Loribee - that pic helps a lot! And Lazydaisy, I LOVE that Wythe Blue door - that has me thinking that maybe a more subdued aqua would work. It rained on and off yesterday, but today is supposed to be nicer - I think I will scoot out in a bit and get samples of 'polished slate' (a deeper teal) and 'sunflower' and maybe even 'wythe blue', paint up some paper - then put it to a vote here. Thanks so much for everyone's help!

Honestly, when we replaced our roof, we went with that color planning to change the shutters to red. But....as with so many other things, my DH's philosophy is--if it works, is functional, why change? So...they stay blue. Next was staining the garage door to match. I hated the ugly redwood color and preferred a stain rather than paint thinking it would hold up better. I thought a white stain would never cover the dark wood stain. Believe me, it looks tons better--even the neighbors commented. Next, I wanted a red door--not burgundy. But my DH wanted a colored screen door and that was as close to red as I could get. So I'm trying to make the most of what I have. There is no budget for "new" things--anything we get, it's off of craiglist, yard sale, clearance etc. The only time we replace something is if it breaks or we get a great deal on something. So while I appreciate all the suggestions, I'm really very limited in what I can actually do to improve things. I am looking into stenciling a "stone-look" onto the concrete porch to make it not so plain looking. I'm sorry if I sound discouraged--I just read so many of these posts where people make so many changes to their homes ...it's something I wish I could do but just can't. With the Lord's help, I am trying to be content with the things I have.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!! Thank you, all of you!!!! My son borrowed my computer for the evening, so I missed the spectacular unfolding of all of those door colors. I absolutely LOVE looking at the different colors. Each one changes the whole look of the house so much. What a wonderful resource you all are. I am humbled, thank you. At first glance I am loving the plummy-grey brown. It satisfies my urge for a red door, while incorporating the beige of the house and the brown shutters AND the grey roof. Brilliant. Oakleyok, you suggested a wreath. Great minds! I had a lovely spring wreath on the door, but the birds decided they wanted to use it for nesting material. We were treated to a constant scrabbling noise as they tried to remove the twigs from the wreath -- so I had to temporarily take it down. Right now it's hanging on the INSIDE of the door. Thanks again, everyone! I will tell you what we decide, and then post more photos later. -- Maureen

I took my pine tv cabinet from this: to this: I didn't want a solid, single color paint look, but something with more depth. The end result is just what I wanted, and was easy to do. The process is multi step but each step is easy and very forgiving, nothing needs to be perfect. You could do lots of different color combos - I'm planning some dining room pieces for this winter with a brown base and green on top. For the whole process step by step, click on the before picture above or follow this link. Here is a link that might be useful: TV Cabinet Re-do