Want to see a picture of my 'custom' step? Are you ready? Ok....promise not to laugh. ok..ok...you have the right to laugh. I won't hold it against you. Actually, this is the original stoop to the house that we're remodeling this year. We had a contractor over and he kept complaining because the concrete platform sits uncomfortably low under the door, the distance obviously not up to code, so he built this for us on a whim...a temporary wooden step. I painted it and threw some of that rough tape on it to prevent us from slipping....LOL...it's really a pathetic looking thing, but temporary. Trust me, I can't wait to see it go. Especially after seeing your beautiful Teak! BTW - that's my old dog Cody (17 yrs) and the Chi is my beloved Chewy - I had to put Chewy down this past weekend due to congestive heart failure. I miss him dearly, he was such a little lover boy. He hadn't a clue to his own size...he'd charge Pit Bulls though he weighed all but 4 lbs! LOL.

Thank you so much for the replies! @ Yayagirl: that is such a cute little cabin and a great color scheme for it! Love it! Wouldn’t work for this particular cabin though. :) @ Groveraxle: thanks so much for the pictures of cabins you found. Those are more helpful - I really like the burnt orange/rust on the front door in some of those pictures; I think that looks really great. Regrettably I can’t use that though as the door color on our cabin since our log stain already has so much orange in it (want something more striking/not the same). Thanks too for your time & help in painting on the rust and the green - can’t say I’m particularly fond of either of those looks though. :-) @ All: 3 questions: a) I’m thinking for the front door going either charcoal, or this one brown shade I found that has just a little bit of an olive undertone... Trying to figure out what color would best make the front door “striking” against the orange undertone of the logs....Ideas?? and b) A friend of mine said he doesn’t like the way cabins look when they have too many colors going on, he said best to limit it to only a few colors. But he actually said three colors max including the white grid color of the window and the roof color. Which... to me seems pretty much un-doable, LOL, considering if you’re including those colors (white window grids and roof color) I’m already at 4 colors... then you add on the door color and the porch color, and also if you do the posts a different color from the rest of the porch, then you’re already at 6-7 colors. But honestly I don’t know how right he is about that... Do you think it’s more about sticking to a set number limit of colors, or do you think there’s some freedom in adding in a couple more colors (like for the porch/posts/door) as long as everything coordinates/looks good together? which leads to my last question: c) I’m thinking of testing out some colored wood stains for the porch and posts to lend color(s) yet still preserve more of that natural wood look (versus painting everything). Anybody have any experience/success with using those? Thanks again! :-D

I don't imagine that you need a railing for code, but one would be nice. I would cover the posts in white and have a white railing. Some simple plantings along the foundation. This is interesting. I like this one and the style of the porch skirting.

Such great ideas everyone. OMG Melissa, WOW! The house looks so different without the shutters. I LOVE the SW Urbane Bronze front porch...even the walk way and driveway. I like the Bora Bora Shores front door rather than the yellow. Very nice. :) I really love it!.