The official color of our house is Newport Taupe with Brandywine trim and accents.

For the choice of siding material, for us the choice came down to vinyl and fiber cement. The cost to upgrade to fiber cement was over $10,000 (about 150% the cost of vinyl).  However, there are both "green" and practical advantages to the fiber cement siding.

http://www.greenhomeguide.com/index.php/knowhow/entry/1304/

http://www.certainteed.com/buildingresponsibly/FiberCementSiding/pdf/CT_FC_GreenTop10_v7.pdf

Our fiber cement is factory-finished and primed on all sides. This means that no painting of the siding is required at the jobsite.

Here are the pictures of the siding installation thus far.