphalt or concrete. If anyone has any words of wisdom.

Then there’s the landscaping, but that a subject for another thread. As far as style preferences go (if that makes a difference to my questions) we lean toward craftsman and coastal styles. I don’t have any desire to try to make the house something it is not however. This renovation is about a year away, but it takes me that long to plan. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Here are some pics: