Love this look for your house, in particular, how the windows stand out. The landscaping and color of decking is so refreshing and make the modest house look so important. Hope this gives you some inspiration. (Not loving’ the new second floor addition, though. Looks like a lego thing.

Thanks everyone for your responses. The current color is Behr’s Gladiator Grey. It is a medium tone greenish grey which explains why some monitors read it as green, others grey. I love the idea to paint the door darker and the above mock-ups really show how dramatic that can be. Lori’s point about proportions is spot on. Regarding the planters, I do like the privacy they offer but I agree they need to be painted or swapped out for something that doesn’t conflict with the style of the house. Also—fresh grass is on the way!

We restored our stairs in our 1920 Foursquare. Both the ones to the basement and the ones from the first to second floor. Lots of carpet and padding and tacks from the living space stairs and glued on carpet on each step to the basement. What a horrible job! It took qrts of denatured alcohol to get the glue off. Unfortunately that also melts the original shellac. My painter sanded everything and then applied 2 coats of Sikkens . They are all beautiful now!!! Would never cover them again. pictures in a minute. Before pic 1 st floor carpet off pad still on Before basement but after removing adhesives Risers painted to match walls in adjacent room Kalamata BM. Basement had a plywood piece at bottom so painted same as exterior of house.

Hmmm. Why not use hydrangeas themselves? paint has no true match for those luscious blooms And the shrub is lovely even after the blooms are dried. White fence ( unless you want to strip that sucker? or put new one in? ) basic, hydrangeas along it or ar least to either side of the gate so that they show the best. You have fantastic flower taste!! window trim: um. If you keep the color you might consider using the roof color, or white. Do you have plans to add anything beside the windows? Trim? I actually like the house color though I can see you need new siding. To more update the house, you have a lot of directions of paneling there. To the left of the door might be a textural stone or wood veneer? Since you mentioned the Museum over the other attractions in the area, you might choose to match-ish to your preference of stone there. Also the house siding: if you go white ( its not a new cottage, try a faintly off white in the vaguely warm direction) it will still be a lovely backdrop for hydrangeas. ( And Roses!!) if you want, since you already have a baby blue house in the area, a cooler lavender of your choice would be very nice. Door areas: if you have: A lavender ( any, light), the roof blue, white fence, then the area around the blue could be: And deeper , deeper warm purple for the door, ( dramatic n different) or milder, more gentle: Haint Bluein the door surround and an absolute white on the door, like So white it will make your snow blush. Note: I am a gardener and painter not a pro designer. Or