I am not a pro. So design-wise, I won't comment, except to say, I live in coastal so cal and I don't see any homes that look like yours, in tract areas, adding in those roof details.

What I do see, that sharpens up the look, is garages being painted out to match the stucco color, and folks going lighter rather than darker. I see beefier light fixtures going in, maybe something like this, below.

My favorite such house, spiffed up, chose a cool white color for all their stucco, similar light fixtures to these, on either side of the garage and the front door area, and re-did their landscaping from tropical to mediterranean, with a bit of a more formal feel (low, straight hedge in front, limited palette of dark greens with white such as the hedge which is raphelepis umbellata minor, and only a few pops of red, which as I recall, was some tame-able red flowering plant. (Wish I had a photo).

Anyway, perhaps you would consider a modern-ish repeated planter, perhaps like this, below.

Lastly, I see some beautiful trellis work over garage or a front window, like this (below). Note that I'm not saying all these ideas necessarily "go together", but that I think you will get a lot more cohesive look, while honoring the mediterrean style of the house, rather than trying to change a mediterranean over to the faux modern farmhouse thing, which will give you just a mishmash.

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I want to add that, if you are interested in Mediterranean landscaping (as I am, and currently re-doing many areas of front yard), and need inspiration, check out Patina Farm for a more natural look, appropriate to so cal. Also requires low water, and you would benefit from a drip system rather than above-ground sprinklers. You can correct the "plants aren't thriving" issue with better plants and a drip system, rather than rocks. You already have rocks on your facade.

I'd spend my $$ on a consultation with a good landscape designer, who can educate you on the appearance of the front of the home. The person we used had excellent commentary on everything from the planters to choose, to the concrete repair, to the lights for the entryway. And plant selection. It all needs to be cohesive. Ours did an entire, beautiful plan for landscape, with recommendations for all of the above, for around $2000. Though we didn't do every single thing she recommended, I really appreciated all of her input. Here's some inspiration:

Thank you so much. This is solid advice. This is a home near me that did the metal roofing detail.

And these are my inspiration photos.

I’m getting enough feedback, however. to realize that maybe my vision is better in my head than in reality.

I agree on the landscape designer. Would he/she be able to comment on the arbors/awnings, lighting, paint or is that more a job for an interior designer?

I think your original house looks much nicer by far, originally, than your after type picture. I do remember your other post. What you want and are trying to do, not only doesnt look good on your house, you are depreciating its value. I would change the paint color, if you want, and you could even limewash the stone, if you really have to, however, on your other post, you got many very good ideas on things, to improve your house. If you really wanted metal, like that, you bought the wrong style house. Someone on the other post said something about removing those muttons in the windows (if they are removable.) If you can do that, it makes a huge improvement. I think you are in love with farmhouse, so would be much happier in a house that looks farmhousey. Yours will not look good with those changes you want to make.

Yes, I see what you see in those photos (some of them). Do you have the budget to re-do the roof? Because even when you do, you'll still want to borrow some of the other inspiration you see--the rectangular lanterns, the black/brown windows, the lighter paint job... new doors(?), and of course, the landscape, which is really going to improve things..

The roof is really only a piece of this. And, of the inspiration pictures you show, the best looking ones have a rhythm to the use of the dark black/brown detailing. Do you see that? You have, on your house, a faux stone wainscoting, that extends to, like, shoulder height, and it's only on one part of the home.It's capped by what is likely (as on my home) the styrofoam-like pop-out material. It's not the stone I would've chosen for a mediterranean home, if I wanted it to look like the best of your inspiration photos. But I'm not being insulting, trust me, my tract home has faux architectural details that the architects over the building home forum would mock, LOL. But, we live in tract homes, in neighborhoods that look like this. So, we just don't want to throw away our money on things that will look like a mullet haircut does, 10 years later. We want classic, updating as best as possible.

The best looking of your inspiration photos are the one on the upper right, and the one right below it. Those were obviously designed by an architect (I know for sure the one middle right was, since I have poured over that architect's website and photos of the exterior of that home).

A couple of them are architecturally...well... inconsistent. If you spend a lot of time as I do over on the home building forum, you will start to develop an eye for what is consistent and more authentic. While I'm not a purist, given what you already HAVE, and what you want to achieve, then I personally think you should start with the simpler updates, that will give you more bang for the buck.

Edit: Not sure if all landscape designers can help with the exterior (many folks will point you toward an architect), but mine had opinions on: the paint, the concrete, the lighting (both on the house and in the landscape), the walls, etc. She did not comment on the roof though, and had a good laugh when I described our house as "faux French". Fortunately, I selected someone known for working with what you have, within a budget.

Thank you, Cat And Mrs. S. A lot gets lost in translation on the internet... I am so appreciative of the advice I received on my prior thread, I just felt like I (bold here) cluttered it with my chatter, so I posted in this section as well.

