Hi thanks everyone for the ideas. I'm in Arizona where the red brick is a unique feature compared to the typical concrete block walls. Its a distinct feature for the neighborhood and I'm not sure HOA would allow it. That said, I do see stuccoing the the backyard side would create more balance. The railing on the balcony will be replaced and I'm interested in doing wrought iron inserts/railing in between the large painted wood posts. cpaul1 had an interesting idea on stained wood vs painted for the pillars. I'd assume these painted one pillars could be sanded and stained? That might look good in combination with the dark trim paint. Then I'd also consider doing wood slate ceiling on the balcony. Would that look off? I'm searching for some photos of similar homes with the non-painted beams and similar style. As far as the balusters, something like this in a flat black? decoenthusiaste - I'm a big fan of that white home with the dark trim! Wish I had the wooden windows to contrast like they did. I'm not sure how I could do that without the wood windows/door.

Thank you, we're really happy with the way everything came together. The backsplash looks much better in person, of course, and I just love it! we chose the color rainstorm in a crackle finish. Heres the link https://sonomatilemakers.com/product/stellar-marea/

It looks very dark, so maybe trim up some of those trees to allow some light to come in. Those niches, definitely need something. Maybe some type of metal art. You definitely need landscaping. A good idea would be to have a nursery draw up a landscaping plan. If you have the budget to do all of it now, that would be great, but, if you dont, then it could be done in phases, as long as you have a total design. Oh, and have someone professionally trim those shrubs that have a bowl shape on the right hand side. They would look much nicer if they were trimmed to a normal shape.

this isn't a spanish style home. you have some arches on the back addtion part. that's it. I mean, it's like walking around w/castanets on your fingers while wearing blue jeans and a tshirt, and calling yourself a flamenco dancer. no offense. If you want more spanish, get a spanish roof tile, get new windows for the front part, spanish style door, and a mediterranea landscape. see how they did this look? or this one. you'd have to stain that concrete driveway too But aside from that, I'd just go w/the vintage mid century look. Like this one: (is this home up in the north part of LA? montecito hgts? Lincoln park area? looks like it. ) First thing I'd do is paint. from the pic it looks like a greenish white. why do you want fencing on top of the wall? Have you checked w/the city first to see if it's allowed? if it is, ask about the spacing of the fencing. sometimes you need a gap in between the planks. If you must do fencing, then make it this style: I'd paint the cinder block wall a darker color and then do your vinyl wood look fencing on top of that. I'd paint the lower portion a dark charcoal, and do a warm, horizontal wood-look plank on top paint your stucco and trim a more modern color that works w/the wood tone I love the dark and white w/the wood