If those are real copper roofs that are going to turn green, I suggest Alabaster or Pure White trim with sage green to dark green shutters - depending on what you like.

Concord New Farmhouse · More Info

Thank you! they are painted a copper color. i will have them re-painted as well

I would like to see color, maybe a soft gray blue on the siding and white trim on all of the windows and the door surround. No shutters for a simple look.

Either charcoal or weathered wood for the roof singles.

I prefer the siding color to be cooler (gray) rather than warmer (beige) as you propose. I like this Neutral Classic Colonial (Behr paint colors) which is similar to this Foolproof Color Picks (Benjamin-Moore paint colors; scroll down to see photo & details), both with a white trim.

-- amateur

I like your idea if an off white exterior. The attached link to houzz photo is SW White Duck and SW Pavestone trim. I find it an understated look compared to the traditional white colonials with black shutters.

https://www.houzz.com/hznb/photos/fondren-traditional-exterior-dallas-phvw-vp~28851400

Here’s another photo with similar colours, but has shutters like yours.

The first two pictures above with the yellow siding say to me, "This is an old house." The brown one says, "This is quite an old house."

@wdcruise - perhaps that's because the first three pix are of "old houses" and the last one is a new house. I believe the OP's house is old as well, and the project is a "face lift" for an aging home, not a reno or a "modern update." The first order of business is to keep the home's own architectural style intact, then make sure it still suits the neighborhood, and that the results are timeless and make the OP happy.

”old house” in an impressive way or that its dated looking?

What ever colour you choose, make a test first and keep in mind that colours once applied outside appear lighter than on the sample.

Yes the house is stucco and it is an old house. the original house was built in 1790. I am not trying to modernize it but update it in a timeless way.

@lisedv how do you create those renderings?

In PowerPoint

I use ppt for work everyday and have no clue how to do that!

White w/ black shutters is what 3 out of 4 homes built or painted in the last 3 years has been. Everyone is doing it and I am tired of seeing white with black shutters. Even though it is classic, because everyone is doing it, it will feel dated in a decade.

I think this soft buttercup yellow with white trim provides would give you a light, bright inviting feel.

https://www.redfin.com/PA/Gladwyne/1301-Lafayette-Rd-19035/home/38526176

I love what @Jennifer Hogan suggested but I also immediately imagined your antique house in soft white with pale blue shutters and door.

I am a firm believer in medium to dark grey roof shingles because they are the most versatile. They work with any color house - especially the ones you would consider.

It’s already a charming home!

Becky:

Using PowerPoint to draw:

You copy the photo on your PP page. Then you can draw over with lines, blocks with colour and shading when needed, copy other objects to place on top, etc...

I use excel to do the same thing. You can alter the photos in most MS office programs today.

Jennifer Hogan:

I'm very curious to know how you use Excel to draw.

Thanks so much! How do you get the manufacture’s paint colors?

@Becky Schmidt - Sherwin Williams provides the RGB codes on their website.

You can look up almost any paint color on easyrgb.com

@lisedv

I simply cut and paste a picture into excel and then use the insert and format tools to fill and color spaces.

I especially like the Picture or texture fill for adding area rugs to rooms. Make your shape, copy the area rug to the clipboard and fill the shape from the clipboard.

I also have about 7000 paint colors handy in excel with both the RGB and LCH values. Makes picking the colors quicker.

This is beyond helpful! Thank you so so much. I have been trying to figure out how to do this for years and assumed I needed a special version of adobe or a MAC etc. One last question - did you learn how to this yourself or in a class/design school?

I learned by playing.

My first job using a computer was using a Wang system:

So much different than the experience of the younger people today. (We were also taught not to learn to type because if a woman learned to type she would never be anything other than a secretary.)

If I could learn on my own, I am pretty sure you can play around and figure it out without taking any kind of classes.

I learned by myself, PP is not meant to be used for drawing but I manage...

I don't have a picture of my 1st computer, and couldn't find one online. My husband was in the computer/technology busines and my 1st computer only had a sceen the equivalent of 1 type line, I think it was IBM but not sure.

thank you Jennifer, I'll look into Excel, similar to PowerPoint but maybe there are more options.

There are a lot of photo editing programs that are specifically designed to do these types of edits, but I have MS office on my computer and don't need to buy another program to do what I want. There are also apps through BM and SW and many other companies that let you test colors through the app, but you need a picture that is brightly lit to get anything close to accurate and sometimes I need to cover over dark colors with excel before loading to get the app to show me accurate colors. Using their photos generally works well.

Re ”old house” in an impressive way or that its dated looking?

IMHO "dated" vs "not dated" doesnt apply once a house gets to be a certain age. The esthetic question should be more like - is the updated color scheme in sync with the historic style of the house? Is the color placement correct - that is as important as which particular colors. For those reasons the blue gray with white trim pictured above I consider an example of what NOT to do - mostly cos the white trim /dark body while very attractive on a 1920s style cottage (for example) doesnt work so well for this particular style of house. Gives it a barn-like look. Im not sure where you are - guessing US since youre using SW, but kinda looks like Euro version of a country house and stucco traditionally would be a traditional limewash or silicate based mineral paint color.... with dark trim. Google images for limewash colors.

That said - a soft whitewash color for the body of your house certainly would be very appropriate. Ticks both boxes - historic/architecturally appropriate, AND a current favorite!

What kind of paint is currently on the house? If its never been painted with modern housepaint I strongly suggest you use a mineral based paint instead of modern acrylic based paints. Besides Romabio (hey where are all the Romabio people when you need them LOL) other US companies who can help are limeworks.us and beeckmineralpaints.com, both with excellent customer service and they can custom mix to match any paint co color. I found the cost to be quite comparable to good quality housepaint.

Just saw this house and thought of you, it reminded me of yours, the colours and landscaping are nice!

Yes to @lisedv’s posting! Exactly what I envisioned.

@lisedv, ohh, thats really pretty. thanks for sharing!

Some options

with wooden color door

or