Mindy, The stain is translucent, thin and watery. I got it at Homedepot. You choose the color you want from the stain collection and they color it for you like they mix paint colors to order. I just did it so I don't know how it will wear. I put in 2'x2'cement stepping blocks from our driveway to the front walk and sprayed that too, so we'll see. I tried brushing it on but it pooled in odd spots and looked terrible so that is why I went to a spray application. Much better.With spray the gallon went farther too. Try it in an out of the way place. You will have to cover any plants or grass nearby to protect them from spray. Don't do it on a windy day and it should not rain for at least 24 hours or more after application. I wore safety glasses when I did it. I'll check back in case you have more questions. I still have to learn how to post pictures, but I will soon.

Congrats on your new home! It will be charming. I think the awning spoils the lines of the house, and doesn't let you see the interesting angles of the brickwork. I would take it down. However, if you think it is really of benefit and you want to keep it, I would paint it the same color as the siding OR the same color as the roof. I would also paint the brown wood the siding color - it makes the front windows feel like they are sitting in a hole, and doesn't really do anything special for the house. I would also love to see you take out those bushes in front of the porch. They really date the house, and exposing that brick and stone would give the front porch more substance. A wider, curved bed in front of that with low plantings would be nice, and then perhaps a larger evergreen on the left corner of the porch. A second curved out bed in front of the left half of the house, perhaps a birdbath in the middle of the bed, and then a small tree of some kind on the left outside corner of the house, but a bit away and in the final curved planting area out even a bit more into the yard there. The ironwork is also a dated look, but I don't know if you want to replace that right now. Personally, I might take out the pieces in between the vertical posts, and open up the front porch even more. I think I would leave it white, like the rest of the trim on the house. Finally, I would think about a strong accent color for the front door. A rich navy would be very pretty, and a good transition between the cool grey tones in the roof and the warmer yellows and oranges of the brick and siding.

So many good suggestions! Unfortunately we live in West Texas, so not the greatest climate for living things outside of desert plants. I probably won't be doing any climbing plants just based on our severe water restrictions and and my lack of a green thumb. Plus we have some heavy dust storms most of the year that sand blasts anything too delicate. I tend to let the lawn do it's thing and keep it cut and edged. Lavender_Lass: I absolutely love the idea of a little seating area out there! I would go with a concrete bench and small table (things tend to walk away here). I hadn't ever thought of this.. but sometimes I do loiter out front waiting for guests to arrive for dinner parties. Kippy: Possibly a small flowering tree to cover some of the area from heat? It gets extremely hot there in the middle of the day. annkh: my handy man skills probably lack too much to remove my covered area, but I'm thinking I could replace that column with something not so... terrible. I absolutely hate that thing! Do you have any thoughts on what I can do to keep it and pretty it up some? We do get some pretty heavy storms sometimes. Any suggestions on paint color ideas for that siding? I have a feeling that's really going to help out alot, but I'm not sure what colors to go with to modernize it all (gonna paint before I plant/landscape). I've attached a full photo of the house, plus a photo of inside so you can all see that I have at least done some nice remodeling in there at least. And we had a nice hail storm yesterday evening so I am getting a new roof!! No more brown orange roof! woohoo!!

Doods- would I also move them forward to that position? I haven’t tried any other spots with them yet. My toddler got hold of the drill I used to add drainage holes to the pots so I couldn’t play around as much as I wanted LOL I like the look of the rug I’m still undecided on the size though. It’s 2’3”x 4’6” I really wish I could find a true 2’6”x 4’6”or 5’ rug. yayagal - I keep coming back to the black trim too; I just can’t write it off. I am still a little freaked about having to paint over it if I don’t like it though. Lil S - I actually haven’t thought about a different wreath. I didn’t want to compete with the yellow so was keeping it simple with the green wreath for Spring/Summer and then a wooden wreath for Fall/Winter. I usually add a bow for different holidays to dress it up a bit. Do you have pictures of the type of wreath you’re thinking would look good?