"I’ve decided to use poplar bark as it’s less maintenance than cedar shingles."

What is poplar bark? I would lose one of the types of stone as two are two many and three sidings types are as well.

"Poplar bark" is what is on the outside to poplar trees.

I did not know gray and brown were primary colors.

A browned or grayed red, blue, or yellow, is what I would interpret as a ”muted primary color”. Not anything actually brown or gray. You are setting yourself up for a large amount of annual maintenance with this HOA requirement.

Do they not approve any manufactured look alike materials? Shingle replicas in cement, rubber, and metal, all have advanced greatly in the looks department, and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference if the intent is to have them be opaque coated. They have much better fire ratings as well, which is a big requirement in many dry locations.

"Shingle replicas in cement, rubber, and metal, all have advanced greatly in the looks department,"

Rubber? And better fire rating?

Millwork- I agree it manages to look boring at the same time it looks busy! We are required to use stone around the foundation- the poplar bark is on the bump outs. I think I misspoke- it’s not that I need to use a muted primary color but the primary facade color must be muted with a LRV less than 20. I also agree that the maintenance will be much more than I care for- this is weekend or summer residence for most owners

Lose the poplar bark stone t hen if you must use stone at the foundation OR use the same stone at the bumpouts. Stone typically should look like it were a locally sourced natural product, not a fashion piece.

Is "poplar bark" a siding colour? I've never heard of actual tree bark being used as a siding material.

Jennifer-poplar bark is a natural siding and is actually long lasting and low maintenance. Our original plan was for lap siding with B&B on the bump outs but the design committee required us to add either shingles or bark. So given those limitations, I’m not sure what to do with the primary color

A mix of natural materials strongly suggests "earth tone" colors, not primary (red, yellow, blue) colors.

Yes- thank you Virgil. I think you are correct. What do you think of a brown? Not my ideal color palette and I tend to gravitate towards a higher contrast look so this is frustrating.

I was looking at the Barkhouse site. What an interesting product! It appears that there are some colour choices, including one that is creamy coloured.

Poplar Bark Shingle Siding and Wall Tiles · More Info

Could you use the cream as an accent?

What is LRV? · More Info

It’s funny Jennifer- bark is such a commonly used material in the North Carolina mountains that I just assumed everyone would be familiar with it. Having said that- I don’t recall ever seeing the bark with a cream color applied. That could be quite striking but would (unfortunately) never pass in our community. We are not even allowed white or light colored window trim. The dark painted bark might be interesting with the gray…….love the neighborhood but wish we had more design flexibility.

Based on subsequent responses from the OP, I think that by "muted primary color", OP means that the predominant color should be muted. Not that the color should be a primary color (red, yellow, blue) that is muted. So could be any color as long as it is muted (LRV below 20).

Thank you RTHAWk- you expressed what I meant to say very clearly!

Reba, "brown" generally is not a color that I find appealing for houses. A good color reference source, however, for "earth tone" colors is the color chart from Olympic Stains, available at Home Depot and/or Lowes. Olympic has a wide range of earth tones, particularly the solid color (not semi-transparent) stains including a range of "brownish" colors (but better than simply brown, IMO). Good luck! :-)

Reba, I forgot to add that if you are using stone for some elements of your house, that is the place to begin when evaluating the harmonious colors for other materials and finishes. Stone is visually a very prominent material, but it also tends to be very limited in color range, for any given type of stone. Thus, when picking other exterior materials and colors, it is usually best to start with the stone selection, and thereafter pick other materials and finishes to be harmonious with the stone selection. Not vice versa! :-)

Many thanks Virgil Carter for your excellent and generous advice. I will do exactly that- start with and use the stone as my guidepost

And may I add Virgil that your artwork is stunning. May have to treat myself to one of your paintings when my house is completed!