Dark to hide stains, light to hide dust. And for boys, medium dark pattern. Black (or chocolate brown) stripes sound like madness, because they will show all the light colored shnibbles (crackers, break, whatever other detritus that boys generate). White stripes sound undesirable as well because even a drop of anything (chocolate milk, catsup, etc.) will show forever. Pattern, pattern, pattern. That said, I think the stripes would look stunning. (For about two days.) Stripes - in the right scale - are always very architectural to my eye. A nice "finished" look.

Thanks for the additional opinions. You have all given me a lot to think about. Especially with regard to darkening the house. Our house gets a LOT of light. The way it faces allows the most light to get in. In fact both windows that would have awnings, are office windows. My husband and I both have our desks up against those windows looking out. To be honest, the light can be a bit much. Even with the blinds up, sometimes I have to drape a blanket over the window because its too bright. To avoid darkening the room too much, I was planning to have the awning sit above the window. This would lengthen the window. Normally they would sit inside the window frame and block the top half of the window. I also don't want the awning to have sides on it, which will hopefully let in a bit more light. They will also be retractable, so we'll have the option of just having the valance showing to avoid blocking the sunlight. Here are two pictures to show what I was thinking of. Only the awning would be much shorter, by about half, and sit higher up above the window. As far as awnings looking "grandma," I see your point. If they aren't done right, they definitely look dated. When they are done well, they can look really classic and charming. We live in a historic district and many of the shops uptown have awnings (similar to the shop in the picture above). I'm hoping ours will have a similar effect. I will do a little more thinking before putting down a deposit though.

Thank you SH! Those really do help me visualize how each would look. Thanks also for everyone who posted picks, I have a hard time visualizing things, which is why I'm having this current problem. I also agree with the person who mentioned the lighter colors not looking as good for as long as the darks. So many I've looked at that are lighter have dark streaking going on. I'd like to avoid that if possible. Dh says we should go more brown, but I like how the blacks bring out the grey tones in the stone. However, I do love the first mock up! I guess I need to decide which "look" I'm going for. I just don't know! I'm wanting an old world feel to it for sure. I was thinking the black walnut would be a good way to stay dark but still get the brown tones. But with that first mock up, it really says "old world" more than the black, doesn't it? I also was concerned about the roof looking busy, like it would compete with the stone in some way. Oh and the whole house will be done in the stone, if that helps. Here is another picture of the house with the stone on it and a black roof. These are the type of shingles we'll most likely be using, do you see any browns there that would work? Here is a link that might be useful: Shingle gallery

Please do not apologize for all the posts parker_31! They are so helpful!!! Of the paint samples I tried on poster board, we like SW Oyster Bay and Magnetic Gray the best --- but I'm not sure if either are exactly right. I see what you, raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio, are saying about the trim not necessarily being white because it's not very prominent. However, that is one thing we originally thought made our house more interesting :) since we don't have brick or stone. If we go with a more monotone scheme, I definitely like going lighter with trim... Oh man, all these suggestions are great! Still think I might keep the white triangle which is a big switch for me (I just don't know!) :)