I like the brown, maybe paint the garage solid so the design is just raised - little less busy but nice.

The taupe is so beautiful and your house looks very traditional -- love it and would defiinitely go with the taupe.

If you keep this garage door, paint the trim pieces (the 3 rectangles) the same as the rest of the door. I love your home. I am partial to ranches!

a medium blue/grey and keep the white accents

I agree with those who favor the taupe. I really dislike the green with orange (or is it red?) shutters. The front door is beautiful, but doesn't show well with the surrounding color so dark. I'd definitely go with a lighter, more updated color combo as has been suggested. As for the garage door, I like the idea of painting it the same as the body of the house rather than go wood. Beautiful home and landscaping!

You say you would like to get rid of the white trim? What about DARK BROWN (Espresso), not as harsh as black. YELLOW for the walls, which will look amazing and set off the landscaping beautifully! It has to be the right yellow...not too bright, not to gold, but more like ripe, golden wheat. Attaching a photo of a color I've used many times and everyone loves it...even those who say they don't like yellow! The actual store that created the color is no longer in business...so I now have it on file as a color match...it is called Ripe Wheat. Please beware that there are other companies with Ripe Wheat colors...but they are very different.
Note: White or cream trim would be very fresh with the yellow walls. Would paint garage door in trim color if you want it to stand out; wall color if you want it to blend in as part of the house walls.

Charcoal , dark grey or blue-grey would be a great house color. white , beige or light grey shutters would be awesome on any of these colors as well .

I like it the color it is. I would replace the garage door.

I like the paint colors in this picture I have attached. I would also change the garage door to something more modern. Wood Carriage door like the one below would be beautiful. If the front door is in good shape than I wouldn't paint it either unless you aren't going to go with a Carriage door. I would consider painting it then.

I love the taupe color... change the trim and pottery to charcoal gray and please don't paint the door. Do plant the pottery with colorful seasonal plants/flowers. Lovely home and landscaping!

Sea foam green or Kentucky Haze (Benjamin Moore) accent with smoke.

Guida where is your home, I love it!! I had a 1950's ranch similiar in Memphis, TN I am attaching photo of patio also we were never able to revive the front lawn after we purchsed.

If you like the look of a stained wood door but don't want the upkeep, I would consider a faux wood garage door constructed in either insulated steel or steel and composite. Many designs and stain finishes are offered from traditional raised panel, flush panel or carriage house styles. Garage door manufacturer Clopay has a design tool at www.clopaydoor.com that allows you to upload a photo of your home and try on different door designs. I would look at the Gallery Collection, Coachman Collection and Canyon Ridge Collection.

I agree with Rebly

Why do anything it is beautiful like it is:!

I would paint the door the same color as the house, as I mentioned before and eliminate the trim color. You have enough going on with your beautiful formal landscaping, I feel carriage doors would be too much of a good thing.

I agree with aloha42 - the carriage doors don't appeal to me as much as painting the door you have.

Black trim and white exterior.

Three months later we're still deciding on exterior paint color and garage door......THANK YOU ALL for your comments and opinions and suggestions. At this point we think we are going to a beige/gray/taupe sort of color for the body, getting a new garage door which will be painted metal similar to house color, keep front door the same original wood color. We've lost the magnolia tree in the circle planter.....it has been replaced with a very large cement colored stately looking birdbath and bright flowers. When we went with the green body and clay pot colored shutters we were attempting to look more craftsman....one of our concerns now is there are so many beige/gray/taupe houses in our neighborhood....shutter and trim could really make a difference. Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks again.

[houzz=] TRIM PAINT

BASE COLOR of HOUSE
[houzz=]

SHUTTERS
Kendall Charcoal .... or you could do a pretty blue!

[houzz=] Something a little lighter than what I'm showing you. Sorry, lost the color, but in that realm. I'll try and get the color I'm thinking about exactly though. Give me a sec.

or this might be pretty for a shutter color...

[houzz=]

mpoulsom Thank you SO much. I will get these paint chips and see what we think....seems very pretty and the blue would be very different.

Beige, dark grey or black shutters would be nice for nice contrast. The house color is beautiful!

I love your house and wouldn't change the colors, but I get it. Since you are daring, what about using a light neutral on the house an eggplant on the trim?.

There are so many mod garage doors now. To go with this ranch and your front door, it would be cool to have a wooden garage door with a row of long, low windows. Along these lines with fewer rows of windows. Or if wooden like your doors is cost prohibitive, you could trim the garage windows with a beautiful wood that matches the front door.

