Black garage doors would give a stately kind of feel to the front of the house. especially if you accented other areas with touches of contrasting black. Like the shingles eventually. and those shutters, if they aren't already black.

This might be more of a job for This Old House than AT. Browse through their web site: pretty sure I've seen this issue addressed there. Not to diss AT, of course.

What a lovely home! I would go with your plan to remove awnings and replace the garage doors with something simple. If you go with fiberglass, it's tough to change color down the line, so I wouldn't pick anything you're likely to hate in 5 years. But the addition I'd made is swapping out those too-small shutters for nice substantial ones, in a color of interest. I'd also remove the shaped pointy tress and put in something with a softer shape to the right of the door (or something bigger in the middle of the lawn) and leave it open in front of what look to be a great trio of windows? Or is that the door and two side panels? Either way, I'd open it up. Add some color in that raised bed, and enjoy!

If you're redoing your driveway, be careful what sealant you use.

From MSNBC: "Chemicals in a cancer-causing substance used to seal pavement, parking lots and driveways across the U.S. are showing up at alarming levels in dust in homes, prompting concerns about the potential health effects of long-term exposure, a new study shows.
The substance is coal tar sealant, a waste product of steel manufacturing that is used to protect pavement and asphalt against cracking and water damage, and to impart a nice dark sheen. It is applied most heavily east of the Rockies but is used in all 50 states."
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34809699/ns/us_news-environment/t/study-sees-parking-lot-dust-cancer-risk/#.Tt6m3XPrvsc

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3010/pdf/fs2011-3010.pdf

Color-wise, I'd think about something that references the brick.

Lovely house! I like bethannbee's suggestion of black for the garage doors, or maybe a color that picks up the brick or the shutters. You might also try carriage doors or something with some windows, since those doors are such a big part of your facade. Also, you might want to think about what you're going to do about the front door area. Right now you can barely see the entrance. Maybe there's some way to tie the front door in with what you're doing with the driveway and garage.

The windows above and the garage doors look like a face - the windows being the eyes, the doors being the mouth. Personally, I would be a little afraid that black garage doors would join visually with the glass front doors and you'd have a big open mouth look. But maybe I'm wrong.

Here's a suggestion: Make lots of copies of the photo of the front of your house and color it in with different ideas. You don't need to be a good artist to do this (experience speaking here) even quite paltry attempts give you some idea how it will look.

Also, spend time on the internet looking for images of house facades that resemble yours. find ones you like, and copy them shamelessly.

I can't see the peeling of the garage doors, but the first thing I would want to do based on the picture, would be to take off those awnings and then replace the "picture" window. Those are the things that make it look a little dated in the picture. I might paint the garage doors before replaceing them with permanently colored ones.

If this were my house, I would spend any available cash on the roof. You don't want it to start leaking before you are ready fix it. This should be a priority.

The garage doors should stay white to match the siding. Trust me, you don't want contrasting garage doors.

Good landscaping would help to make it more inviting. Terra cotta pots with flowers beside the front door would help pick up the color of the bricks. I'd take those trees out and put them there....

Was the glassed area next to the garage originally an open porch? I think I'd paint the window frames there (including the dividers between the windows) a dark grey color to play down all those vertical lines, but leave the corner post white to act as a visual column. Also, how about some garage doors with windows or hardware (such as fake hinges) to give it more of a carriage-door look. Your shutters are way too narrow. Shutters are meant to cover the windows when they are in the closed position - look for wider ones and paint them a great shade of green. When you replace the roof, pick a grey asphalt shingle with dimension - the ones that look like aged cedar shakes. You should really play up the cottage charm of your architecture!

Honestly, your house looks fine. I wouldn't rush to do any changes until you have a master plan. Everything should be decided - roof, siding, colors, windows, etc. Then tackle one major project a year - all leading towards your dream plan - you might want to start with the roof since you are saying its in bad condition. All these things are costly but if you do each project right from the beginning, in a few years you won't regret any decisions. Spend this winter researching what you like and don't like about homes you see in magazines, online and in your neighborhood. You can start working on the exterior in the spring :)

I personally think neutral colors are the way to go. You may want to paint the exterior brick. A more updated color pallette would be neutral colored siding (tan, grey or taupe) with white/cream trim and darker roof.

I agree with amy good house. I don't see anything wrong with your house; it's beautiful. You should really think about what you want to do before you make any pricey decisions (since you say money is tight right now). I would replace the roof first, and save for the other items after you are confident about what YOU really want.
Best of luck and enjoy your new home.

Don't do anything to your exterior without first having a clear master plan. Whether you want to paint your house will impact on what colour you should paint your garage doors, and what colour to use for your roof.

