WOW Bob, I am in awe. I just can't imagine doing all that work and then letting it slowly deteriorate. To bad there isn't some way to preserve them. We had 70 degree temps here this Halloween, so more trick or treaters than usual. And of course our cat, Patches had to inspect each one. I always enjoy the costumes and especially the little ones trying to remember the words to say in order to get the candy. I always wait for a few seconds, but then give them the goodies even if they can't remember to say "Trick or Treat". They are a delight. I bet the kids just love your house. Arlene

Thanks, squirrelheaven, I am thrilled. Yep, the door was accidentally painted semi gloss white like the trim instead of the artichoke on the shutters. Also, the shutters on the far left of the house as you look at it are too short for the windows. I assumed all the windows except for the new ones on the side were the same size-but the ones on the second story to the left are about 6" taller. Oh well, it can't be that bad if you eagle eyed ladies missed it. Yeah, the weird shutter in the middle-can't really do anything about it except space the gap between the two windows... My neighbor says to leave the door white and just put a big green wreath on the door (if I wasn't planning on selling it that door would be pumpkin tomorrow!!!LOL) I'm thinking in my next house (maybe next year) I want to do a pumpkin colored dining room. My husband says that's fine as long as I hire a guy to paint because I'm the messiest painter *ever*.

Red can work beautifully on an exterior... thousands of old barns can't be wrong! Personally, I think the "barn red" colors can definitely benefit from a tweak of white, especially in such a shaded setting - I would do a bit less of the trim in charcoal since you're planning a charcoal/black roof (charcoal overload!), and add white to pick out details, especially around the entry which is much more Classical in style. A paler version of the charcoal, up a few levels on the chip-strip, would give you a slatey blue-gray which would be fantastic for the front door, with bright-brass lighting, hardware (entryset, knocker, kickplate). High-quality brass doesn't have that weird bright-yellow plasticky appearance - check out Baldwin for some nice things that aren't budget-breakers. I notice you have a cupola with a weathervane on the plan and a bright brass weathervane will show up well againt the trees, picking up the sunlight (I love thickly-wooded lots - we left one behind with our last move and I miss it). Consider bypassing the generic louvered shutters in favor of a very slightly dressier panel style. Remember that shutters should at least LOOK like they're functional, even if they don't actually open/close, including hardware like hinges and shutter-dogs or hooks. I'm probably going to p___ off more than a few people but the "obviously-fake shutter stuck flat to the wall with no hardware" look is IMO really tacky, doubly so if they're plastic.

Squirrels get to all the pumpkins around here sooner or later. I have little pumpkins sitting on my fence posts. I sprayed them with scented floor cleaner to discourage the squirrels. I hope they last until Halloween. In the end I let the squirrels have them.