I can’t seem to add all the photos I want to the original post so here is another one to help get a sense of the colors with less tree shade.

I am wondering why you did not do a multi level deck since you have the space now the bottom windows are covered with deck , there is a big unused area under the deck that is just ugly and no reason why that deck could not have been much bigger. Some metal and glass railing would have been a better choice so all in all just a bit off for me.

Well thanks for all the nice totally unnecessary criticism of my home and not bothering to answer any part of my questions. We bought the house this way and the deck was brand new so there was no way I was going to tear it down and rebuild. Yes I’m aware it covers the downstairs window I have to stare through the window every day and hate it but I can’t afford to tear down a brand new deck and start from scratch. The questions were about the color not about the structure.

I would stain the supporting members dark to not draw attention to them & change the cattle fencing to cable fencing.

Sometimes you can offer things like that for free if someone will just dismantle it and haul it off. I got rid of a CLF dog pen that way. People who owned a kennel needed it and I didn't. Otherwise, I suggest you paint the underneath part with Crisp Romaine by Ben Moore. It will be much more soothing. You might stain the deck brown later on. I need to stain my deck and am scared it will turn out orange too.

Crisp Romaine 686 Paint · More Info

Rustic Exterior · More Info

The deck could have been designed differently, but too late for that. It looks massive. I would paint/stain it the color of the house and go darker to cover the red.

We had a similar structure (which came with the house). We planted Manhattan euonymus at each support post. Made a huge difference in how it looked.

I told my husband I would burn the deck down before I ever go through the process of stripping and sanding again so it has just been so frustrating to be so unhappy with the finished result. I even ordered the stain samples and tested them to make sure it wouldn’t look orange but of course here we are. I will likely have to go the route of restaining a darker color in a year or two. Hoping to use the same product and just go over it if I don’t run into peeling stain. Fingers crossed. I wanted a light natural color. Just not in the cards for me I guess. Maybe the cool from a dark bottom will tone down the orange. I like the Romain color. Worry it won’t make sense with the colors of the rest of the house but maybe it would blend well with nature. ;)

I'd paint the red portion black. or a very dark espresso brown.

the cedar doesn't look bad as is. maybe try a semi opaque deck stain? Penofin has some nice, natural cedar tones, with UV protectants

I'm afraid "cedar" translates to orange. Not sure what "clear" or "natural" mean when it comes to the actual color you get.

I'd think you would have to restain in a very dark charcoal to hide the red. You probably have to use a super non-transparent stain that doesn't allow the wood grain to show through.

Jilian, all is not lost. Work with it…have the staircase lead to something special. Plantings, window boxes on the railings...

When you post a dilemma teh more info you provide the better the outcome. IMO it still is not worth it to redo a deck that does not work, you can think that is useless info or not but honestly the color is the least of the issue but to answer youe question paint everything the same color as the house panels too.

Colors are the least of your worries. Your deck railing desperately needs to be replaced. If nothing else it's a dangerous hazard to little kids who will inevitably climb it and be seriously injured or killed when they fall off the deck. Not to mention it's ugly.

Paint the wood panels the same color as the stucco.

I'm with lindsey, It would make a great kids area under the deck. You can stain over stain with out it pealing. Stain soaks into the wood. Paint lays on top and will peal eventually. If you were planing to make the deck all the same color, first you have to finish staining the whole deck the barn red. When It is dry you can re-stain a darker brown color. I know you wanted lighter, but at this point you can only go darker to tone down the red . I would keep the panels and also stain them the color of the deck. Run a trellis up to the panels stained the same color as the deck and plant some kind of climbing vine. I would also build a planter box for under the window and plant semi shade loving plants. You get some sunlight there according to your pictures. Leave the gravel under the deck though. It is usually too shady to plant something to grow directly under the deck. I have tried it before with my deck and nothing would grow.

Our entire deck was that obnoxious bright red color

So the only real option (that we could afford, tearing it down and building a new deck wasn’t in the budget) was to go darker brown so the red would be covered up until we’ve got the money saved to build a new deck with longer lasting materials, which is several years away right now.

Thank you everyone. I do like the idea of trying to make the best out of a bad design with making the space under the deck usable. I work from home and my desk faces right out that window. Plenty of time spent daydreaming about a better view. Love the idea of a trellis to help mask those panels too. I think at this point I have no immediate plans to change the top of the deck. It sort of is what it is for at least a few more years. The red portion is much older wood and we have no choice but to keep it a solid color stain. I thought about trying to match it to the top but it’s hard to commit to more orange when I hate the orange. For the sake of not having too many colors I like the idea of staining the boards on the wall to match the house. Would the posts look weird with that same cream color? Especially under orange? Not sure. Since it’s going to be a solid color I would think we could go with any color, just maybe have to utilize a primer? Not sure how well solid stain color works. I think dark brown, charcoal or cream are what I’m leaning towards. Not crazy about any of it just trying to improve with what I have to work with.

Solid stain works good on no wear areas, like the posts and railing. It is not recommended for the floor of the deck though. I have a feeling if you try to solid stain cream over the red you are going to end up with pink. I would get samples and try it in a small area.

I should clarify the floor of the deck is new. It is the same new stain as the top so at least we aren’t walking on red. The red is all below so thankfully that shouldn’t be a problem.

How do I find the neat tool groveraxle used to change the color of the wall panel? If it’s something I can access and play around with I think it would really help.

she's a photo shop guru. has the photo app for her computer and has spent many hours perfecting it.

We have solid stain in a dark brown with a hint of grey on all parts of our deck - even the floor portion. Basically the only way to cover the barn red is to put a sufficiently darker color over it. For the time being it’s an adequate solution, while we save up to tear down and build a new deck several years from now.

Not sure why a solid stain wouldn’t be fine to use on all areas of a deck, even the part that people walk on - our paint and stain guy would have definitely told us it’s fine for all portions of the deck and also the stairs that lead up to the main area.

You can use a solid stain on the part of the deck you walk on. It's just that the manufactures recommend against it since it wears a little faster due to foot traffic. You will just have to re-stain that part before the other parts. But it is still a lot better than if you were to use paint that would peel and chip.