I think grey would make it look like weathered wood and it would be too rustic and not contemporary at all. What about white? That and your new aircraft cable might be enough to freshen up this structure and be very crisp and artistic looking. Look up 'colour of the year 2016' and see all the whites that the paint companies have chosen to showcase next year. I'd recommend trying some samples on the house to see how the daylight changes them.

Would you have all of the trim on the house white, also?

Good question. No I wouldn't do the trim white because it would be blended into the rest too much. I actually love the colour it is now. I would just do the walls in white.

Look for some inspiration pictures of flat roof houses. Do you want to paint or cover everything? Here are some possible inspiration pictures for colors, wood and stone. Some with similar colors to what you have now.

I love the contemporary lansdcaping on this one, and the calm look of the color balance between light and dark.

The contemporary lights look good.

Nice use of wood. I like the modern landscaping shapes.

Looks great with the chimney done a different finish. Could you do that to make a nice balance like this? The stone and wood are good together.

If you're going to do some work on the deck, I would upgrade the look of the steps by closing them off and making them a bit wider. Another small upgrade would be to replace the top railing down the steps with a proper size hand grip railing in the cedar. What you have is flat, so it's harder to grab with the hand and not as safe.

I really like the first one you posted, in addition to the lights of the second one. We're just struggling because I'm not sure we have the angles/cutouts on the house - feel like it might be too much

*edit - I really like your idea of closing the steps off.

I like white, but I'd make the trim charcoal. Like the railing change. Would suggest some kind of stacked stone for the chimney.

Like the idea of some up-lights too, and some more elaborate landscaping.

I keep thinking about that porch roof too -- like maybe some metal would be neat. Dunno, depends on what else...

Fun to think about! Hope you manage something neat.

I love that first house! Painting the window frames (actual window, not trim) black, with the charcoal trim would be awesome. Trying to figure out what paint color would come close to that wood color of the first house.

Like this one: Simple deck spanning the front. Modern glass door, then perhaps a "dry" pond for you with simple grasses, stacked stone.

I reflexively want to say "BM Dove white" but I don't actually know anything about Benjamin Moore colors! :)) #HouzzReflex

I would replace the fireplace with Eldorado stone. The patio off gthe front looks silly. Expand it or remove it and focus on the back where the view appears to be better.

Yeah - the views are what sold the house. Would you expand the deck off to the right to the front of the house or to the left and around?

The house is lovely as it is the porch is horrid as it is. I would redo the porch with the cable or hire an architect to redo the porch and a landscaper to freshen the planting around the house. The house itself look really nice; kind of a Hampton's silver sea salt fade.

Your front porch only has 2 steps. I'd eliminate the railing and just have 2 wide, welcoming steps all the way across. Enlarge the deck and simplify the shape. Replace the overhang with something that is larger, square and more modern. Make the walkway modern too, with square shapes like the first photo I posted above, rather than a curvy look. Landscape with plants that emphasize foliage, such as grasses and evergreens.

You may find that with a modern entrance and landscaping, the house doesn't need anything else. Plan the whole thing out before you start.

Ha! That has been the house I've been pointing friends and family to as our inspiration.

I agree. Get a pro involved. The Windows do look undersized but I was hoping it meant the entire backside was glass.

There is a lot of glass in back, but unfortunately, not the entire thing.

So - this is a dumb question, but when you say 'pro', is that contractor, a designer, or an architect?

Grey and cedar would be a good combination, but I think you need to contact an architect to fix that front porch that is all wrong for the style of your home.

Stunning house. I see from the listing photos that the windows are appropriately scaled for the rooms inside. I agree with starting with an architect to rework the front porch. A landscape architect would also be useful for modernizing the front landscape and to address wildfire safety. I'm afraid the large trees right next to the house on left and right in the photo are too close for safety. Their roots could also affect the foundation.

This is why I am so glad that I posted here - reworking/designing the front porch had never even crossed our minds - but it's the most mentioned part here, and you're absolutely right!

They entire entrance area including deck are not original to the house, IMO. If all you aim to do is return it to how it was you may not need an architect. Maybe someone can photoshop it for you with a flat front and simple stairs.

Search Houzz or Google for Mid century modern entrances. You'll get some good ideas. The gray paint and wood would be a great look for your house.

i fully agree with everyone regarding making the front porch all one depth and removing railings and just having wide steps that run the whole length. In addition i believe someone mentioned running stone up the tall wall, a chimney? and many have shown pictures, but not mentioned these accents. I will now show if i may

cross wood instead of up and down on some. Wood and paint used

this one shows slats being used in other spots, across windows is often used.This goes the other way. special areas for large or even lit numbers. see the wonderful concrete walkway leading up to walk?Porch treatments like these or

patterns like this running up that center wall or across windows or above porch instead of slats

slatted railing running up, totally not traditional, color blocking too, though i do not like bright yellow

This is kinda of the decorative piece i showed before, but of metal. the others are from arcurio. pvc, very reasonable and you can even design.

these are ones I saved because they appeal to me, and i am not a modern house fan. But I think if I had one, i would some of these things,cause i would want it to be more than a box.

If you get too full, you can just click my name to message or write here, and i will come back and remove some or all as needed. Hope it helps, have fun!

Lots of good ideas being generated. The one thing I find that takes away from the home is that strange miss-figured porch roof. The right architect can eliminate that in favor of a more contemporary one. You might consider covering more of the front deck with a roof since the back deck is open.

For sure, the deciding factor would be, what is your budget? So many great ideas, but if you have already spent a fortune on the house, usually there isn't that much left over. If the budget is limited, painting and landscaping would be first and foremost. It would be great to address the entrance so that it's more obvious and welcoming. It's too small in proportion to the rest of the house. I love your home and I like your idea of painting it gray and I personally would do the trim in a darker shade of gray. You can add texture and colour around the house with tall grasses and cedars and some big boulders. It would also be great to do the chimney in cedar and that would tie in to the deck. I think that tall tree that's almost against the entranceway needs to go LOL!! It's a beautiful place, just needs a little TLC. Enjoy it, the view must be amazing!

I think your house would look very nice in a medium dark or dark shade of gray. For a crisp look the trim could be in white or a warm wood tone. In any case I would incorporate warm wood tone somewhere(deck area for example) as its one of the most attractive elements of contemporary houses like this.

What are the chances these decks can be power washed/stripped down to clean wood? Is that feasible? If not, which color would make it look like a warm cedar tone? I seriously wish this deck wasn't painted.

Why not do like in house 1/6/7 above and do dark gray and then do real cedar accent like 1/2/3 in the accents to the porch, supports, cross beams etc. Would than not be easier than trying to redo?

i also forgot a few more pics, please note lights in all pics, and once again the steps

one below uses dark brown rather than gray.

I have one other wild idea, that could work out to be fairly inexpensive, these large tiles, that are all paintable and many designed to stand up to water etc. might be used around your door or in other ways. There are many styles available.

Yes, that last one you do have to research, but I have seen what looks like that outside too.

Steve, will you be adding a garage somewhere? And looks like this area would have snow and wildfires to think about.

Don't know the budget, but hard to beat the beauty of copper. I can see the fireplace clad in that and the siding in this color.:

This home was built with metal siding to replace the original home lost in a wildfire. Living where you live, let fire protection be a big part of the decision process for improvements and landscaping.

Our home had a wildfire wrap around it, and caught on fire because of a juniper bush next to the garage. You have no idea the power a fire gains from racing uphill. Ours is only on a slight incline compared to yours, and there are photos showing fire tornados that are 40 feet high.

oh, and you could use the same principle with the metal by having it run sideways rather than up or down?