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Repaint it the trim white, but, I hear you about adding black ...how about an outdoor rug and potted plants?
Because you can still see the grain of the wood, I wouldn't paint. I would use clear tinted or semi-transparent tinted wood stain.
I don't know your sun exposure, but dark deck flooring can get hot. It also shows every speck of dust.
If you choose some of your gray stain for certain areas and then a natural cedar stain for other areas, it would be a nice modern look with your natural vibe.
For accent color, a couple of seat cushions for the bench, a few throw pillows and colorful plant pots here and there.
Sounds like fun!
You can stain all the wood any color stain you like. To me, the dark brown walnut family would work well with your (very adorable) house. Then get fabulous pillows with a fun fabric for any surface that one can sit on. (I’m looking at the big box on the right and seeing a tufted seat cushion there already). Outdoor fabrics can be bright and lively and fun.
Gray sounds depressing for outside furniture IMO. I have black framed furniture with blue stretched nylon. One lounge chair needed a cushion so I went to At Home and got a fun green-white-blue lounge cushion. It’s my favorite.
Art...............: ) THREE prints related ? The sooner you donate those? The faster you will find something you love, and no there is no rush.
I'm saying in as nice a way as possible, you can love something else. More.
Do not put in the basement, unless you tell me you clean it out every. single. Spring.
Before you answer? Ask yourself what else is down in the catacombs.....
I'm not going to learn to love it. It's an old colonial house, it wasn't meant to look like something from Ikea. It's definitely coming off.
The only way to know what rings your bell? buy a box of a couple favorites.
Do a sample board each. stand them up on the counter.
Yes, green and browns go together........and they will go together quite permanently here. Nothing wrong with that, echo the color in stools. The point? It's SORT of forever, as the rip and replace isn't a ton of fun. Lots of places to add green in a kitchen and stools are one, as are rugs, kitchen towels, even a pendant.....and the first just below? gorgeous and 15" : )
Mossy and 18"
Costco Traverse City should be getting their yearly spring supply of Arborvitae. Good size at $35/ea. You can add more every year. These won't work if you have deer go through ypur property.
You have a huge property and your main sitting area looks like it's at the front of the house. A pergola would give you a sense of privacy with the slatted ceiling with a side privacy fence on the corner side (you can grow vines in that section on the exterior side). Plant nice flowering shrubs on the front part along the patio on both sides of the path that leads to the house.
Ok, thanks for the feedback. I went over and photographed my neighbors parkway. The grass is taller than I thought but it does lean quite a bit. If I did it on both sides you'd definitely be brushed by the grass walking back there. There are worse things but during certain times of year you have seeds on your clothes.
I was also thinking of mounting some trellises on the big wall for climbing vines. I had a fig vine attached directly to the wall and it was very destructive to the stucco. Maybe Bougainville but it drops quite a bit in my experience... beautiful though.
Your neighbors plantings are enough ..I would complete the walkway with a solid surface….and add some flat architectural ..sculptural ..interest to the walls..and get a good cordless blower for maintenance…another way to add interest would be to paint some of your walls in varying shades or pale colors …to accentuate the architectural elements and add a little more life and dimension to the walkways…
Yes, the black screen is the big culprit, as is the carved wood hanging over it.
Simplify is maybe the word you want. Do you use the fireplace? If not, you don't need any screening. If you do, then something very simple. The photos that Boxerpal posted are great examples of traditional architecture with modern furniture.
The black fence, with some landscaping inside and outside, will visually disappear. White will be a lot more prominent.
Agree with Sigrid. I'd also add some hydrangea, which always reminds me of New England.
I'd also hang some flower baskets with impatiens or fuschia. Or do a window box with geraniums.
No we don't typically get deer in our area.
I love hydrangeas.
Tara L: I have this 3/4 inch Golden Nugget stone around most of my house. Our siding is a yellowish tan and some similar colored brick in front. I also have boxwoods, as well as hollies, azaleas, rhododendrons, junipers, a Japanese maple, a weeping cherry tree, a Bradford pear tree, and a cypress tree. I live in Zone 6a/b in western New England so probably similar weather to you. I have had NO issues with using landscaping stone with any of these plantings, some of which have been here since 1995!
On really really hot days I will go out and hose down the stone and plants. Our inground sprinkler system doesn't reach all the way into the landscaping in the front and that is west facing, so it does get hot. But again, I've had no issues for over 30 years.
I do, for some reason, have mulch along the back deck and the left side of the garage. Can't remember why it isn't stone, but I mumble every year that I'm going to change it. The mulch throws artillery spores up on to the siding and I hate it.
So, stone away to your heart's content!!!! I like your paler color choice rather than the red.
Lastly, regarding weeding (and some folks here will have a hissy about this!), our landscaper sprays Roundup over the rocks and around the plantings a couple of times from spring to fall. And no, it has not killed one single plant, and yes, there are absolutely no weeds in my landscaping beds. Pulling weeds out of rocks is no fun and I now don't have to worry about it.
I would go with gravel more natural looking like those shown by Debi and Kate. And ignore the naysayers .
@gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) Odd comment... anyone can put any rock or gravel of any color they like... in any state, in any climate. You need to loosen up with the rules.