I can only help with the color. I'd do the cream trim color, to keep this area light.

A cream deck would look 10x dirtier then what you have now. Come fall, the leaves will stain it, it will drive you insane.

That's true, I hadn't thought about leaves. Although I feel like I'd rather sweep leaves off than have to pressure wash the pollen. I've never had a painted deck it's like everything just sticks to it. We've already pressure washed once this season in these pictures and this is what it looks like. I don't need it spotless, it's outside, but it's just hard to relax there cause it always looks so dirty. Our last deck we just let weather naturally so I was trying to think of a color closer to raw wood might look better? I know dark hardwoods always show dirt worse than light ones. To me, at least.

The first time we painted our deck it was a lighter color. It showed footprints, wet leaves stained it, I felt like it never looked clean. It drove me insane, lol.

IMO this is a space that needs a multi level deck configuaration insted of these 2 spaces that really do not connect at all. If you did that then the decking floor in a color similar to the inside flooring , glass and metal railing and all levels useable and connected to eachother so the wall on that lower one the same as the house siding . BTW I like white trim with blue siding In you case theta top deck could be much larger and have the grill and dining area there .

If you do blue house color with cream trim, I would do a natural light stain for the wood. Do cream for the ceiling of the enclosed portion. Then, add nice outdoor string lights to brighten it up against the blue body.

Patricia - I would love to redo the whole deck and add on to it. I agree the layout now is awkward, unfortunately we don't have the budget for that. Maybe in a few years :).

Glo - I love those pictures you found! Makes me think maybe I could do dark walls in there if the ceiling and floor were lighter. I'd love to have the posts (and stairs and floor) a natural finish instead of painted but would I be able to strip the paint that is there now off? Or could I box out the posts with new wood? And yes, I have string lights that I will hang in there.

I recently power washed our medium-dark stain off our deck. It's hard work but can be done. I would try a small portion to see how it looks and how much you can get off. It may not be "paint paint" but a thicker stain. You'd be surprised how thick some of these stains are and how paint-like they are.

I would keep the walls of your house all the same color and lighten the roof, similar to what glo suggested. I wouldn't be as concerned with the floor since you can always cover it with an outdoor rug.

Glo - We have pressure washed this area a few times. The paint has flaked off in some spots but I can't imagine it taking all of it off! How would I know if this is a paint or a thick stain?

anj - Good point about an outdoor rug!

I think y'all are right, it will look better to keep all the walls the same color, even if dark, and lighten the floor and ceiling. Thanks for the help!