4 Men 1 Lady

a lifestyle blog about the persuit of bringing beauty to a house full of men.

House exterior.

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Since moving in to our home we’ve spent most of our time fixing up the inside.
However, fall is quickly approaching and so are colder temperatures. We need to get some decisions made and work done on the outside before we’ve lost all ideal-paint-drying-temps.
This is what the house looked like when we walked through it for the first time.  
Renters still occupied the home and were fortune tellers (get it, crystal ball front and center?).  
Kidding.  But makes you wonder what up?
We’ve made a few cosmetic touches since moving in…
New door (Home Depot), door hardware (Mountain Land Design), new light fixture (Pottery Barn)…
New column, new bay window, new window trim.
My first thoughts were to pick out one of the colors from the multi-colored brick to paint the bay window.
But after studying every brick I realized I didn’t like any of the colors that much.
I decided to take a chance on Restoration Hardware’s Paint color, Slate.
It ended up looking quite nice.  Agree? 
Now it’s time to focus our attention on the garage.
Being as how we blew the budget on the inside, ain’t no money for a new garage door.
So paint it is.
As you can see, our carpenter added a piece of wood down the center to break up the long windows.
I wanted to repeat the 6-grid pattern of the front door windows but I was out voted.
He also replaced above the garage with shingles instead of the trim.
So now the question is what color to paint?
I’ve been studying homes and noticed that the norm is to paint the garage white if the house has any sort of color.  But I don’t normally like to play by the rules.  I’m wanting to incorporate more of the Slate shade either on the shingles or garage.  So help me out peeps…
Slate garage, white shingles?
White garage, slate shingles?
White on both?
Slate on both?
Pink garage, purple shingles?
 

What about a fresh new coat of paint for the shutters?
Black or white?  

Comments

  1. Great updates so far! My neighbor has one of those crystal balls in their backyard too and I am confused by it everytime I pull down my driveway. My 2 year old son loves it though! Ha!
    What if you painted the garage door the same as your front door? Would that be too much black? Then the shingles could be slate like the other siding and everything else framed out in white?
    Good luck!

  2. I think I would do slate to tie in the slate of the picture window. Possibly slate on the shutters as well? Or maybe that is too dark? Then do white trim on your garage as again ties in with rest of house?

  3. Your exterior is looking great so far. The door has more presence and weight which is nice. Since I think your door is the focal point, I think I would just make the garage blend in. White would draw too much attention so I would go with slate on the door and on the shingles. If you wanted to add a bit more detail, you could paint the outside trim of the whole garage door and just around the eight windows white, leaving the main part of the body on the lower half all slate. I’d do the shutters white as well.

  4. Your house looks stellar!
    I would change the white….definitely slate on the garage door and maybe throw in another color for the shutters. I love how you do pops of color on the inside and I think you could do the same with the shutters.

  5. Slate shingles and garage with white trim. I would use the lines on the garage to add white in so it matches your windows and door. I think if you did a white garage it would really stand out. Looks great though!

  6. I think black shutter for sure. The garage door, I’m not so sure. Maybe drive around and look at others, that is what I usually do. I love black shutters it will match the door, plus they don’t look so grimy and more expensive.

  8. Not knowing how much budget you have for paint:

    Short term:
    Garage area – shingles and garage door frame – white
    Garage door – Slate gray

    If you have the guts (yes, you certainly do…) remove the shutters – they match nothing in design or texture – and paint the brick of the window framing white to bring a more consistent balance to the total look

    Long term –
    Paint house white (whatever favorite shade you have chosen) or light gray

    Have the small windows which currently have shutters on them framed to match the framing of the bay window configuration

    This would create a coordinating color theme:
    White or gray house
    Slate gray appointments
    Black focal point front door
    White framing accent

    Painted brick creates a quiet and gracefully repetitive texture to a home – it serves to treat the surface as a canvas of sorts which permits the appointments and the landscape to take prominence. Too many colors or the impact of multi-color brick detracts from this.

    In my ‘perfect world’ all garage doors would be constructed of tinted glass panels (panel size and configuration would be of custom design, of course) set into ultra thin custom designed steel framing – which would, upon pressing the garage door opener, either slide into the walls rather than make the crashing sounds of rising above the garage bay or open outwardly and then close back to complete its ‘window’ appearance – and the garage would have floor to ceiling custom cabinets to neatly store all the mess that comprises this environment. We must, after all, create art wherever we can…

  9. I think I would paint the shingles slate to tie in the slate siding on the wndow, paint the garage door white for a clean crisp look. I don’t think a home can ever have to many white accents. There seems to be a lot going on already with the buisy brick. You always make things look fantastic when your done, know doubt you will with this too!

  10. i love your updates so far, I would go for black shutters for sure, to match your doors. As for the shingles, why not white and follow the slate color for your garage door? Good luck Michelle! I know you’ll do a fab job either way.

  11. I say do not paint the shutters – replace them. They are too small for those windows. Shutters should be large enough to look as though they can cover the window, even if they are faux shutters. Some people even add hinges and holdbacks to make them look more authentic. This is not just this decorators opinion…I learned it from the great Brian Gluckstein.

  12. That new front door of yours is PERFECTION, as is the Moravian star light (how long have I waited to work Moravian into my vocab, seriously thx for the opportunity). The shingles are nice touch too.