I would strongly advise you against painting your garage doors black as they will immediately become the most important element of your exterior, and will draw all eyes.

Is that the front door next to the double garage doors? If so, you will need to carefully highlight the entrance and downplay the garage.

The white looks quite stark, likely because of the expanse of the garage section of the house (was it a later addition to what was originally a ranch?). My advice to make it more contemporary and less stark would be to paint the siding a medium earth tone colour, perhaps a darkish taupe or greige. The roof can be a multi-colour asphalt tile which is predominantly two shades darker than the body. Make the garage doors one shade lighter than the body, and install a beautiful modern wood door.

As for the driveway, why don't you go green with a permeable driveway? These concrete pavers are quite attractive:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08264/913537-30.stm

Good luck!

p.s. the house will look more contemporary if you go with a trim colour which is close in value to the main body (i.e., avoid a stark contrast by using white or cream).

don't change it too much. your house looks sleepy and you might tire it out ;)

Congratulations! What a great house. Unless something is structurally necessary, I would hold off on any major projects for at least 6-12 months. In the meantime, winter is a great time to spruce up the interior and gather ideas for improving curb appeal.

A simple update would be to remove the 45 degree angles on the garage door openings; in our area those are quite common to 1990. I agree that the garage doors should be the same color as the body. Your entry is rather dark and confusing, so that might be the best place to start with exterior cosmetics.

I think a consultation with a landscape designer would be money well spent to create a more grand approach to your front door. We recently met with a pro who charged $175 for two hours, which seems reasonable to us as we learned a ton and I'm sure she saved us that much in mistakes we'll avoid.

Also, you didn't mention how you feel about the shutters. I think shutters seem appropriate on the two windows above the garage, they just might look better about twice as wide as they currently are in a color that references the brick.

Heather, check out the Door Imagination System design tool on garage door manufacturer Clopay's website. http://www.clopaydoor.com/DIS/garage-door-imagination-system.aspx
You can upload a photo of your home and "try on" different door styles to see how they look. Full disclosure: I handle PR for Clopay. We replaced garage doors on a house very similar to yours for an episode of HGTV's Curb Appeal. They also re-did the driveway and added shutters. It looks amazing. Homeowners chose wood carriage house style doors. Another option is a frosted glass and aluminum door for a more modern look. I can e-mail you before and after images if you want to see them for inspiration. My e-mail is mschonberg@clopay.com. Good luck with your project.

I would fix the ailing roof before it starts leaking; spending cash on garage doors and then having a leaky roof would be not great.

Mid-grey would look great on the garage doors.

Great house! I have some ideas....
LONG TERM: When you replace the roof extend the eaves in the front. You will be surprised how much interest it will add to the facade. I would paint your home a dark-ish navy-grey blue. Leav the trim white. If possible I would add a white painted shake section in the eave. This will further the very colonial style of your home.

SHORT TERM: When you remove the awnings from the windows add some moldings above them. When you replace the garage doors I would try to select ones that a carriage-style doors with windows. I would paint them a medium dove grey. Architectural, natural looking grass plants and new fixtures in a brushed nickle will really update the look!
Good Luck!

As someone with a background in heritage conservation, I would strongly counsel you against trying to make your side-split look more "colonial". To add historically and stylistically inappropriate elements would be silly and dishonest, not to mention destructive. Your house is a lovely (late) mid-century ranch/side-split; embrace it.

Such an embrace entails using colours, designs, and materials which are consistent with what you have. For example, Sarah W. makes an excellent point about the garage door corners, as they undermine the strength of the overall style (perhaps giving some "colonial" ideas). Landscaping is also an opportunity to embrace the inherent style of your home -- ornamental grasses and/or elegant foundation planting would look great .

First I would suggest removing everything you are sure you don't want on the house (ie the awnings) and decide if you are going to stick with the current paint scheme. As it stands I think the Clopay cd12 or cg12 with arches carriage house models would give a great look to the front of your home. Pretty home. Congrats.
Personally i'm not a fan of the corners that were put into the garage door openings. If it were my home I would remove them and then install the doors with square windows instead of arched. I think this would be more pleasing to the eye as it would be consistent with the other three opening on the front of your home.
Anthony
www.anthonysgaragedoorsvc.com

Colonial No. Embrace the mid-century-ness. It can be totally cute and cozy. If it were me I'd put in some nice, high quality wood doors (and yes, kill the weird 45 degree angle things) and add a pergola out of material like the doors (Cedar?) - to better define the walkway to the front. I'd paint it a dark mushroomy green with red trim and accents and plant some nice flowers to climb the pergola and brighten the front.

See these:
http://www.cbgaragedoors.com/images/New_Garage_Door_004.jpg

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/02/before-after-dans-home-exterior-karas-guest-room.html