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Hi,
Needing help for picking exterior paint colors.
Body, trim, garage door,shutters, and front door. Thinking cream with hint of yellow for body, dk blue towards black for shutters. If not heading in right direction please direct me. Want a great color for door. Any flower color suggestions for the flower beds. I am going to try to post pics.

http://photobucket.com/kenziebeth8

Thanks
Kenziebeth

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kenziebeth,

Any plans to sell this home, Beth? (BTW, it's a gorgeous home.) Your color choices sound great (high contrast) but I might respond slightly differently, if you plan to sell. For one thing, blue's supposedly unpopular with many people.

WRT the door, reds/burgundies have been extremely popular but it seems to be changing, somewhat. If selling, you might consult your realtor to determine if there's a particular trend/fad in your area.

JMHO.

Good Luck!

Plan to sell in a couple of years. Just needing to repaint and want curb appeal! Thanks for the complement!
Kenziebeth

I agree that blue is not particularly a popular choice and would perhaps suggest doing a charcoal grey instead to complement your grey roof -- picking up the same tone in your brick.
I like your idea of a cream body, etc.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arepo,

Agree, white or cream is probably the most popular exterior color so you're in great shape there, Kenziebeth. I thought about suggesting grey earlier but didn't because I'm afraid it will be a little heavy when combined with all your other grey tones. Grey's a terrific neutral and will basically go with everything. Personally, I would take the opportunity to introduce a little color through the accents.

I would do 2 things before selecting additional colors: first, I'd drive through my neighborhood and avoid duplicating their color choices. (What I notice is often everyone selects the same popular color but a slightly different shade - for a mish-mash.) second, if it were my home, I'd also drive through new home communities. Don't know if you're competing with any new developments but they usually select the most current, popular and updated color choices. Your home definitely doesn't look old but I'd still want to emphasize that with updated colors.

Guess I should have said 3 things because I mentioned talking to your realtor about the door, earlier. Yes, I'd do that, too and also touch on accent colors with him/her. WRT the door, I still believe that red remains popular. Personally, I love a burgundy/dark red door and always prefer that the door be darker than the remainder of the colors. That way, the eyes of buyers/visitors are drawn to the door.

Looked again at your great photos and had a few more thoughts. If it were my home, I would paint the window frames and the facia/trim boards. I've personally used black on window frames and love it - it would really stand out (high contrast) against the white/cream, however. (You might want them to recede - your choice.) Usually use a slightly darker shade of the exterior color on trim boards - you're using white so IDK. It's all up to you but bottom line, I would be afraid to introduce a little color, even if I was selling.

WRT your flower beds, those look great, too. They do look slightly sterile, however. Have you considered possibly introducing some low-level ground cover, say along the edge of the walkway? How about some very easy-growing, free-flowing white lobelia? And then may adding in a few more layers of graduated colors/heights (picking up your accent colors) as you proceed to the tallest plants at the rear of the beds? In general, I'd try to soften them up a little.

If you were very ambitious, you could certainly add 1 or more additional beds for curb appeal. In order from highest to lowest, I'd probably say a 1/2 moon carveout at the left bottom corner of the lawn, small circular bed around exterior of tree or a few plantings around mailbox. You don't have to do anything, however. It looks fine, as is. Personally, I would try to beef up your existing beds, however, at minimum.

In addition, I would also definitely work on the porch. I'm sure you didn't mean to have a kids' bike(?) in the photo. If it were mine, I'd add a few sunbrella/exterior pillows on the bench and possibly a cushion or throw. I'd also add a something colorful with height by the door. Or, you could go with your small trees for the height (I'm hoping they get a little taller before you sell, BTW) and make it a large, round pot with many colorful flowers to welcome guests. (Round shapes will break up the angular feeling of your home and soften it.) Obviously, anything you plant will need to be carefully tended during the selling period.

All, JMHO.

Best of luck to you -

P.S. Can't see it very well - does the bench itself need a spruce-up? Looks like it has some black iron - you could use your exterior color on it (for a little contrast) and then let the accessories stand out. That's one possibility. Or, to save time, you can always purchase another one. They usually go on sale around now, IIRC.

Oops, sorry for the long post. Take care -