Great house. Is that white brick? I had a house built with that... A good powerwash cleans it up but it always stays a little dingy. We ended up painting all the wood components very dark grey, magically the brick looked clean after that!

I personally would avoid white as a trim color, it just doesn't say MCM to me. Greys, natural wood, earth tones...

That path is pretty dreadful. Stone stairs and stone retaining walls would look lovely. Of course that would mean forgoing food for a year to pay for it...

Hi there Kate,
Thats a wonderful house you have there but the typical Eichler color palette isn't for everyone i know.
There are plenty of ways to go, i've just been checking out - Mid Century modern Exteriors - in Google images and there's a wealth of ideas there so please do have a look.

I'm just not sure how i'd treat it if it was mine but i know i'd take it very carefully and thoughtfully as you have great potential there.

I like most of your ideas. Assuming you mean the blue-gray would go on the stucco siding, not painting the brick itself? Because that brick is a great neutral - can pair it with almost any accent colors. First thing I'd do is upload the main photo (back view) to one of the paint company's colorizing websites, and play around. Even though you cannot pick actual colors from such a site, it will help immensely with understanding how the location of light and dark hues change the feel of the home.

I kind of think you might want to keep the beams dark, not white, or they will disappear entirely. But, I don't like the brown posts on the balcony fencing; there it would be nice for them to "disappear."

With grey and white as your base, you can easily afford a fun door color, and I'd explore that for sure.

On the pavers, I can see how they'd bother you, but if it were me, I'd try to live with that for now. There are a LOT of them, so it's not going to be easy or cheap to change. That money could be spent on much more high-impact areas like furnishings, rugs or the kitchen re-do. Good luck with it, would love to see inside views, it looks like a fabulous property!

Here's a look inside! When we bought it there was a chunky stair rail and huge coat closet in this room blocking the view. The floors were also carpet and under that painted hardwood. We've put some work in and are very happy with what we've got so far. Kitchen redo this spring maybe. It's currently 80s cheap. Is there something worse than builder grade? Cause that's what we've got!

Gorgeous

Love what you've done with the interior, it is beautiful!
I think I'd paint the house dark gray, and clean up the ivory colored brick. The door would like nice in a bright golden yellow. I like your idea for the walk, and getting rid of the red pavers. Take your time - looks like you have a gem!

Could you stain the concrete pavers? I just googled and it looks like it can be done.

Good point about staining pavers. Eventually, they'll have to go but now that you mention it I remember way back before we even closed on the house looking into spray painting the pavers as a temporary fix. That would kill my plan to sell the pavers on Craigslist though ;)

I think a tiered modern walkway to go with your house

I absolutely love your house! Such a great structure with so much potential.
I agree 100% with lnicol8, a concrete walkway, balustrade and flower boxes creating different levels would look amazing. The great thing about concrete is that you can pour it over the existing brickwork so no rubble removal. Don't forget to take lighting into account if you do this so you can incorporate the wiring before you put in any structures.

I like your idea of grey and white paint. Mid century moderns look great when texture is incorporated so maybe consider wood or natural stone elements, you can always add these in at a later date when your budget allows for it.

Also consider glass for the balcony balustrade, it adds a touch of elegance

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Fun-tastic interior too, those floors are just yummy, but it would be good to consider changing the balustrade for something far lighter at a later date as it really does block the flow of your lovely view.

Also i see something more natural replacing the steps instead of filling in with more concrete ; like this ? :

Thanks amber! Great thoughts! Are you saying we could pour concrete over the existing pavers?

Our architect/contractor and my husband are pushing for the cable rail outside to match the inside but we've definitely considered glass as well!

I also like the look of the stone walkway but I'm worried it won't do the retaining necessary. There were some washout issues when we bought the house, but we're hoping that was due to a backup (that we've fixed) in the gutters and not how the front drains. Time will tell!

Those are the two options i was thinking for the balustrade and i feel the railings would be the better choice although glass could be great too - good thing it's not my project i'd take forever deciding all my possibilities.
Anyhow can't wait to see how you handle it all.

Hi Kate. Absolutely, as long as it is stable, the existing brick acts as the rubble you would often throw in to take up space and use less cement. I've done a concrete staircase in the same way a concrete kitchen countertop can be done (almost like a screed). I then had it polished to give it a more refined look but thats up to you. If i did it again I would add the floating lip that is shown on the two photos i added above but i'm not sure how easy that is if you're going to do it yourself?

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Kate your home is lovely and I love what you've done so far. Your gray-blue exterior idea in the inspiration pic is exactly what I'd do. I would replace or strip and redo the brown for cedar and you may think this is odd but if it were mine there would have to be chartruese somewhere! Front door, mailbox, trim, etc... Best wishes!

Karen- you're freaking me out a little. This convo has been silent for a few months. But today I finally purchased some sample paints after months of debate. Mostly charcoal and one with a hint of blue. Freaky timing. AND I've been planning on a chartreuse door and chartreuse and dark purple plants for landscaping. Crazy!

One thing that I would think about with corten planters that you originally suggested is that yes they are nice looking but as corten rusts into the ground it toxifies the ground and you have to remove the soil instead of plants growing in it. Also if you put it anywhere near paving it will stain the paving..Which can be cool. But I feel like you want more clean lines. You could try block or timber planters. If you really want to try steel in certain areas we use steel and rust it to a patina then seal it so that it doesn't rust anymore.

Kate any updates on your home? It is so lovely and just curious!!