Do a traditional white railing either vinyl or painted wood. However posting the elevation of the home may help with context.

IMO we need to see the deck and the house to make suggestions about railings. I am not a lver of privacy railings on decks they make it feel very closed in like sitting in a box.

some pics...

What is the red stain? With the green siding I would not add a third color, white is classic for handrails or stick with the same wood.

Thats kilz Red Barn paint (good stuff)i use on my carport and fences...i was thinking if i painted the douglas fir posts green like the house..your suggesting is use decking wood for rails/fence? ur right i got a lot of colors going on...hmmm,,I am wondering about the color of the 6 posts you can see.

I'd paint all that red a darker shade of green that works with your home. The railings can be stained wood or green. The red really sticks out.

you mean the entire structure/carport or just the deck posts?

The red was a carry over from years ago...but actually you got me thinking..its grown so much...for fencing and the carport I just always thought it was kind of a standard ok-ish thing but you definitely got me thinking about the green.

The red is jarring with your house- red and green are literally opposite each other on the color wheel.

I would paint all the red a color like black fox by Sherwin Williams- a dark brown almost black (with no red) that will ground the structure and tie it into the new wood deck above.

You can use a lesser wood on rail and fence as water doesn’t lie on it.

Thanks..with the price of lumber, the prices of "cheaper wood" like douglas fir is not that much different than a tropical hardwood, which when you take into account lifespan is a no brainer. I have settled on Cumaru, which is 2nd hardest compared to IPE, yet everytime I go to the site they have IPE on sale..so who knows....so I will keep the deck and fencing the same wood, and paint the posts...so far thats my plan...until it changes.

Man all the anti-red comments...that red paint was only put on a month or so ago...dang it....I wish now I never sold my Graco X7...a heck of a paint sprayer... I will probably pick up a paint sprayer and just head at it....Oh yes just to mention..the picture you see of the deck...the bare posts will probably be painted a gray...the lower red was just for protection...that part of the deck will be covered all around...and either painted or left brown if PT is used....and the upper beams of the deck..the brown PT..well that will have the tropical hardwood layed over the top of it most likely so it looks good...but you guys definitely got me considering changing the red or at least reducing it....I am taking my time on this one...in terms of the wood selection...and paint colors....I will change the trim color of my home also..

No gray, or you're replacing one bad color with another. Choose a color that relates to the house or the surroundings. Green, brown, or white if you're keeping the white trim. Why not stain the posts?

Lots of good ideas so far but my first question was about the solid fence around the deck.......this will block the view and light ....and keep all the detritus that blows onto a deck right on your porch..........at the least ...an open space-at the bottom- or more preferably a lattice or an open but closely spaced narrow horizontal fencing.........that allows some privacy and a breeze on warm days......and doesn’t make the space feel cramped........plus allows a view while sitting down ...the one thing about paint is that it peels ...while stain penetrates and seals .. lastly any wood that does not need to be painted will be less maintenance and will probably turn gray with time..so a likely job saver would be to stain everything gray...diminish the appearance of the bulky deck structure...allowing the house to be what people see...and mostly a much more carefree maintenance requirement going forward

Keep in mind ...you can rent a sprayer..quite economically ...if buying ..storing...is a problem

Lastly ..you have gray concrete...(gray house trim...and grayed fencing...gray parking pad...already in place...so i think gray is a good choice..

do you have before photos of your home? It looks as if you have too much going on for a small home. why didn't you use the same wood all around and why isn't it the same level as your deck floor or just a little bit below it.

hi claire..same wood...u mean for the deck? the posts vs the PT dark brown?

btydrvn: The upper deck will have a slight privacy fence since the deck will face the front of the home...the bottom half of the deck...where the posts are red...will be covered and the area behind it will be for some type of storage. The posts are douglas fir...and my first preference was to stain...I still might...but I noticed a few of the posts have cracks in them...you know lumber these days...I was thinking i needed to use wood filler and then afraid with stain it would show too much...also a contractor buddy said to paint them...so still thinking about it....I always prefer to see the grain of the wood for sure..do u think i could stain successfully after using a wood filler.. I read a quick article that says just stain and enjoy the cracks....its normal for the bigger timbers especially once they are installed...I will just stain...I can always paint over it but not the other way around...

as far as a sprayer in the past I have just bought a good one...kept it clean..and sold after as long as you do that you only lose 10% or so if that...I don't like the time pressure of a rent :>)

some backdrop on why all the colors etc seem "out of sync" or unplanned...because they kind of were. When I bought the house 18 years ago, the carport was covered with asphalt tiles, which for a flat roof does not work. So of course over the years the water seeped in, and wood rot and some termites here and there destroyed sheathing, and some of the joists....up where the french type door is was a small deck maybe 8 feet out, and the wood used for that was cheap and also not treated for rot or termites. They got that too. I hired two guys to help me. During the teardown and inspection, we probably replaced 100% of the lumber in some places. I said to use PT just because of the bad experience I just had, even though it has negatives in terms of looks especially, and also the hardware you can use with it.

