Specialty Gardening: COTTAGE GARDENS, who has and who wants to start theirs?, 1 by lincolnitess

lincolnitess wrote:
For part two of the plan above, I would like to add an arbor over the front door like the other 2 except have the roof peaked and then add a flat roofed trellis to cover the area above the large front window. You can't see it in the photo, but there is a sidewalk that goes from the driveway on the right up to the front steps and there is room for a park bench under the window. This would give that area a little more shade and call attention to the front door. Do you think this is too much? Would it be better without the trellises above the fence? Also I am wondering if the whole thing would look better white than the current dark color of the trellises? Of course the big question is where the money for this project is coming from and will my poor overworked brother reallty want to do it for me? I have a feeling it will be in the dream stage for at least a couple more years. In time, I would like to put light grey siding on the house with white trim. The roof is a combination of dark grey and brick red, which looks brownish from a distance, but I think if I painted the door and shutters a barn red, it would bring out the reddish tones in the roof. Any other suggestions? I am open to any ideas at all since I can't really visualize what it would all look like.

susan