Hi - I remember your house from an earlier posting - So lovely. I have to say, there is just something so romantic about having a house that is painted in its original colors. And those 'original' colors you are testing out are not at all boring or dull. How impressive a huge golden house would be sitting in the middle of all of that greenery. It would simply glow in the evening sunshine. I still am a huge proponent of using real honest-to-goodness old colors (that were available at the time your house was originally built) and these colors can be mimicked today. Check out this link: http://www.winklerandmoss.com/pages/publications.htm It will take you to the Winkler Moss books about painting your Victorian House. The funny thing is that as you dive into the colors that they cite, they are far more colorful than most people think - lovely blues and aquas and so many amazing browns, greens and golds. The other nice thing about these old, or natural, colors (since they were originally made with natural pigments) is that if made from pigment today, they will not fade nearly as fast as modern colors made from dyes (almost all paints today are made of dyes) Its funny how styles and mindsets change over time. Most old Victorians were repainted in Colonial Revival colors in the 20th century to update them, and those colors are very frequently seen as 'Victorian' by modern eyes. White trim was rarely used on pre-20th century houses and if you want to make your house look truly Victorian, use a darker trim color - immediately it will state 'I am a Victorian house' There is some benefit to making the house 'yours' (sounds like a judge on American Idol, hu?) but do it with respect for the house - you said it, the house is telling you what it wants to be - let it speak and you will be magnificently rewarded. Now, with regard to painting aluminum, I just read that painting aluminum and vinyl cladding can cause warping since most folks paint these materials darker and they thereby absorb more heat form sunlight and warp. also there is some trouble with paint adhering to the old dirty aluminum and prep for the metal may be more involved than replacing the wood - you're sure its not just hidden under the metal ? that stinks if its gone. really a conundrum. I know we are all very very interested in what you end up doing - so much time goes into the right color - take your time and do it right ONCE. my best. (p.s., i too and still choosing colors for our vinyl clad house - we are doing sections over the next several years so need to clarify color now so we can start. it stinks to be poor ... lol) Here is a link that might be useful: Winkler Moss Publications

Chris your inspiration house has a large proportion of the natural cedar color to the blue and a lot of what we can see on that house in the photo is in shadow which makes a big difference. You're trying to choose a color for your house without a clean background - the yellow is a player in making colors look different. I took a picture of 2 colors from one of my paint decks for you - put them on a table on our porch that is similar in color to your cedar but when I compare the picture to the paint deck it's horribly off so I hesitate to post it for you. I may email it but just know that it's not representational at all. I'm looking at Benjamin Moore Everard Blue CW-575 and Wetherburn's Blue CW-580. these are from their Williamsburg collection, grayed blues with green in them. Even on the B/M website the colors are off on my computer. I'm not certain these are the *right* colors for your house but it's a slightly different direction that brings your setting into the mix and a place to start. Hale Navy is part of the Historical Color collection from B/M - that collection is a good place to be as well. The colors are dirtier which is good - what you don't want is a bright, clear color on your house. There are different ways to approach trim and house colors - they can be high contrast with crisp definition or lower contrast and more subtle transition. Neither one is better, they are just different looks but your trim will still be differentiated from the house body with less contrast. Are you planning to paint your eves and rake boards like the inspiration house?

My Dad took this pic of the fires across the lake from his cabin last week. The area is mostly evacuated now. There are so many fires burning. We took the kids and stayed in West Edmonton mall for six days to escape the smoke and it was even Smokey there. I feel so bad for all those whom have had to leave their homes :(

If you're wanting a more rustic or mountain cabin look, you could use cedar with a natural wood finish but most country porches ended up being painted white. The posts are not larger than 6"x6" and many end up being smaller and round and more ornate with white railing (though I prefer the plain 6"x6" myself). Like these posts: http://acountryfarmhouse.blogspot.com/2012/06/our-front-steps-and-walkway.html You could extend the depth of your porch so that the overhang of the front of the porch roof extends to be even or nearly even with the two story left wing of the home and do consider a concrete porch floor-- it will last a lot longer. You create a block foundation/form, fill in with hard packed dirt and then pour a 6" floor that slightly overhangs the blocks ... which you can face with brick or stone. Then you can use the same brick or stone to enhance the curb appeal of your home and its new entry door. With the new door, showcase it with some great brick or stone steps at least as wide as the door. Since you need only a few steps and have a wall on the left side of the porch, consider starting the steps across from the front door so they are covered with the deeper porch roof and have the front of the bottom step even with the front of the front porch, adding a brick or stone wall between steps and the porch to the right of the steps that can be usable as a railing ... in lieu of adding an actual railing. On the right side of the porch consider adding a "gazebo" feature -- there are different kinds of roof designs you can use if you don't want to just use a hip roof corner -- and have the front porch wrap around that right front corner of the house at least enough to create the wider gazebo feature and add steps leading from the porch toward the back yard. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/112730796896550817/ If you're wanting rustic or mountain, you could use cedar with a natural wood finish but most country porches ended up being painted white. Know your local building codes. You may be required to have a railing or wall depending upon the height of the top of your porch floor. Depending upon the building codes and whether you have small children that actually need a rail ,,, since your porch is not that high off the ground, and especially if you add depth to the porch so there is less likely to be people bumping into each other knocking each other off the porch, you might consider just adding a hedge in front of the porch rather than replacing the railing. Alternately, if you do decide on a concrete floor with the front faced with brick or stone, you could create a brick or stone "railing" and even have it be able to double as seating or a wall usable for a plant stand for your favorite flower pots..