I love the brick and stone. If some stone color tones offended me, I'd hire a painter to carefully paint just those rocks to tone down the stone's color tone. https://www.houzz.com/photos/kennett-square-residence-traditional-exterior-philadelphia-phvw-vp~2145303 Keep in mind, there may not be a product on the market to "paint out" s stone color...

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You have a beautiful brick craftsman bungalow. And yes I think if you toned down the stone you might find it more appealing. In fact, I would bet you will think to yourself, I should have done this ages ago. Right now the red pink orange tones are fighting with the creamy beige yellow and chocolate trim.

You already know this link but for others checking it out this may help them with their own space.

4 ways to update outdated stone

Can't wait to see the final result.

Enjoy your sweet place.

I really like the stone. It seems to go really well with the brick.

Have you tried a good scrubbing? Sometimes a really deep clean can change the way it looks.

I'm not sure about painting or somehow altering the color. What color would you do?

Are you going to change the brown and yellow paint colors?

Keep in mind your stone is low/no maintenance. Just needs occasional cleaning. If you start painting it, it can never be returned to it's original state. And you will have to keep repainting it as part of regular maintenance, just like any other painted exterior cladding.

Thanks for all the comments and help folks, lots of support for keeping the stone as is.

To answer a few questions that have come up: we also plan on refinishing the porch steps/floor to a lighter more natural wood look, and painting the yellow colour a more blue-ish grey (something like Gentlemen's Grey by Benjamin Moore). And yes, we will for sure update the landscaping and add more plants etc.

And if we did paint the stones, we were looking at a grey-ish white colour like the colours shared in the link here: 4 ways to update outdated stone

I don’t love the stone but I don’t think brushing on a product improves the look. Agree with Jilly, make landscape & other porch details look really sharp (adios firewood, hello lovely hanging plants). Trim the bushes, sharp new house number and light.change the yellow trim, maybe a blue-green gray? I’d try hard to find the perfect trim color.

I bet if you changed the yellow trim to something neutral that mirrors the tones in the stone while also harmonizing with the brick it will make all the difference. In other words, it's not the stone -- it's the yellow trim.

Make all of your other painting, wood flooring, landscaping changes first. While landscaping, use shrubs to cover as much of the stone as possible. Shrubs on the driveway side of the wall would help hide a significant portion of stone.

Then live with your new results for a good 3 months and see if the stone still bothers you or not. If it does, I might pick the most offensive stones that stick out to you and sponge paint them dabbing here and there to camo them and blend them in.

Love the stone, and would not do anything to it, however, I do agree with changing out that yellow trim. That does absolutely nothing for the curb appeal of your house. The stone, is actually very nice. Iagree, thats no place for firewood. Find a place thats out of the way, and put it in a rack, and cover it, to keep it dry. Its a very nice house. Congratulations.

Lovely house. Agree with the advice you have been given.

Beware the vine growing up your house. It will lift your roof shingles and is already in your porch eaves. Remove it.

Landscaping will give you a big return on effort and cost. Start by removing the hedge beside your driveway. Yews will grow well in the shade of your large tree.

I agree with the other comments about changing the yellow trim. Try for the color of the limestone caps. Paint the porch deck a light warm gray and the risers the same limestone as the trim. The gray on the porch will enhance the color of the stone.

Get rid of the vine; it is not good for the facade. Get it off the tree, while you're at it. Relocate the wood.

I would not paint the stone. Leave it alone. It has character.

Does this work better for you as a color for your trim? Just a quick color match for one of the darker stones. Or maybe one of the lighter blue/grey stones?

Or……

Make all your changes, then decide if the stone still bothers you.
Your home is lovely, put money into changing the color of your trim, floor, etc. as mentioned. Landscaping is key to many homes. Please post an update of your home when finished. I would love to see it.

Try for the color of the limestone caps.

@kazzh Could you make a pic of the front image of the house replacing the yellow with the limestone cap color? I'm curious. I love the limestone on the caps and also the lintels.

Landscape your way out of this or some other reversible method please. The stone is beautiful.

I don’t see the stone being unsightly (it can easily be incorporated and lend itself to your home) vs your home’s overall disconnect visually (combined with the lack of landscaping). You mentioned you were painting the yellow the color below.

vs

Suggest painting all trim white, including the porch’s ceiling and the brick pillars between the stone and roof (or same color as door). Paint front door and the triangle section a grey/blue and the stone will now be an asset pulling everything together.

Finish off: Front steps and landscaping (and consulting with an expert at a garden centre).

There is nothing ‘dated and tacky’ with that stone. It’s a beautiful craftsman house which were all about the use of honest materials. Leave it alone. It looks great.

Keep the stone. New homes in the craftsman stype continue to use the stone you dislike. https://www.houzz.com/photos/black-mountain-family-lodge-rustic-exterior-phvw-vp~10742250

If you do want to try sponging a light wash over some of the stones, test the look with a paint that washes off. https://www.crayola.ca/products/7449923027118/crayola-washable-tempera-paint-946-ml-white

This is a close as the iPad color match would go, it’s a bit of a messy color in but it gives the sense of how the limestone cap color might play out…

Thanks @kazzh. What program are you using to recolor the images? i've used the website software on benjamin moore's website but it always looks terrible.

It's a bit hard to tell from the photos but that looks like quality stonework. Not sure I would try to alter it. Maybe give it a good wash with a soap, water and a brush. Wouldn't suggest powerwashing. Would suggest that you clean any debris from the area and then consider what you could do with new landscaping, porch furniture, etc. It looks like an awesome spot for a porch swing.

I'm just taking a screen shot on iPad and using the edit functions to draw. it has an eye dropper in the pencil configurations which allows you to select the area to match..