you want this kind of look

We did grey stone around the garage and entry. Rest of the front is a bluish white stucco. Painted any wood white. Looks very nice and easy to add color with landscaping. Good luck!

Call a couple of local architects and ask if they will help with this stage of the project. Who drew up the original plans? Just because “most newer homes” are combining doesn’t mean it’s the best solution for your house

Personally, I think there's way too much going on in the pic posted. An eyesore to be honest.
I agree with contacting an architect who can better direct you.

there must be someone out there who wants work! try some of the pro companies on this site.

I happen to like the first pic, w/the stone/siding. I also love the black w/cedar combo

Why wasn't this decided long, long before construction was started? What else is still up in the air? Where has the contractor been?

You just need to get on the phone in the morning and call some architects.

I can see why you don't like the planned exterior. It's a little too busy and muddled. I'm not an expert, but I think the simpler the gables the better since they are so big. Maybe board and batten or just continue the siding all the way up. I also think I would loose the brick/stone going up the sides of the small window in the center of your house. The brick/stone looks nice on the porch and below the windows. On a second look, it looks like there is both brick and stone on your plan. Maybe just stick with one or the other, not both.

I don't like the use of two materials on the gables. To me it looks busy and contrived. I found this image

I also would not put stone up the wall on the right. Leave it on the bottom like the rest of the wall.

I would use two exterior finishes, not three. I'd forego the stone. Maybe a horizontal wood siding below and a shingle in the gable, either in the same color, or only a slight color contrast.

Haven't been there in awhile but on the home building forum, there used to be some architects and remodelers that frequent there. As I recall, they had very strong feelings and you should be able to find a lot of info on mixing materials on the exterior of homes. As I recall, their preference was always that the material should look like it is part of the structure so separate gables and things all in one material rather than splitting it up all over the place. Also think about the lines created by the material breaks. The more horizontal lines, the squatter the house looks...the more vertical, the taller.

We used the stone only on the separate gable on our facade. The rest was done in siding.

I’m with cawaps. The plan looks way too busy to me, but then I usually lean towards simplicity. You can dress up the front with planters and landscaping when it’s done.

I think the red one is much too busy. By going with one color and no more than one or two different materials and placing them in the right place, you can tone it down. By too busy, I mean there are so many different roof lines and features your eye doesn't know where to focus. By painting the trim white on the red house, it just makes the busyness more prominent--like it's shouting"look at me"!

Busy, meaning visually cluttered.

This is the house I built in 2003 -- shakes in the gables, horizontal "body" siding and stone up to the water table.

You could use vertical siding in the gables.

Nice! Love the porch columns. Nice and beefy, in proportion to the house. Too often porch posts are spindly looking.

Great curb appeal.

You can fix the busy-ness by not having multiple finishes/colors/architectural features. In other words, don't have vertical siding and brick and stone and shake shingles. Pick ONE, or maybe TWO. Otherwise, it looks like a hot mess.

And you should post your question on the Building a Home forum rather than the Decorating forum. But wear your flame-proof undies, cause some of those architects/designers have strong opinions and have no worries about sharing them.

Flame proof undies, LOL.