I love the red/mustard combination also, and my kitchen is the red room, with the main living area the mustard color. The red seems to work well in the kitchen, as others have mentioned, because the cabinets are creamy white, the floors are light, and there is less wall space, so the color is not too overwhelming. If you're interested, here is a link to a remix slideshow of our home: Here is a link that might be useful: Our New Home

Some things you could do are ... Widen the walk and especially the entrance landing. (The skimpy walk seriously cheapens the whole home, especially since the entrance is far from the drive.) If you redo the whole thing, consider if it needs to be a bit farther away from the garage -- at least 6' I think. Remove the center tree. It gives a goofy look to the garage wall. Hang a piece of outdoor art on the blank wall if it bothers you. Or, a wall mounted flag. Plant below windows as if it's a flower box .... color and annuals. With windows so low to the ground, it's not practical to have the typical shrub situation. Instead, some evergreen shrubs can go near corners of the garage. Incorporate a bed of groundcover in order to knit everything together. It is much more luxurious looking than a bed of mulch. Plant some medium height (3-4') colorful perennials to wrap the far corner. Limb up the front yard trees such that they do not impede view of first floor from the street. Limb up the small trees at the garage so they clear the window tops. Since they are very formal elements, keep their tops shaped and height in the vicinity of the eaves. There are probably other things you could do fore of the space that is shown. I see what I think is a mulch bed below the tree at left. This could be a sumptuous, lush bed of groundcover instead of a dry, flat, brown space.

An alternative, paired-back approach to create both cohesion and airiness in a space, which is already packed with features, (stepped walls, ceiling angles and heights), is to choose one colour. Subtle interest comes from the play of light, upon those varying angles, ceiling planes and wall faces. Variety comes through contrast in tone, rather than colour. It’s been used with great effect in both historic homes and contemporary apartments. I think it would work beautifully in your space.

We have stayed in many vacation rentals and never choose places with dated, trashed looking furniture. That couch would cause me to scroll on by if I were looking online. We are willing to pay a premium for nicely furnished places and treat them respectfully. If you invested a bit in new furnishings, you could charge more and I’ll bet the place wouldn’t be as likely to get trashed. Don’t forget about the great leverage that a security deposit provides as well.