I have a pretty good idea of the price of windows. 8k cheap - 20k mid/expensive. And the roof would be about 7k shingles and (not entirely sure yet) but I think around 10-11k metal. Gutters will be what we put into them. But we need and will use windows and a new roof and a painted house. I mean, it will take a while to pay back in heating costs, but in the winter sitting by the front window, there is a gusty cold zone. And I'm in a mid-atlantic area, I'm not going to start covering my windows in plastic like my VT relatives! But the porch would just be cosmetic unless we actually put enough into it that we would actually use it. Heating, cooling, more windows, bug protection, lighting, finishes. And I'd rather have that someday in the far future if we ever choose to invest in it in the back of the house which is very private. Believe me, I know, before we even closed I had mocked up this but we tabled the idea after much discussion: And the typical simple extended porch you'd see with with a colonial doesn't excite me either. Sure it might not be that expensive, but why should I invest in turning 'bleh' (to me) into 'that's ok.' I'd rather invest in something I really like. I'm not investing in curb appeal for future buyers, but in my own home satisfaction.

I would use SW Spalding Gray or a lighter color down. It depends on your neighborhood. My neighborhood has very similar home styles of the same year and is lately going lighter. In the last few months some have even gone an off white. They all look very fresh and clean. Anyway, this chit should work whether you choose one of the lighter shades or darker. Chit samples below do not really look like the color "on" but here it is. They change greatly according to the time of day and go from a warm taupe to taupe beige-y to a warm mottled vintage gray. The Heron Plume is much much lighter in real life and would be a great trim color. This color for the door. Don't be afraid to go a bit brighter than you normally would as that area is in shadow. This door painted the periwinkle above. Could you please post a closeup of the window area in front? And, also a sample of what your new roof color will be?

Shutters are too small for the windows and I think they don’t add much. My suggestion is the paint the house all bright white…B.M.Super White. Leave the brick as is and paint the door B.M. Somerville Red. I woud most definitely power wash the roof (carefully).

Grover, it makes me feel better that I'm not the only one who can't use the SW visualizer! Made a trip to SW store to get quarts of darker and medium green, but they don't sell quarts of stain, either for wood or concrete. To try different colors, you have to buy a gallon! I sure hope we like these colors. I'll post when we get some sample colors on the house.