Hi Aleta1, youre getting down to the nitty gritty of Interior Design now. Choosing the perfect colour involves addressing many issues...size of your windows, orientation of the house, height of ceilings, size of rooms, purpose for room to name a few. If you have the time I recommend getting a sample pot of full and half strength and try it in a couple of corners of each room. That way you can see how the colour looks at different angles. Good luck.

And in the storms last week, we had a 24 hour blackout!! I'm with wuff - just how simple is simple. I think there is quite a bit of difference between labour saving devices and technology now. Labour saving devices became more and more essential as our lives got busier, women were freed from the drudgery of housework and given encouragement and the freedom to grow, seek out careers and a life outside the home. In many ways, I feel technology is putting us back in our homes and not encouraging us to explore the outside world. We are letting too much technology take over our lives and we are not interacting with people like we did in the old days. The other disadvantage with technology is its continual need to be updated and upgraded which can not only be expensive but also requires constant learning. Take TVs for example - in the olden days you bought a set plugged it in and that was it, now they have to be specially installed and set up and for the average person to know how to do this and understand it is not easy. Older people are being disadvantaged by all this technology too, they were not raised with it like the young ones today so it is constant learning, even learning a whole new language, and quite frankly there comes a time in life when head space just reaches saturation point.

What sort of look are you wanting to achieve , would be the first thing I'd ask . You bought the house presumably because you like some features . Also , it is of a certain age and style , so unless you spend big dollars , thats always going to be your base . The fence on the left hand side looks to be at least 3 different colours of panels , while the garden shed is another . For the sake of $200 , I'd be tempted to paint the poles and fretwork a dark charcoal , and do the fences and garden shed the same . The darker tone is on trend , but also it wouldn't stand out as much , and keeps to the era and style , particularly of the darker framed windows . A dark classy look , if you like . So then it'll be a bit dark and moody , which a lot of people like , with the bonus of the slightly more upmarket windows and fretwork . You can add dark planters as per Julies suggestion , or you can go for big bright sunny coloured pots . You can even do the front door to match -- a bright orange or yellow set amongst the darker colours will look great , and people won't get lost looking for the door haha .

Going the same colour as your windows on all your trim as suggested would look fabulous, you could wrap the narrow pole to give a more substantial look, or you could add a feature, replace your lighting with a more modern look , add dark planters( or paint existing ones) add lush foliage. Could look beautiful.. great house.