Yes, a paint job would be great. But I'd actually go with a dark color, like a forest green or even a dark charcoal gray. That would immediately update it.

Here are a couple of homes with a similar vibe:

Modern Exterior · More Info

Lakeside Mountain Modern · More Info

Yeah, i was thinking the same thing. Go for the darker tones, but it's a def a risky move. I did a quick photoshop from sherwin williams to see what it'll look like in white (the safer choice).

Oh, I don't think so at all! Go for it!

I like the dark too :)

it has an MCM vibe. I love those tall windows! lean into that. Sabrina's inspiration photos are spot on.

White rarely looks good with natural stone IMHO. I would paint all the wood components a dark tone like Urbane Bronze or Black Fox (Both Sherwin Williams), Otherwise invest in a professional landscape plan. It is a cool house.

Thanks everyone. Seems like the direction is going towards a dark color. Time to photoshop and see what it'll look like. This is the back of the house too.

I may be in the minority but i love it the way it is!

I do, too, mojavemaria. I think the black and white looks so stark and unnatural.

I’d maybe paint the trim for an updated look, but not change the stone.

@mojavemarla and @jinx, that makes three of us thinking the house looks wonderful. This is a house in a stunning natural setting no one is talking about. I don't see a church but a lodge. White paint, black roof will detract so much from the natural beauty surrounding it. Why try to make it like some faux suburban McMansion when its setting is the great outdoors? A house in earthy materials like stone, the current roof, and taupe trim harmonize so well in its setting. May I suggest that you at least wait a year of living there and see if you fall in love with your house?

Here's a house that honors its natural setting.

Front Elevation · More Info

A couple more where nature and house are in harmony. (For all I know the house in the Design Dilemma is in a cookie cutter neighborhood. It would be nice to know more about neighboring houses and the setting.) OP may be more interested in updates than in working with the setting, so that's a difference of opinion and aesthetics.

@jay dang. White is not a "safe choice" at all but something glaring out and out of place. Sorry, but your photos look like a 1980s golf clubhouse with no relationship to the setting. What's the rush to paint, change roof, etc? If you must, then Sabrina's darker houses are a much better direction than white so that they don't detract from the exceptional background. You did say you're a newbie at design and wanted some opinions. You got them!

I agree. The white mockup makes the back look like a 70s take on a tudor. the front looks like a church. they look like two entirely different houses and the contrast trim is making that so much more noticeable.

I'd paint this all a dark color with dark trim.

I also like it as is. I don’t think white is good at all and definitely not white and black. It needs to be mostly one solid colour.

I love it the way it is, and wouldnt be changing that look at all.

I don't like the white but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the house.

I might tweak it slightly to make the trim less gold but a tight, correlated palette with low contrast is what the contemporary houses of the period were all about and that's how I would keep it.

Thanks everyone for the awesome advice! i do agree with the black and white not looking good. i thought it would come out nicer, but i do like the darker color vibe more. the roof is currently 33yr old cedar roof with moss growing all over it. so i has to be changed. im going to do dark charcoal color roof. ill wait until the spring to see how i like the exterior color before changing it.

My fav part about the house is that it is a custom build. so no other house around it looks like this. its the only house on the land surrounded by pinelands. stay tune for another post asking about the interior of the house 😅

Please post a close up of the stone, about a 2 x 4 foot area or so, in bright light. What geographical area, roughly?

It looks like the first photo and the last photo (post above this) haven't been processed the same way. The first photo makes the beige trim slightly greenish. The last photo (back of the house) looks like a warmer beige trim. The stones don't match in tone, either. Hence, the request for a close up photo of the stones.

I also like the exterior the way it is. The natural stone really blends into the landscape. Going too modern may mean that it looks dated much faster. I always think it is safer to be slightly out of style than into what is hip at the present moment, because design changes awfully quickly. It will also save some of your budget for the interior!

Wow! That’s a really good-looking, awesome house. Congratulations!

I love your house! Very warm and welcoming within its surroundings. Looks like a beautiful piece of land, too. Yes, address your 33 year old roof but don’t go crazy with painting yet. I’d trade you my home for yours any day!

Your house was designed to blend into its surroundings, not contrast with them. The stone is a very attractive feature and all your colour decisions should center around it. Don't try to "update" it based on the trends that the builders are putting in subdivision tract houses this year, or the quick fixes you see on decorator TV.

A dark roof would be a mistake in my opinion. Too stark a contrast against the stone. I recommend that you hire a professional to advise you on your colours. I would keep to the exisiting colours as much as possible. They look good. If you want to update, maybe the trim and paint could be a little less tan, and more greige. That would still look great with your stone.

Gorgeous house! I love it just the way it is.

Thank you for the additional photos. The current paint colors and roof in closeups are perfect for the setting. It's a huge house. Find a designer to help you bring out the best in your unique house with an overall plan and not make changes piecemeal. Work with the bones of your house--stone, windows, proportions. It definitely has the feeling of a lodge. The changes you propose for the exterior will make it more dated not less so. Hire a pro who has a house or two in their portfolio with some of the amazing features your house has. Good luck!

I SERIOUSLY hope no paint ever hits that stone. It will make a masterpiece look sooo unnatural. The color it is blends best with the stone and yes it's surroundings. Super dark trim and roof may look very dramatic but I would stay to the browns. Love a metal roof!

Thanks for photos. It's a wonderful house. I suggest a blend of gray and brown for the roof ("Weathered Wood" is one of the commercial asphalt roof shingles) or mostly brown that looks like the wood shingles. Black or charcoal gray would be too stark.

I second what others have said above. When you have a magnificent house, you keep it itself, not try to make it what this week's fashions are. Renew, not remake.

The new paint color should come from one of the colors in the rocks.

Agree that the paint color should be drawn from the stonework. i like the house very much. i wouldn’t focus on trying to ”update” it , especially with some of the trendy colors suggested. And please, no white, then it might really look like a church!

What a unique home with tons of potential. Please post pics of the finished result!

FYI - gold and gray (what I see in your pics) is a very up to the minute color scheme If it aint broke.... However taking it more in a "lodge" direction would be good - take darker brown-greige-grays from the rocks for siding and/or trim only. When you say "charcoal" roof - be careful there. Get some samples of shingles and look at them very closely to see what colors are in the grain. What's called charcoal often has blue undertones that would clash, try to find something with brown in it. What's called "weathered wood" might be more harmonious with the natural brown-greiges of the stone but while still giving you a more grayed look than what is currently there. Agree that is a very appealing house, part of its appeal is the stone and how it fits so well in the natural setting.

FWIW, even though I said the back looks like a 70s tudor, I really do love the front. LOVE IT. (especially the windows and those front doors!)

I'm glad you're open to exploring dark color options. if you come up with any good mockups in color snap, please post!

If you are concerned about the house looking dated, the worst thing you can do is "update" it to the latest trend. Because in a few years it will scream out its age.

But a house that is sensitive to its surroundings, where the colours complement its best feature (the stone) will always look good.