This is my house, and we have no plans to move. I don’t need a farmhouse to be happy. I’m not as unreasonable as it may seem; I’m trying to be creative to get some of my style into this house. I did this on the inside, and I’m totally happy. (For example, I couldn’t make a farm sink work, but I got a big single basin sink that fit in our granite cut out and I love it). I’m only defending myself here because I think it’s important to be appreciative of what we have in life, and I absolutely am!

As far as my house and the metal...

I’m admittedly obsessed, but I promise I will seek local professional advice before doing anything crazy.

Several of the photos commenters posted in the prior thread had the terra-cotta roofing and metal roofing. It’s out of the box, and I love that. But that’s not to say it would work in my house, and I accept that.

There were a few pieces of advice that would be expensive and not get me anywhere near what I want- moving the door/extension, full pergola or gazebo over the patio, ceramic tile patio...great ideas, but not for me. I did, however, love the paint recommendations, the idea of adding a wall-mounted pergola over that bottom window (instead of a metal awning), removing the muttins (if possible), and I definitely agree about hiring a landscape designer. Those wall-mounted pergolas come in metal...boom, perfect, industrial Mediterranean!

One woman, Sue I think, said I could do metal on the underside of the gazebo she proposed. I don’t see us doing a gazebo, but that piece of advice is great...maybe I could do metal on the soffit at the entry. Like this (The roof part, only).

I also thought it was interesting when a pro said I have an Italian Mediterranean farmhouse. I googled it, and I do! All of this time I’ve lived in a suburban tract farmhouse from Italy! And I didn’t know it!

A big stucco box! My house looks just like this in the backyard. I’ll admit, this connection makes my house cooler 😂😂

I’m sorry to go on and on, I just want you to understand where I’m coming from. Thank you so much for your input, Cat.

Mrs. S, you are absolutely correct that the roofing is only one component. We could change out that one small section of roofing in our budget. I‘d love to change the windows but I wouldn’t- so wasteful. A few decorative accents (whether we decide on shutters, awnings, a pergola), paint, landscaping and lighting is what we plan and can so within our budget.

Here are two poorly photoshopped versions with the pergola. The first one simply paint-matches the garage door and trim around the windows to our stucco and is dark trim at the roof/brackets (not a full paint job). The second lightens the stucco and stone.

Thanks again!

Well, think it all through, and when you finally do something, show us a picture, but, please do not do what your first photo above is. Its a very nice house already.

I really appreciate your comments. Truly. The tract house thing here is unique I think. A lot of people would jaw-drop at how much these houses are, for what they are (I could build a custom house exactly how I want somewhere else for half the $$). But our location can’t be beat, and all of this discussion gets me closer to what I want. I like the second one too.

Good morning, Mrs. S....this was a really nice remodel I found that mixes a lot of elements I like...black/white color scheme, metal details, black steel front door (that still works with white windows)...

I don’t know what level your house is, true builder grade or improved...mine came with great upgraded bathrooms and other improvements, but a pretty basic kitchen...it has granite and that 6-inch annoying backsplash. I went through a lot of thought stages trying to improve my kitchen, and then I found DeVol kitchens. Have you checked them out? Inspired by them, I made a few minor changes and totally love my kitchen, 6-inch backsplash and all. I know the kitchen is a source of discontent for many tract home owners. 😂

I am not an architect, not a pro. I **think** (I don't KNOW), that the colors you're seeing are a dark brown or brown/black, not really a black.

Secondly, there are things about the roofline of that inspo picture that I don't think are typical, however, I am just not qualified to discuss further than that. I do like the long, rectangular lanterns and the door looks nice, from here.

Tract homes here come in all levels, and all ages. And in case anyone's reading this, they're typically on small lots, so it's common to have garages facing the street and quite prominent.

Good luck.

Thanks, Mrs. S

Yes I think you’re correct...the metals are dark brown almost black in most cases.

You’re also correct in that...I shouldn’t lump all “tract homes” together. They come in all levels, and, ultimately, all of us here are just trying to make our houses a home we love. That’s what we are here for. 👌

You give good advice, thanks again.

I’m still following this as well! I like the lighter color paint and the addition of black (or very dark brown) metal accents. I’m stuck on the brick part of your house though. 🤔 To me that is what is sticking out. Food for thought, bring a professional in to take a look. You might be able to change that. I also think landscaping will greatly improve and make this house fit more into your vision!

Hi KR...I had a designer look at it yesterday. She told me that my ideas are fun and creative and “hip” I think she said, but that I should do things in stages and see how things are looking...first paint, then lime wash the stone, then front door, then add the black details (awning, lighting, roofing, etc.), then landscaping to tie it all together. All or just some elements might work. The limewash is totally removable with powerwashing for a few days after application, by the way. So, I could try it first.

Here‘s a better photo of my entry area.