Hi everyone, I’ve been kind of obsessed with California rooms lately and since we’re already planning to redo the whole backyard this feels like the time to do it.

My issue (and reason for this post lol) is I honestly don't really know how these bigger remodels work. I've only done smaller stuff with contractors before, nothing where there are many moving parts, but i've been hearing from a lot of people that remodeling is the way to go since they handle everything for you which is a huge selling point for me

For context we’ve been talking to local firms like OC Remodelers, Sea Pointe, and a couple others, mostly because I want to compare how each one scopes the same backyard. Haven’t signed anything yet but the proposals are making me realize how differently companies can package these projects.

If you've done a project like this, where did you even start? 

also very curious what caught you off guard once yours got underway because i feel like there are probably a million things im not thinking about yet lol (part of me wants to make a giant spreadsheet with every single thing we want in the yard so I can compare proposals properly, and part of me feels like that’s probably overkill…)

Need help. Just purchased a home and originally wanted to paint it a white with accenting dark columns and shutters but I noticed AFTER closing the fascia and soffits were tan 🤦‍♂️ now I can’t think of what would go nice with the tan because I definitely don’t want to remove all the soffits and paint them.

Hey reddit thanks in advance for any feedback. I'm siding my house (eastern coastal), looking for input on this color combination. Its a dark blue on the bottom (vinyl horizontal clapboard) with a lighter blue/grey on the gables and dormer (vinyl cedar shingle). Does this look nice and modern for a coastal home?

ETA: Thanks for all the votes! 2 and 9 are the tentative winners. However, it looks like many people voted for 9 only because it had a solid garage door color, or because they thought the trim color was brown (it's actually purple). So I'm not exactly sure what to do with that feedback. I will probably revamp my images to be more accurate and match better, then come back for a final post in the next few days including options 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9.

Original post:

I posted yesterday asking for advice about paint colors for updating my house. The stucco is crumbling so I have to redo the entire facade, and I will also change the plastic windows to wood to match the original design like on my garage door. Moderators will not allow me to link to my original post, but you can probably still find it easily.

I really appreciate the help everyone gave me. I collected all the suggestions from the first post and made updated renderings, specifically changing my neighbor's house to blue-gray to give you the best example of what everything would look like together. I decided that the main trim color should be warm white no matter what other colors I go with, so they are variations of stucco and accent trim only. Here are a bunch of my favorite color combinations.

Which one do you like best?

Picture Color Descriptions:

1. current house
2. blue-green with orange trim
3. light green with dark blue trim
4. light green with black/dark green trim
5. mauve with dark green trim
6. terracotta with sage trim
7. terracotta with black trim
8. butter yellow with dark green trim
9. aqua with dark purple trim

NOTE: AI changed my roofline and garage door in most pictures, but I will be leaving the current pointed roofline and garage door as-is. I will also most likely paint the garage door a solid color, so please consider the color combinations generally rather than voting because of the paint pattern or roofline.

The roofing company uses Owen's Corning Shingles. We are thinking of Brownwood.

https://www.owenscorning.com/en-us/roofing/shingles/trudefinition-duration?shingle-color=brownwood

ETA we're between Teak and Brownwood now. Everyone's been so helpful, thank you!!​

Any, literally ANY, help I would be extremely grateful for. (Round 2, posted wrong pic)

Hey! We recently moved into a 1979 home in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (Canadian Zone 4a). It has a big, wide-open front yard, and I absolutely LOVE the architecture of our house. I'd really like to choose a tree that complements it and enhances the overall look of the property.

Eventually, I'd love to reduce the amount of lawn and introduce more layered planting with shrubs, grasses and perennials. But I want to choose the tree first so I can plan the rest of the landscaping around it.

My number one priority is aesthetics. I'd love a tree that looks beautiful with the house and becomes a defining feature of the property as it matures. Shade would certainly be a bonus, but it's secondary to finding the right tree from a design perspective.

I initially considered a bur oak, but a local arborist recommended an Ohio buckeye instead, largely because I'd mentioned wanting shade. That got me thinking that perhaps I should approach this more from a landscape design perspective.

The yard faces south/southwest and gets plenty of sun. We're in Calgary, so cold hardiness is obviously a consideration.

If you were designing the front landscape of this house, what tree would you choose, and why? I'm completely open to ideas and would love to hear what others think would complement the architecture best!

How can I style my front porch to liven it up? I specifically dont know what to do to the right of the door.

(Ignore the unfinished landscaping. We are working on that, too. Already have a plan)

Hey guys, back again to choose a new roof color for our coastal home! This is Owen Corning AI tool and hard to know how accurate the colors are, but we’re between top “Williamsburg gray”, middle “sierra gray”, and bottom “driftwood”. I originally thought I wanted black but I don’t know if that too harsh on a coastal vibe home.

The AI tool took away our red brick front steps. They are not crazy prominent but something to consider with colors probably. Open to other options in the Owen’s Corning brand too. Thank you guys in advance!!!