    If it were my house, I’d paint:
    *shutters=same black as the front door
    *shingles=slate
    *garage door=slate

  13. I prefer my garage NOT be the focal point of my home, so I would recommend painting the garage door slate so that it will recede a bit and allow your front porch to be the star! As it is now, it’s basically white, and it is much more prominent than any other feature on your home. I would go slate for the shingles as well. The texture change has already helped break up the visual weight of the garage. Long-term, have you considered lime-washing the brick (like the background on this blog)?! Since you mentioned not liking the colors in the brick it might be an option; I’ve seen it done with beautiful results! You & your husband seem handy, so it might be something you could do?!

  15. I’m going to be a rebel and say DON’T paint the shingles at all. I love the weathered-gray color they aquire with time. I’d also remove the shutters since they do little for the facade (and undersized shutters make me cringe).

    Garage doors are tricky. Maybe paint the body of the door slate and then the grid around the windows white so it looks like they’re framed individually like your other windows? Something like this?

  17. I prefer when the garage door blends in, rather than painted white. I think I’d paint it the same color as your front door, with the garage windows trimmed in white. I don’t love window shutters in general … how does the house look without them?

  18. black garage door and shutters to match front door. gray shingles above garage door to match around front window. will make house look more expansive and cohesive. and i agree, the shutters should be bigger.

    Chris

  19. Shutters – Black to match front door
    Shingles – grey to match house siding
    Garage door and trim – White to match white trim on windows

    At least that’s my humble opinion! 🙂

    Kay

  21. I think that after reading all the great suggestions and color combinations- I thought of something that hasn’t been suggested and yet is in keeping with the general consensus of not having the garage door be the focal point and not having too many things going on all over the facade. I also want to say that I think that Sarah posted a great picture to consider for the garage doors…I say:
    shutters-same black as front door…and address the size and scale
    shingles on garage- so with the slate color you have already started on the bay
    garage door slate in a glossier sheen from the shingles
    and then….trim out the garage door either highlighting the panels or around the windows with the same black as the front door…
    i would stay away from white on the garage at all and let it stand out on the rest of the house. I also like the idea of whitewashing or toning down the bricks if you want to go all out…but from the pictures it doesn’t seem too strong and you seem to have balanced out that color with what you have already done with the new door etc. it is looking great,tho..whatever you decide…we all like your style!
    Cheers@ Meredith

  22. It all looks great so far. I would try black on the garage door, something dark to match your front door. And then do the shutters Slate. I also would love the look of leaving the wood above the garage door unpainted. Love your blog and you have great taste so I’m sure whatever you decide will look wonderful. Can’t wait to see.

  23. I would paint the garage door black, leave the wood untouched, and have bigger shutters painted Slate. Looks great so far.

  26. I suggest you photoshop a picture of the front of your house and experiment.

    Personally, I would go with black shutters, black garage door framed in white (like your door and windows) and paint the shingles slate. That way their is continuity with the doors and windows and you carry over your slate accents.

  27. I wish we could get a pulled back look of the house after you made the updates. It’s hard to suggest something without seeing all the beautiful updates you have made in one photo.

  28. If you want the shingles to blend in with the garage I would paint everything the same colour. I think garage doors should not be a focal point & blend in with the brick. A good colour for all garage doors is the colour of the cement that is in the bricks. Something similar to Ranchwood CC-500 by Benjamin Moore is a good colour. The shutters could be the same as the garage to blend or dark grey like your front door. White paint will highlight dark paint recede. You could get some ideas from the Houzz team. You have great taste Michelle you’ll find something that works for you.4

  31. Love what you’ve done so far!
    My vote: slate for the garage door. white for the shingles (are they wood? could you leave them natural?) and definately black for the shutters to tie in with that awesome front door!

  32. Oh I love getting a vote. 🙂 I say slate shingles and slate garage door with white trim to match the bay window. But I’m sure any combination of the two would be lovely. Perhaps not the pink and purple though.:P

  33. Slate shutters, slate garage door with front door colour as the accent. Ignore the brown like it is a tree or dirt you can’t change.

  34. Michelle, I love the front door! It’s adorable in every way. I live in Washington DC. Have you ever seen the houses out here and the brink painted white? It’s adorable. Check out this house: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-p19va1PeMwA/ThPOz4tKvRI/AAAAAAAAF7U/Q2tFLu21aek/s1600/WHITE_PAINTED_BRICK_COLONIAL_HOME_RENOVATION_BY_ANTHONY_WILDER_DESIGN_BUILD_1.jpg
    And then paint the shutters black. As for the slate garage door–I’d leave it. I like when it gets old and starts to look more brownish. The white brick would match the inside of your house better. It’s still cute but I think the white would be adorable but I know some people cringe at the thought of painted brick. I guess it’s because I see it out here everywhere and now am in love with it.

  35. I love the updates so far! I did want to ask about your column update…our house has the iron work also and I would love to switch those out for columns. Did you do that yourself or hire someone to do it?

  37. I enjoy reading this blog, i must to say that i liked very much all the good new ideas introduced here. Simply catches my attention. I usually like to know about everything and i am fan of the good blogs.That is why i preferred to read this one. excellent.

  38. I love what you did with this garage even if it is in the mid process. I can’t wait to see the end result of this garage. And by the way, I prefer white for the shutters. It would look great.

    • It is actually a Restoration Hardware color that I had color matched. It’s funny, I used the same color on the garage but it someone looks different than the bay window. Go figure?

It is nice to meet you!

Hey there! I’m Michelle; I’m an Passionate DIY’er and in constant pursuit of how to bring beauty to my house full of men (3 boys + 1 hubby). Stick around and see what I’ve got up my hard-working sleaves!

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