Wow... lots of ideas! The weathered cedar shingles are beautiful and I regret not keeping that look. But I couldn't find any siding manufacturers with vinyl shingles when we replaced the cedar shingles back in the mid 1990's. Today they make a variety of beautiful products. Love these Certainteed shakes in Sable Brown: I also hate the white trim around the gambrel on my house. I don't know what I was thinking when we had it installed. But I do like the brown siding. (Sorry kswl and chickadee2. But I appreciate your honest opinions!) All the homes in our area have either white, tan or yellow siding. I wanted something different. (Ha! I certainly achieved that!) Although we can't afford to cover the white trim and/or replace the siding now I'll get some estimates. At least it's something we can budget for. So back to the door. I need to cover the blue. I visited our local BM dealer and chatted with the decorator about door color. She listened patiently to my sob story about how DH doesn't want a black door and how I would love to have a red door. Well she found the perfect red: BM Country Redwood. ("Nobody has ever returned Country Redwood") It's similar to the Cottage Red that I love but a tad more orange. I painted the door last weekend and just love it! Makes the door the focal point of the house. Will post photos as soon as we get a sunny day to take a picture.

Wow! Thanks so much for the great ideas! I never thought about using such bright colors like that DE green hour or blue for the door. I would have never thought of it myself...and I really like it! I love pops of color but i’m always scared to take the leap! Not sure why. Lol I guess it’s cause it’s our first place and it feels risky, but in the end I really should just think of it as paint. I can always change it up! Thanks for paint color suggestions as well, sometimes it’s overwhelming to see so many colors. It’s nice to know what has worked for others who’s homes have the same color palette! I really love the dark trim ideas (for now, our windows have a light color screen over them, but the window itself is actually a dark brown/bronze) and landscaping ideas- I never thought something as simple as deepening flower beds would have such a dramatic effect! Thanks Dig Doug! Our flower beds are pretty shallow and rectangular, the curved beds are a fabulous idea! NHbabs and debbie1000 I totally agree about the tree between the windows and the narrow walkway (its mix matched half with river rock half smooth concrete), they are definitely on the ‘to do’ list. emmarie- I love your idea of the trim on the left window, I agree it needs some bulking up to match the others. I really like your post idea, and i know it’s hard to see from my photo, but it’s acually a brick wall. Right now removing is probably more than we’d like to do, but it would definitely give it a more open feeling. Love your rendering makes my house look cute! Definitely has me thinking about that blue door color! I’m not able to upload more pictures of the house since I’m currently on a trip, but when I get back I’ll upload more, but I can’t say THANK YOU enough. The pictures you all posted definitely have my creative wheels turning! I feel like I now have some direction in looking up design ideas. We’re not in a huge rush to redo our home, but i’ll definitely keep everyone posted with picture updates as we make changes here and there so you can see how we implemented your ideas and suggestions. Thank you again for taking the time to help us out! I really didn’t think i’d have this many people respond in just one day. You guys are AMAZING!!

I’ve heard that it’s possible to replace just the laminate and keep the plywood underneath resulting in a much less expensive project than a complete tear out and replacement. Is there any way to know whether that would be possible short of having a countertop person come out to look? I know a person I plan to ask about it, but I don’t have access to the house right now to have them look and am curious about the difference in costs. And thanks for all the interest in the project! I would love to keep you all updated on it, and would also love feedback about other rooms. The living room is kind of a blank slate and I don’t want to use my current living room furniture, so I would especially love help with that. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of that room except the one above of my kids laying on a carpeted floor. But I will be back asking for more help soon, I am sure!

Eliminating the curved elements of the facade would help to modernize it- the arched windows ( are they new? ) , the curved brick walls along the sides of the garage and right front of the house. Simplifying the exterior, removing the boxed out structure in the garage gable, removing the trim pieces along the garage wall, squaring off the garage door openings, all would update the appearance. Have you decided on a budget?