apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Leave it plain wood, and paint all the window frames white, along with the roof frame edge.

I'm fond of the plain wood. Those windows on the west (?) side of the house are quite dramatic. Would love to see what it looks like on the inside.

totally unique - please leave as is.

The wood is beautiful, I would keep it plain. That said, I would suggest painting the trim around the windows so it would create more contrast with the wood.

I wouldn't paint it.

No Paint! Just continue sealing it.

Don't paint the siding, but have fun with the trim and eaves. I'm thinking terra cotta/orange or citron/pistachio.

I agree with not painting the siding. The trim could definitely be fun, though.

Emily

The wood is lovely as is. Don't paint it, but do paint the trim/windows white and the front door a bright, funky, fun colour, such as yellow, pistachio, pale blue or red.

Yeah, I like the natural wood. Looks great as-is.

Do not paint it. Leave it!!!

The wood looks lovely, but painting the trim, eaves and door would make it look even better. I'm thinking black trim with a dark red door or dark green trim with the door painted an eggplant color.

i agree, don't paint it! you'll just have to keep repainting it every couple of years if you do. looks excellent as is.

yeah do not paint! its so pretty like it is. just pick your favorite bold colors for the door and trim! you'll be so glad later on that you left the wood pretty like that.

Painting is expensive, and needs to be redone every few years. With the economy so dicey, I'd leave it as low maintenance as possible. It looks lovely as is. And you can always change your mind later.

Repeat leave as is totally beautiful

It's so gorgeous!

If you're nature-lovers, you could do a stain over the wood, so it has colour but still woodgrain. I would consider the colour of the nearby coniferous trees and do something in harmony with them, to make the house blend in with the nature around it. The house looks big, so I would go darker.

I think more landscaping would be awesome. Not anything rigid like a hedge or flowerboxes, but a few gorgeous trees along the sides and framing the house. Get ones that flower at different times of the year, and you'll have ever-changing colour. It'll help ground the look of the house.

I agree....gorgeous! leave as is!

A deep dusty Barn Red or white. Something that honors its roots.

Leave the finish as is, it looks great.

Do work on the landscaping though... the outside really *is* just as important as the inside of the house.

I love it, but think that a colored door/trim would be fun in a green, red, or navy

black with white shutters

leave it. it's beautiful. if you long for something crazy, go nuts on the door.

leave it. the suggestions about the trim are nice, though, and the door, too, could be a colourful exclamation mark. but the wood is just too gorgeous to paint over.

paint it all--including the trim--barn red or dark gray. it'll lend it a modern feel. we did something similar for a client and the result was very nice; especially at dusk with the windows lit up.

I also think the doors and trim should be painted. Maybe just white, forest green or black. Great looking house!

Guess I'm in the minority. The problem with plain wood is that it starts out looking fabulous, but often quickly discolors in an uneven and unattractive way, even if treated. Unless you live by the ocean and get the resulting beautiful silver tone from the salt air. Don't know where your house is, but take a look at other unpainted houses and fences in the area to see how they have aged.

I think a white or cream color would be in keeping with your home's barn/farm look. Opaque stains look like paint, but last far longer because they slightly permeate the wood rather than sitting on top. Good luck.

Being in the minority doesn't mean you're wrong. ;)

Could also see a great earthy gray.

Since it loks like a modern brn.. paint it barn red!!!! and accent as you wish perhaps copper.. Fin Paints of Europe red door The best red for wear ever!

It has such a simple form. I would paint it all white, which would really bring out the structure's Shaker-like simplicity.

I would paint it dark gray or dark red and I would change out that front door.

Leave the siding and door , paint the trim (maybe a dark sage?) so that we know it's finished.

OK, I would go dark gray almost black, trim doors and windows white.

Or do a mix of white and wood.
http://plastolux.com/modern-rebuild-single-speed-design.html#more-110

Ok I'm done

Check into colored wood stains instead of paint. A lot easier to maintain/redo than paint.

Maybe ask someone to do some photoshop magic on the photos to help you decide.

looks great as is!!

Agreed with the rest on not painting the siding but going wild with the trim and doors. I really like the idea of a dark red, or maybe a navy.

i think you should emphasize how elongated this little house looks.

either do a subtle gradient from top to bottom. or vertical stripes.

Keep it simple! All white. If it seems too stark later on....you can always add shutters.

leave it plain. it looks great as it is.

Leave the wood and paint the trim white or red. If you do want to paint the wood, go with something Norwegian - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen

Amazing. Thank you so much for your wonderful insight. Here's an update. Today we painted the door a high gloss apple red and did the window trim a nice, crisp white. Also, we have a landscape architect on board for spring to go a front entry path with stone flagging and pretty beds (its expensive and we need to save up all winter). Also, I put in some scotch broom along the side (where window wall is) for foundation plantings right before it got cold (daughter named them all either Carlton or Joe).

Of course leaving the wood natural is the most appealing --how many times have we stripped something down to see the wood again, but the idea of a Nantucket gray stain *is* tempting. I just feel like covering the wood is sacrilege, especially since houses are never natural wood anymore. You can feel our conflict, yes?

Oooh! I'm looking forward to a new photo with the red door and white trim. I bet it looks sharp!

Because the house is larger- dark grey would be beautiful and more modern. It would make everything pop, especially the landscape (imagine how beautiful with lots of snow- if you get lots of snow). I think remaining trim should stay natural or a wood color.

Do. Not. Paint. It.

But a cobalt blue door would look really nice.

Ok the overwhelming consensus is to *not* paint. So we won't. We've decided, because of all of your excellent suggestions, to leave it plain wood and do fun trim as whims dictate. I promise we'll take some Thanksgiving pics with snow (hopefully) and will send to Maxwell for reposting. Reading all of your amazing comments has been a wonderful experience. The trim *does* look pretty nice in white with the wood siding, I must admit. The top window was out of reach of our ladder so we'll rent a scaffold this spring. Also, although we were considering shutters, we're going to start with basic window boxes and see if that helps soften things a bit. Does this sound okay to everyone?

DON'T PAINT IT!!!!
It's beautiful as it is!

White trim and door and let the wood weather to a natural gray.

First thing I did to my cedar home was take off the shutters and add window boxes and I love it. Even in the winter my window boxes are my favorite things to see as I walk towards the house. I fill the bottoms with hay and have heaped pine cones (from my own pine trees) into them with a few spray painted gold for the holidays.

Black with white trim!

Leave it as it is - such beautiful wood! But maybe a pretty green for the trim/eaves?