Others will be along to help with the color of the garage door etc. Let me the first to assure you it will be fine - great in fact! The landscaping will be the crowning jewel that pulls it all together- but you have a bit before you get to that point. Try to relax so that you can enjoy the process.

Thank you S Mil, I really appreciate the sentiment!

Start with white garage doors, they are easily painted if you prefer another color.

Landscaping will transform the look.

No extra gable decoration.

Ask your builder about adding a beam at your porch and a nice big column painted white.

Agree about landscaping being the "jewelry" for your house. Don't try and tart it up.

What color garage doors should I choose? White? Light brown to match the fir door? Dark brown to match the roof?

White. You never want the garage doors to be a feature. The front porch and door should be the feature. When you paint the garage a contrasting color, because of that and its size, it then becomes the focal point.

Should the single post in front be wood or white or something else? Front door and entry ceiling are fir.

I would do as PPF suggests and keep it white.

What color light fixtures would you choose?

Probably aged bronze or brass.

Should I add decoration to either of the large gables? What color would you suggest?

NOOOO!!!!

Off white and white can be a very interesting combination.

The windows and their placement is the issue with this new build. Your biggest issue borders on the entrance to the home, but there isn't a single window I would have kept as you have them currently.

I like it myself as is. In fact, I'm wondering if you might share brand/color of the off-white siding. I too find many are too stark. TIA!

Landscaping can work wonders.

Beverly’s suggestion is interesting. But you have shared that you are happy with the interior—— and now is not the time to start with change orders(unless you have money to burn) . Especially when your choice of window layout from an exterior POV will be be “solved” with the landscaping.

Notice the word ‘landscaping” keeps echoing in this thread. Shift your focus from what “shoulda and coulda” in the build to thinking about the landscaping. Work toward a total plan on the landscaping— even if you do it in stages.

Yes, Beverly’s comment is interesting, but there are reasons the windows can’t be how she suggests. Staircase, half bath, mud room etc. Designing a house has been such a big puzzle, can’t have everything you want on the outside and the inside and expect it to fit perfectly.

293Summer - it is Alside natural linen!

Landscaping seems to be key! Probably best for me to hire a landscape architect to help with the plan and then I can tackle myself in stages.

Garage doors tend to be the single largest architectural element in a facade. As such they become an eye-magnet, overwhelming and dominating the facade. It's why front facing garages are often problematic.

To reduce this potential it's usually a good idea to reduce and eliminate the contrast that can be created by garage doors by making them match the existing adjacent siding. If the garage doors are site built, use the same siding. If the garage doors are pre-built paint them to match the existing adjacent siding. Never make them a greater contrast and stronger eye-magnet.

It's your front porch and entry which should be the eye-magnet.

Good luck!

Get an off white garage door that looks similar to the siding. Garage doors shouldn’t be a focal point. I like your not-too-stark-white choice!

I’m in total agreement with every “wait for the landscaping” comment. An “almost done” house looks awful because it resembles a box on dirt. Your landscaping plan will make this look great.

This is similar to people who are midway into a kitchen remodel and start freaking out about something small because it’s not done. Your problem is just physically bigger, but it’s the same.

Start reading what my friends and I call “Garden Porn”. It all the gardening catalogues that start coming around now! Get an appointment with a landscaping designer also. That will help you “see” the finished product.

Keep us posted.