"We're residing in vinyl "

Sorry to hear about that. Is it uncomfortable? Hopefully you'll be back in a residence soon. The house in the picture looks nice, maybe you can reside there ;-)

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LOL :-) thanks for the laugh...care to comment on whether I should go with solid trim vs white? ( I would think you owe me that much for the sass :-) )

I think white trim is going to match the doors and windows, good choice.

As for the contrasting vertical/ horizontal pattern, It seems to work with your house, but how does it fit in with the neighborhood? Without the different patterns, the house would look very boring.

I think that the front wall needs something to give it character, maybe a vine trellis? Or maybe some decorative wood slats mounted to the surface?

I wouldn't add any additional lines of siding. I'm not a fan of the vertical under the window but I could live with it.... : ) What the area really needs is some landscaping.

Nothing wrong with going with the taupe/gray color but be sure not to go with a white/white trim. IMO you'll need an off-white or cream color that compliments the house color you choose.

I thought about a cream, but my pragmatic side says that if it ever needs to be replaced matching the colour would be harder than matching a white.
Landscaping is on our 10 year plan :-)

Cream doesn't necessarily have to be a yellow color. What about BM Mascarpone or Linen White or SW Roman Column or Snowbound? Perhaps it could be better described as a milky white rather than a stark, bluish white. White is probably one of the hardest colors to choose because their are so many options, but there are many that would compliment taupe.

You could always plant annuals in the spring until you can do a major landscape project. I also think slate would look really good on your stoop if you do taupe.

Our contractor said "Savannah Wicker" is the most popular color siding used now and most people in our neighborhood used it as well.

We went with three colors -- Savannah wicker for the normal siding, a second, lighter color for the window trim and a third color for the "cedar shake" we put in the peak.

Just an idea -- we had boring vinyl replacement windows. Our aluminum trimmed them out beautifully -- if you can find someone who is good at bending aluminum -- they can really dress up your windows and make them pop!