I was going to say turquoise LOL but I agree with browny - since your siding is a muted gray-green, and it looks like you have black shutters and door, then maybe mix black and the brick (*your* brick not generic) red. I don't know that people usually put cushions on Ad. chairs, so how about painting the footrests (yes, turn them around) and table one color and the chairs the other? I'd like the chairs black and the smaller pieces brick. If that bothers you then paint the chairs and the footrests the same color and just paint the table the other color - your choice, brick chairs with black table b/t the black shutters would look nice too.

Thank you! So much great feedback. Sadly, the paint job is a necessity rather than just aesthetics -- paint on the back side is failing pretty badly & peeling off in layers. (After reading up on the paint forum, I think it was just too many layers of latex on top of old oil paint without adequate prep.) Maybe we will keep it close to current color. I'm not sure what color it is, but I'll have to stop by the BM store and pick up a tab for Briarwood. I think those color visualizers are just a bit off, at least on our monitor -- Down Pour is a very smurf-y blue on my screen. Luckily, SW store is right down the street. Of the SW colors, we liked Mineral Deposit -- gray, but not quite so dark. Johnmari, my wife said exactly that about warm trim looking bad with cool gray field color. I just want to get away from the current ultrawhite, just tone down a bit but not too much. Shutters? I think we will someday, after we've finished the essentials. Of course, being picky, I don't want to just screw aluminum shutters that don't match window size on there, so might be a while given that real shutters & hardware are pricey. The suggestion about doing the sash black is good--that could look really sharp and make the windows pop a bit more until we can dress it up a bit more with shutters. Absolutely agreed on the landscaping solutions. Could be more varied and it would add a lot. THANK YOU for all your suggestions, such a helpful group & nice little corner of the internet.

I think some structure and focus is needed to simplify the details. The basic structure looks very traditional to me, with cottage details added to the facade. I think I'd stick with more traditional elements; traditional shutters, for instance, rather than board & batten. I'm not understanding all the different window styles, either. Even the porch area has yet another style (transom) going on back there in the shadows; and the paned door sort of adds another to the mix. The shutters are also much too narrow and inappropriate for the style of some of the windows. The ledger stone is not very visible where placed, but also is too busy with the shake siding. I think I'd eliminate the detail on the peak mouldings, and just do them plain, though the porch header will need some detailing. The dark roof areas in the peaks are distracting. If they're functional, and with a gray house, I think I'd do those to match the siding and blend in; though you said you were thinking of another color, like green. If they're just decorative, I'd eliminate them. I'd also do white railings on the porch and not introduce wrought iron. Having only two posts on the porch also looks odd to me. I think I'd add another or reconfigure in some way. Sorry, but it looks like someone was trying to do too many different things on this one house. I'd be worried if this was my builder. I would look for someone, whose work you like, that can help you to pull the exterior together in a cohesive way. Otherwise, some very expensive and permanent mistakes are apt to occur. Good luck working it all out. It's a tremendous undertaking!

Well, painting our doors is taking much more time than anticipated! Partly bc we decided to take them off to lay flat and spray for a smoother finish. Plus my husband decided to work on building our shed yesterday so i had to wait for help on a few occasions. But we need a shed so that’s ok! Prep took forever bc the doors are not in great shape. And those darn windows! But I got both doors prepped and we sprayed 1 coat of primer on 1 door. But then couldn’t move it right away and then had to hang them before dark! So we will finish this weekend! I’ll post pics when done. Thank you!