Have you looked at shou sugi ban wood? It’s basically charred wood, making it rot, fire and insect resistent . You can DIY, check out YouTube…..it’s really cool.

Put the cheapest stuff on it and then do foundation plantings to cover it up. Foundations are never features.

It looks like colored concrete to me. I like it. NIce and neutral. The one with the wood at the bottom looks DIY and not the good kind.

I agree that once you are landscaped, you'll forget it's even there. And that's what you want.

You need foundation plantings. Even if you apply something to the base, you'll still have to come back and install foundation plantings.

I agree, don't worry about it. Once you plant around the foundation you won't see it. You could stain it a grey to blend in with the siding though.

You just need to put in landscaping which will cover the foundation.

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It will take a couple of years to mature and get full coverage, but it will eventually look great.