I can try to answer the question about half height brick/stone veneer on wood frame buildings. Brick and stone are very old traditional residential materials and that tradition began with solid double and triple wythe layers of brick with occasional bricks laid perpendicular to tie the layers together or vertically to denote floor lines or arched over an opening. Stone walls were built in a similar manner. Wood framing was sometimes placed on top of a brick/stone wall but the change had to occur at a floor where the floor braced the wall because if the change occurred elsewhere the wall would have little resistance to lateral forces (wind, earthquake) due to the discontinuity of the wall structure between floors (walls transfer lateral loads upward and downward to the floors of a building). Changing the structural material at a floor level also permitted one wall to be thicker than the other without creating an awkward shelf on the inside or the outside of the wall. With the advent of modern "brick-veneer cavity-wall" construction (one wythe of brick set an inch in front of a wood framed wall and tied back with metal ties every 24" in each direction) a brick wall could simulate a traditional solid wall for a fraction of the price and it was easier and cheaper to add insulation and wiring, etc. Stone could also be installed this way. But this system also allowed brick to stop mid-way between floors because it was only a cladding with the actual wall structure hidden behind it. Of course, the change created an awkward setback that was difficult or expensive to flash properly but it was a way to introduce a token amount of stone or masonry on a wood framed building for short money - a developer's dream. So, suburban developers latched onto this idea and used it in subdivisions all over America to the point that it became the most common developer cliche after repetitive gables and giant hipped roofs. Apparently they did not see the irony in the fact that the wall was supposed to look like a traditional structural brick wall but if it were it would not be be built in that manner. What the half height wall does is tell the world that although the wall might look like a structural brick wall, it's actually only a cladding. Ok, so we all know it isn't a structural brick wall but I believe that a designer should either copy the real thing as faithfully as possible or create something that is enough different that it has it's own design integrity and style. Unfortunately, the residential design world seems too often to be stuck somewhere in between these goals.

Stone would suit that house about like a fish needs an oxygen tank. Stone shouldn't be used like it is some type of wallpaper. It should be used as though it were actually structural. Structurally, there doesn't appear to be a brick ledge to place any stone on the house.

This has been super helpful. I think I like the overall concept we have, just not the specific material chosen (which is a thin ledgestone like Virgil’s first picture, and had always felt too busy.) I really like the bigger stones of the second two photos, which is actually very much like what we have now and love. It sounds like there’s a trip to the stone yard to check out some options in my future. The architects also mentioned the idea of porcelain panels, so I’ll check those out too. Stonepeak looks awesome, janni, but not available here it seems, so I’ll see what we do have. If we went with porcelain panels, would you keep them on the bottom third as with stone, or take them all the way up?

Love the brick, the roof and the trim color. All in harmony. I would take off the shutters. They don't fit and add nothing to the looks of the house. The garage door and the mustard siding should be painted the same color as the house trim. I would get a new side door with the top in glass. The one you have now looks light a front door. I think you only need one side light, but that would be much better than the overhead one. I would get a poured concrete stoop as wide as the flanking stones. (Move them over to allow for a wider stoop. You only need on step. You don't need a railing, unless you want one. In that case, I agree a iron one would be the best.