I did think about a green too! Yeh, might be best to just tackle one thing at a time and see. Thank you!

Is there a reason for the fence? security issues? if not, I don't think it's adding anything, but also could be made inoffensive with a different paint color.

The gray you tried is too light and too cool for your stone. There should be some warm gray toward taupe that would work and break up the park-cabin feel of the current color. There might be some gray tones in the stone itself to help guide you in person.

The wrought iron looks so out of place. I'm all for xeriscape - here are some in CA.

California Heights Craftsman Xeriscape · More Info

Forman Frontyard · More Info

Feng Shui Oasis: California Poppies · More Info

California drought-tolerant garden · More Info

Those are beautiful xeriscape examples! Thank you!

There definitely is no security issue now. I don't think I've seen an iron fence like this anywhere in town. Mostly small picket fences or no fences at all. My husband was worried that if we removed it that it would lessen the value of the house because people do see it as added security? I think the house was a business years back when it was put in maybe.

Taupe is good idea. Is this still too light?

Here is a close up of the stone. Not much grey really.

Your home is lovely , and I really like the green that was suggested. I would remove the wrought iron fence. If future buyers feel the need for security they can add proper fencing ( probably higher).

One advantage of the fence is keeping dogs from using the garden as their toilet. I might paint it a slightly darker shade of whatever color you paint the house and then see what you think of it after planting. I think if you remove the fence, you will want to remove the stone pillars as they would look pointless without the fence. That may be more work than expected. Consider planting vines to grow on the fence or taller, shrubby perennials to help soften it. Part of the issue now is that it is stark white and only has lawn as backdrop. Yours can serve as the metal equivalent of a picket fence once you have your xeriscape.

I'd do a soft sage for the house color. Wrought iron is usually painted black, which is what I recommend. But it would be much softened with plants growing through it. I live in Maine, so my knowledge of CA plants is a bit weak.

Pale gray color looks dull on house.

Per the house colors, I find the greys & taupes much more appealing (cleaner looking and less dingy) than the vastly overused browns and tans. Greys and taupes can be tinted in some color direction, too, if that's wanted. The trick is to not get so dark that it starts looking gloomy, or be so light that it looks washed out/faded and without sufficient contrast to make the trim pop.

I wouldn't' let that anyone else has or doesn't have a particular feature be a determining factor in whether that feature is good or bad. I think it should stand on its own merits as to whether it contributes positively to the overall picture. I don't find the fence and stone piers to be a negative. They do contribute to formally defining the property boundary and the materials seem to be quality. (However, the photo is small, distant and partial so very hard to judge fairly.) It seems like the prominence of the fence could be subdued substantially by painting the fence a dark color and planting a border garden along it. (The cottage garden looking proposal does not look like the ticket to improvement to me. Instead, it looks messier. Also, the piers could be improved with better, more substantial caps.

What looks more out of place to me than the fence is the raised stone planting bed that is adjacent to the front wall of the house. While it can't be told for sure from the picture, my guess is that it creates a shallow bed that is not realistic for containing plants. Is it really a retaining wall that holds soil? Or is it a fake with emptiness behind it? And its central, semi-circular bumped out portion seems under-scaled to the surroundings.

Thank you all for the tips! So much to consider when we look at redoing the whole front of the house. Interesting about the flower bed, it does have soil in it, it housed roses before I believe. It is somewhat of an off shape.

I agree that you want to remove the raised bed. It doesn’t enhance the look of the house, and the plants will be happy in the ground. It also artificially restricts where you can plant. An inground planting bed is more flexible.