Progress, not perfection: the TMPP continues...

The Monster Paint Project (TMPP) has a reached a phase where some progress can be noted.  Just a reminder, this is what the original paint job looked like:

I love the old house colors, but they match our neighbors' and the paint is peeling

And so we began the mammoth task of sanding the whole house...

Steve looks a little delirious from inhaling sawdust

And yes, there have been a few mishaps along the way...

From the upper left to the middle right of this picture is the river of spilled primer

I guess the primer is supposed to go ON the garage, not below it...

You can see where we tested the shade of green on the side of the garage

There is a lot of sawdust on the driveway, but look how black it used to look (sigh).  But finally, some progress to report:

No shutters up yet, but at least the first floor is finally painted!

I am happy to report that there haven't been any further "ladder incidents" (of course the fact that I didn't need a ladder on the first floor may have contributed to that small success).  I can't wait to paint out the porch now because the darker house color makes the oddly mismatched spindles look even worse.  There'll be plenty of time for that later though because this week I'll be tackling the 2nd floor while Steve is at work.  I like to do the most dangerous parts when I'm alone, that way I don't have anyone jabbering about safety to distract me.

We haven't selected a color for our shutters yet.  Originally I was thinking about a dark reddish-brown shade while Steve was in favor of navy blue.  We've both decided we can compromise on either a dark espresso brown or perhaps even black.  Any thoughts about that?  Too dark?  Too predictable?  Just right?  I'm really interested in your opinions so don't hold back!