I'd use Azek (or equivalent) for all trim and fascia behind gutters, wood for fascia on gable ends, and wood (beadboard probably) for soffits. Hardie trim is apparently hard to keep straight without a bunch of guys to hold it in place while it's nailed off. We used clear finished fir beadboard for soffits and it looks pretty nice. Vinyl is anathema on an Arts and Crafts/Craftsman structure, completely out of step with the whole point of the movement. Azek probably is too, being plastic, but once it's painted it's hard to tell from wood and the rot-resistance is a valid consideration, I think, especially given the poor quality of most available wood for trim boards these days.

My builder in FL is recommending Hardie for soffit and fascia. It's the most expensive option, but will the last the longest and will hold up to storms the best. Expensive because of material cost plus special way it now needs to be installed per Florida codes to deal with winds/hurricanes. I'm told aluminim (for soffits) would be a lot less expensive, but only last 25 years or so, is likely to come off during storms, and could therefore compromise the integrity of a roof during a storm.

Its your choice. My house has gutters and eaves painted same as the body of the house. I did it that way because my house has a hip roof and I see no need to highlight the roof line. I also treat windows and doors differently. I like a front door to have a color of it's own. My window trim is light beige but the windows themselves are white. Something like this. I am conservative with big purchases so I would only choose white or black windows. Both will work when you repaint your house. Does the window company have a visualizer you can use to try different colors on your windows?

We just installed new Window World windows (using their "beige" trim) and will be putting a new roof, soffit and fascia on this small brick house. Would love to receive your suggestions on color(s) to make this home pop. The new roof will be architectural shingles in "Estate Grey" which is a blend of medium and dark grey shingles. We will be painting the new soffit and fascia. It looks like the old soffit and fascia was painted white. We will be repainting the window trim (which is currently an unknown dark creamy beige which does not look particularly good with the new window trim color). We will be repainting the shutters (which are currently dark New Orleans green which does look good with the brick--we just want to consider other colors for a new look). We want to change the color of the (concrete) porch landing and steps (currently painted a dark brick red). Our painter has suggested a dark grey for the landing and steps--a nod to the color of the new roof. The screen door is old--but still usable, so we will need to repaint it. The front door (which you can barely see in the photo) is the same dark creamy beige as the window trim and will need to be repainted. The old copper gutters will be coming off. The iron railing will remain, and it will also be painted -- probably the same color as whatever we paint the shutters. No one in the family has an eye for this, so any suggestions for color of soffit, fascia, window trim, shutters and porch would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Anne in Baton Rouge