Can't wait to see what you do.

This is a Clopay Avante Collection glass and aluminum door. It comes in several frame colors so you can match your exterior. Aluminum won't rust and doesn't require the maintenance of wood. www.clopaydoor.com.

Progress update....We .have researched garage doors and have decided to not go with the wood or wood look but we have decided to get a new garage door for sure, it will be as close as possible to same color as base house color....I think it will be the simple horizontal panels-no windows...also we are going to go with no shutters.....if we don't like the look we can always add them....we have replaced the clay-pot colored pedestals near the front door entry with cement ones....I want to put an art element on them....perhaps something modern.......as for the paint color........today got more of the paint chips you all have suggested. I am really grateful for your ideas and opinions. PS For many of you who think our house is currently the taupe color, it is not...it's green....

Nearly there with the color choices....have samples painted on the house.......final choices are the Ben Moore Shenandoah Taupe that you suggested (most people like like that one) and our front runner at this time: SW6073 Perfect Greige for the body and SW6072 Versatile Gray for the trim, front porch SW6070 HeronPlume. More decisios to make trying to match garage door and raingutters to the body paint......painter coming Sept 9th....I am so appreciative of everyones suggestions....I LOVE HOUZZ and recommend it all the time.

The color behind the cypress on the right is Shenandoah Taupe, to the right of that is Perfect Greige and to the right of that is Versatile Gray.....

That table with succulents looks like you are having a garage sale. Paint the front door area and add some drama there. Your house is very nice. Calm. It is what it is, and that's not bad at all.

I'm sorry about my remark about the table with plants... are you just putting them there until the painters come? I like the gray.

Sustainable Dwellings....your second plant remark is worse than the first.....perhaps I better attach a second photo showing you my beautiful mini pots and arrangement. Or perhaps just not your taste...

Made our paint choice decision.....Mega Greige by Sherwin-Williams for the body.....being painted now. I'll post a photo when all is finished. Thanks Very Much EVERYONE!

I'm late to the discussion, but love your home. I really hate for you to get rid of your garage door. It is totally mid century, and I think the ones with those graphics are really rare. I think it is a unique feature, but perhaps you think it commands too much attention. Granted, some really were "out there," and yours is actually rather conservative, but I think it actually compliments the house.
Here are some examples of some of the styles, at the time.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/java1888/3525809500/in/photostream/
Last, but not least, here is a blog that has printed an article that actually, I believe, has your garage door style in the photos!
http://midcenturyliving.blogspot.com/2009/10/art-of-garage-door.html

Thank you so much for your comment and the websites, I looked and felt badly about changing the door but the decision is made and new doors are coming. The most recent painting which is the green photo (7 years ago) we painted the garage door solid. I have loved our original garage door since we bought this house 15 years ago. Seven years ago I fought to keep the old door and we did. This time around I gave in......(and you'll hate this) partly for the convenience, the dirt and leaves blow inside all Fall, Winter and Spring. Also we built a second garage 14 years ago on the other end of the house ( our house is on a corner so it can't be seen in the photos) and we decided we wanted them to match. We have settled on a simplistic look and the new garage doors will have a horizontal look so the house will have a linear line to it.. But we did keep the original front door and at this point, we are still keeping it the natural wood......even though I know it would be stunning in chartruse..

Look forward to seeing what the new garage doors look like.

Me too!

Oh, well, c'est la vie. I'm glad that you have kept the front door, and I'm glad that you haven't painted it. However, painting it would not be something that was not done "back in the day," so I would hope that you would opt to paint it rather than change it. At least it could be stripped back down and returned to the natural surface, if so desired at some point.

Thanks for your reply. The front door will not be replaced...that is for sure.

You're welcome. You've done a great job maintaining the architectural integrity of the the home, and I know that's kind of tough to do while trying to maintain the upkeep of it, too, because of the age of many of the features, I'm sure.

Still haven't finished the front landscaping but here is a photo of the color we choose to paint our house. We love it.

it's beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love the colour you finally decided upon for your home Guida. It makes your plantings pop, whilst lending an air of relaxed refinement to your homes' exterior.

Your gardens are stunning!

Lovely!

consider replacing and staining the shutters same color as your entry door. If door is mahogany have shutters made and stained. body of the house looks great

Paint is great. Not so sure you need the shutters. This article is spot on; might help you decide.
http://www.lifeofanarchitect.com/residential-architecture-101-shutters/

We took the shutters off, they are GONE....painting is complete..I willl take some photos of the entire front of the house and post.....thanks so much..

Looks fantastic.