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 also suggest that you build a whole home color pallet. You want each room to complement the rooms next to them so that you keep a great cohesive feel to your home. I recently bought a home and used the same method that I used on my last home and on a dozen homes belonging to friends and family. Get a large white sheet and lay it over a table either outside or near large windows. You want to see the colors in natural daylight to really get a feel for the undertones. Gather samples of the colors that are in your home and have to stay. Flooring, counters, appliances, might even be a painting that is special to you and you will never part with or new furniture that you are going to keep for a long time. Place the colors on the sheet in the same pattern that you would see if you were walking from room to room in your home. Then pick the colors that you love - those colors from your closet and accessories and art work that you selected that make your heart sing. (You don't want to envelop yourself in a color you would never wear - you want your home to make you feel like a 10). You will want most of the colors to be subdued versions of the colors you love - I have dark hair and eyes and ivory skin. Summer colors. I love purple, but instead of bright purple walls, I selected smoky purples complemented them with deep wine red and grayish teal. My sister have medium brown hair and more olive toned skin. Her home has all fall colors - gray greens, oranges, tans, reds. My sister in law has blond hair and blue eyes and has a country home with soft yellows, peach and cornflower blues. Place the colors in different rooms on your sheet, figuring out what works with the colors that must stay and how the colors can flow from room to room. Think about how each room is going to be used and what feelings you want the room to reflect (You may want to feel sexy in the bedroom, but comfortable in the living room or you may want to feel relaxed in the bedroom and have your living room a bright and cheery gathering space) Pick out 3 to 6 colors that you want to incorporate into your home. Now pick out the neutral that is going to work with the colors that must stay and the colors that you love. The rule of thumb is that you should have 60% neutral, 30% subdued color and 10% accept color. My last home the ceilings were all my neutral (Purple under toned taupe) as were my living room, entry, hallways and office. My kitchen was deep wine red - made the cabinets pop. I continued the wine red into the family room as it was a single wall in an open concept space. I used a deeper shade of my neutral on the other 2 walls in that room. My 2 spare bedrooms were a light grayish teal and the bathrooms a deep grayish teal. My towels were smokey purple as were the walls in my master bedroom. My carpet in the bedroom was a deep shade of my neutral. Don't be afraid of color, use what you already know. What would you wear together. If your ever unsure if something works together, remember that mother nature is the best color coordinator around. If she put colors together they work. Look at landscapes, flowers, streams, beaches and pick the colors that mother nature put together and you will never go wrong.

The first thought that came to mind when you said "more contemporary" was black or deep green. Here are some inspirational photos. You didn't ask, but I would also remove the old schrubs and put in new landscaping. It would really move the home's look to the next level. Paint or replaced the front porch handrails your trim color and if you could replace them, select straight line ironwork. Add a new stainless mailbox and house numbers and change out your lighting. All these details will help you achieve the look you are aiming for. However, you can't totally change an "English bungalow" to a modern building without more structural changes, which I wouldn't do at this stage.

Here is my vision. I like this tone of blue. Start by painting storm door black. That repeats the black hand rail and I added a decorative light in peak. The blue goes well with roof. Then paint front door blue as well as trim around door. Then, as you are able paint posts and other trim in the blue. Brings a beautiful look to your front appeal.