Plastic lawns. Or smooth pebble rock with various colored ice plants- that's a great look. Clean,low water use. Even natural.

Take a look at Sherman Gardens dry landscapes on the net.

Some people are not creative. For them you might be able to persuade them that other alternatives are better. If the person wanting red lava rock actually thinks it is pretty to look at then they could not be persuaded. At one time I briefly lived in a house that had a pool with lava rock nearby. I had never liked the red color. Then living with it I came to hate it more for its sharpness when stepped on. I can't think of anything anyone could say to me that would change my mind. It is a matter of taste. As an update on my across the street neighbors yard alteration, nothing has replaced the dug out sod. Just seeing the open soil is not pretty, but I prefer it over red lava rock.

There are ways to combine gravel/rock with other drought tolerant plants, so it does not look completely lifeless. A well-placed boulder can also add interest to a rock garden.

If one does go with a rock garden, it is important to stick to plants that complement the setting. Many ordinary types of plants will look out of place amongst a rock garden.

I do not really like the concept of rock gardens, but I can see how they could make sense in dry desert-like climates. That being said, I have seen many people who have RUINED their front yards dumping in rocks/gravel.

Some people in my neighborhood use white marble chips. It's like putting white carpeting in a garage. Every stray leaf and twig shows up on it, plus it looks unnatural. Pea pebbles would have looked much better with their succulents. Plus, their landscaper put in horsetail and it's coming up all over the place.

So they paid a landscaper to put white marble chips AND the scourge of Horsetail in their yard? I got some Gopher Spurge and Lippia ... and a bridge to sell them.

Man, I didn't even know they still sell red lava rock and white marble chips! That so takes me back to my childhood in the late 1960's. Seemed like every other house had one or the other or both, along with Tam junipers, Bottlebrush bushes, and an old wagon wheel to stick somewhere.

Nah, they paid a worker that knew how to print out a business card. ;)

Barb,yep- the good old days of Tan bark. Those big wood chips that would give you splinters just touching one. And what kid could resist? Under every schools Monkeybars.

Dolomite was used a lot too around homes. Wear sunglasses.

OMG YES those white rocks cause so much glare!!! There is a house in my neighborhood that is mostly in full sun. The house is white, the fence is white, and the yard is mostly full of white rocks. Ugh. They do have many lovely rose bushes, but it seems like the work they mainly do is sweep and pick debris out of the rocks.