So...after the demo was done, and the framing began, one of the workers casually asked me if I ever considered a deck. They had just done one with the neighbor. I was not really into it, and besides its in the front of the house. When I asked my wife, she got really excited about it, so we decided to do it. The view is definitely better from the front of the home.

So the deck "design" was sort of done on the fly. The size, type of wood, etc. I kinda just let the workers wing it, with oversight and questions asked/answered as we went. Their english was not that good anyway.

I supposed I figured since its just wood, any issues etc I would be able to solve pretty much. No choice. Choosing paints and color schemes is not one of my favorite things, because I find there are so many choices. My next step was to purchase the decking wood and start on that, but when I started to think about the color of the posts, it opened up this whole can of worms as to all the colors I have and how they sync or do not together. So at this point, I decided to address that before proceeding with the deck build. At this point based a lot on feed back here:

1. I will repaint all the red with some sort of dark brown/bronze color. Something that matches the PT(some of which I will just leave raw).

1. 2. I will stain the douglas fir timber posts with some sort of semi-transparent stain that is close in tone to the hardwood I will use for the deck, either IPE, cumaru, or Massaranduba. Right now the massaranduba(which I kind wanted) is hard to get...because of covid or whatever caused the general shortage I am kinda forced to choose from my top three.

Lets see...I probably forgot SOMETHING...but I am sure I will discover it along the path. This forum has been a big help I think...I never actually considered that the red clashed with the green..I just never thought about it. :>)

just treat the “Ipe?”with a preservative....then pick a darkish stain color ....maybe charcoal ?....to cover the ugly PT ....when that is dried completely...match that color in paint and paint all the other framework in this same color as well....leaving the decking the natural wood color ....at that point if you use the paint color for some of the trim on the house it will all tie together ...as to the deck fencing...are you saying there are people living around you that can look into your upstairs windows?..

The contrast of the dark framework and wood will make the good wood look even more special

Thanks bty...actually the guy who did my torch down said he actually like the look of the PT...(my roofing guy turned out to be quite an interesting fellow..not your normal roofer..we had many conversations about colors and I picked his brain about all the things he has seen from the rooftop perspective..very useful..he convinced me to keep the chocolate velvet trim) someone here mentioned a SW color black fox which might work..that is last on my list..as far as the railings or fence around the deck...I just am thinking of a fence with horizontal vs vertical slats maybe 1 inch or so spacing thats all...when I am on the deck...i can look out to the San Bernardino mountains...but I don't want people below me driving or walking by looking up my skirt :>)

Just a quick update...I did buy a sprayer and redo the red with SW Black Fox...I also stained the posts with a cottage gray stain. In the process of ordering the decking/fencing. No more red...except my shed...

Wow... none of your pictures showed the big fence on the right before.. is that new? The gray looks good so far...can’t wait to see the rest...

The fence was red also..so i painted it... The black fox actually is sort of a dark brown gray which I why I had an easier time selecting it...depends on the light...but so far I like it....at some point I will paint the PT under the decking with it...

Really like that gray...and the PT idea too...with all that ..the roof soffits in gray would be a good finishing touch

Great improvement!

I also love the improvement but your deck/canopy for garage doesn’t look safe. It don’t look as if the wood studs are bolted to the pavement

Not sure what studs you mean. The original carport was approved by the city of LA with plans prior to when I bought the house. The deck you see now is an extension of a previous deck. I too was concerned about strength and asked my contractor buddy of 30 years to check it out and if it was safe...did it need anything. He said it looks overbuilt but should be ok. I agree with you...that deck way up there looks precarious...but for now I am just going with his opinion...there is a lot of anchoring and support that you probably cannot see including three 8 x 12 girders under concrete blocking that supports the deck ..but hey..i HAVE had that thought which is why I got some opinions.

I think “visually”when you see tall posts like that…you expect to see angled supports at the top and/or bottom…but if the right side is sufficiently supported they may not be needed…

Another visual glitch is the gap between carport and PT deck boards is not totally parallel?….add to that the carport floor appearing to slant like the road …it will always feel a little off..and even making the post appear to be leaning slightly…