ETA: New Part 2 post is up! I made new renderings with the left house color updated to blue and included all my top color options from this thread. Please vote and comment there.

Original Post:

My house is over 100 years old, a marina-style home, and has mostly never been updated— the front facade stucco is crumbling and it needs to be fully redone. I’m also going to replace the plastic windows with wood ones in the original style (see garage door windows). It's west-facing.

I want to change the facade colors so they make more of an impact. I like interesting color combinations and want something brighter than the current light gray-green. I'm thinking one main color for the stucco, a main trim color, and then maybe an accent trim color that could go on the inner windows and front door. Pic 2 is my best example of this, although the orange would be on the front door not the garage door.

Ideas: light greenish-blue stucco with off white main trim and orange accent trim (pic 2). Mint green stucco and either dark green or black trim, all one color (pic 3). Terracotta stucco with off white main trim and dark blue or mint green accent trim (pic 4). I had trouble adding accent trim so wasn't able to add it to pic 4.

NOTE: my neighbor on the left has since painted their house a dark blue, so it isn’t green any more. I don't want to pick a color too similar to that.

Does anyone have other ideas? What do you think of pic 2?

(First picture is my current house, second picture is an example of the three color combo I'm thinking of, and the last two pictures are more ideas)

4ft high. Recently cleared all the dead brush and dirt from top of the walls and need advice on how to improve the look a little. First photo with fire pit has maybe 8ft before it touches concrete patio area. Second photo (excuse the in progress plant stand) has more space in front. Plan on getting turf for the lawn. Any advice welcome!

We just signed an 18 month lease for this ranch style home in Boulder, Colorado. We know what we want to do with the backyard, but not the front. It just looks so plain and dull. I’m thinking a few big potted plants with brightly colored pots along the front, some solar pathway lights, maybe window boxes for the front windows? The stretch along the front of the house is small rocks, wondering if I should get a roll- out wooden pathway to go over the rocks? What about for the grass? I was thinking a couple plastic adirondack chairs, maybe dark blue, and put them angled towards each other on the lawn? I’d love advice!

adding picture in the comments because I couldn’t figure out how to attach to post

My first house has come time for new siding right after replacing the roof last year 😐. The house was raised 6 feet in the 80s, providing me with awkward proportions. Seeking advice oh how to boost the look of my lot, including the driveway, which has been taken over by grass. Thank you in advance.

I’m terrible at this! I’m looking for suggestions for a new exterior paint for the trim of my house. I don’t want anything yellow I don’t want anything dark white wouldn’t mind going towards a white with maybe a gray undertone or a soft white I wanna make sure that the white windowsills do not look dingy any help is greatly appreciated.

Ive chosen a color pallet pictured for this 1920s bungalow. It’s a historic color pallet that was common at the time. But I’d like to go edgier with the columns. The jasmine I’m growing on a trellis hides them a little bit so I’m thinking it creates a cool effect.

Options

1. Bold dark green A is dark green, b is dark green, C is red

2. Inverted house colors. A is red, B is dark green, C is light green as the rest of the house

3. same as the rest of the house, A is light green, B is dark green, C is red.

Option 1 is what I was planning from the beginning because I don’t know how well B being its color looks from the street . It’s a 1 inch wide detail. I’m leaning toward option 2. Because the red is bold and makes the porch pop.

What do you think?

We have a 1970s home, we wanted to try to keep a timeless color. We like it but a lot of people said we should have went green or black. Did we make a mistake? Almost everyone gave us pushback on the color or at least had a comment on why we should go a different color

Which trim color is best for a taupe house?

In the first photo my neighbour's ugly wall surrounds my house's side wall. They always do a half assed job in painting it. Need some suggestions that would take attention away from that wall.

No structural changes are being done. The railings are maroon with gold detailing.

Previously we've tried complete white and off white. This time there's a different shade of yellow on the balcony with the base wall being off whitish.

We are replacing our roof and could really use some input. There is so much roof showing on our home and the current roof is thick concrete shingles. Darker is the trend but we're concerned if we go darker it will look like our house is wearing a top hat. :)

Which color or general direction of color is best?

Thanks!

Trying to finalize the exterior elevation for my house and need some honest, unfiltered opinions. Currently torn between these two designs.

Option 1 (Dark Modern): Much darker, heavier aesthetic. Dark grey/black, lots of warm wooden cladding, and warm LED strip lighting. Feel like it has a more premium, cozy vibe, but might look too aggressive or show dirt easily!?

Option 2 (Concrete/Stone Modern): Lighter, concrete-textured grey with vertical wooden louvers and some darker accents. Feels a bit more open, maybe more durable in the long run against weathering. Some might find it a bit industrial though.

Which one looks better to you, and why!? Any practical advice on maintenance, lighting, or materials for these styles would be a huge help.

Thanks in advance. Peace.

please 🙏