POst another picture from further back so we can see the entire project. It's kind of cave like now so staining it darker won't help. Why the walls on the side?

It’s for sun/shade, we live really close to our neighbors

Here is a bettter picture

Using light colored indoor-outdoor rugs and light furniture will make the space look inviting and brighter. It will also show off the beautiful wood.

The dark gray floor isn’t helping, which is why I suggest light flooring on top of it.

It’s actually like a cocoa floor but I think some of the grey concrete is coming through. Thanks for the rug suggestion!

I agree with the above suggestions but I would also stain it, but not dark brown. The yellow raw wood is not a great color. Ours is a driftwood color.

What type of wood is the driftwood? Our ceiling is pine but posts are cedar

I may paint the eiling. It would change the entire look in my mind. Maybe not for the better but just my thoughts. The two different woods are making it look off as the pine if yellowish and the cedar more reddish light brown.

I believe it’s all pine. The driftwood color is a custom stain mix. We chose from several samples the contractor mixed up.

I would have left 2 openings in the new wall on the right to let some light in. You could have used curtains to help block the sun and neighbors but still allow light in the space. The floor just doesn't seem to go. The wood isn't bothering me at all.

I think you need to furnish it - outdoor rugs, furniture colorful pillows, plants and some lighting.

Good luck

Once you get your lighting and furnishings in it's gonna be gorgeous. Look how the uplights from the chandeliers brighten the space and the style dictates the mood.

The curtains add so much softness and elegance, plus more privacy, sound muffling. I agree light rug as mentioned.

If you love the ceiling fan and don't want to replace, keep the fan and swag a couple of smaller chandeliers, stringlights, etc. Lamp for sofa, table, plants.

Metallic garden wall art to reflect light. A water feature in the room or close by would be great with the acoustics.

Maybe open the high areas on the right wall that don't have interior slats (yet?)? High openings in that wall would not compromise privacy and the roof overhang will protect from direct sun, but there would be light on that side. For harmony with the rest of the house, I would probably stain the wood to more of the taupe of the bricks, and maybe whitewash the ceiling to the lighter bricks' color (not done in this quick rendering). Then, as others have said, a rug, light furniture, plants, and art on the right-side wall will bring it to life.

Are only the posts, beam and detail on the front of the cover cedar - and the rest all pine (including the wood along the top of the back wall of the house)?

Your patio cover looks very similar to the one I added two years ago - except, I only used cedar - no pine (posts/beams/ceiling are all cedar). I think that the pine is what's making it feel more "rustic" to you than expected. There is more variation in the coloring of the individual boards - especially on the back wall. Also, there is more grain in the pine boards. My cedar plank ceiling has some knots - but there is consistent coloring + cedar doesn't have the all the various grain patterns like pine.

WARNING - I have become a bit of a plant/flower "addict" since adding the patio - I think I had 30+ containers last year - this year, I think I cut back to only 20 or so 😂.

(This photo below was taken when I was trying out some curtain panels for when it turns cold - I have really powerful heaters installed on the lower part of the ceiling on the left and right side - the panels really keep the the temperature nice inside there when the temperature drops).

Originally, the contractor was planning on extending the cedar down over the windows on the back wall of the house (similar to how your pine ceiling has been extended down on the wall) - I decided to use the same siding as on the house in order to lighten up the area underneath (my house is painted SW Alabaster).

I think that your yellow pine ceiling (yellow) looks "off" next to the tone of the cedar (brown). If you could tone the ceiling to match the cedar, it would look better. Also, if you painted the wood on the back wall of the house white, it would lighten things up (especially if you decided to paint the pine ceiling white also).

My patio pavers are also much lighter than your patio floor. They look darker in the photo below because they are wet (it had just rained about 15 minutes earlier) - the floor of my covered patio is a very light tan color (you can see it if you look by the legs of the chairs with the red pillows under the cover).

It also makes a difference that three sides of my covered patio are open = I don't have a wooden wall blocking light on one side of my covered patio like you (even though it's cloudy in the above photo). There are a lot of trees in my yard and my neighbors' yards - so, I don't need anything extra for privacy (I assume that's the reason for the wood wall on the right of your covered patio). I also don't have any neighbors behind me = pretty private area.

You can see one of the heaters in the photo below (it's right above the cedar beam on the outside edge of the right side of the ceiling - there is a matching one across the patio on the left side). I highly suggest adding these if you have cold weather - it really extends the use of the patio (my SO also installed four speakers outside - two point into the covered patio - the other two face towards the fire pit over to the right of the covered patio - we really enjoy listening to music out there + he LOVES watching sports out on the patio - he's out there right now watching college basketball):

You can see the color of the patio pavers better in this photo below (it looks crowded in there - the furniture has changed + I was changing out some containers to get them ready for the fall/winter = extra plants under patio cover). My yard angles out from this corner shown in the below photo:

You can also see one of the heaters better in the above photo.

I think adding lighter outdoor rug + having openings in the wood wall as suggested above would also be good ways to help brighten up the area. I would not stain the cedar a different color. We just sealed ours with a natural (clear) stain in order to prevent it from turning gray (like the fence - it's cedar also - we recently had it power washed and used a natural cedar color stain to bring it back to it's original color = matches the covered patio). Cedar is a beautiful wood - turning it an unnatural color would be a mistake IMHO.

I don't think staining it would make it look better. Think of it as an empty room inside of your house and begin to decorate it in that fashion. Not knowing your style, it is hard to say where to being.

What activities do you want to have happen in here, what will the seating arrangment be? Figure out the flow of the space and make a focal point in the room. Once you do that and fill the space with furniture and decor, you won't be as bothered by the wood color.

There are a lot of non-rustic looks you could go with in here but say more about what your style is.

This is going to be a great when you start adding furniture and decor (including plants). I’m wondering if you would consider removing some of the slats from the top of the wall or even removing every other one for the top half of the wall to let some natural light in? It has a slightly cave-like appearance at the moment. I love wood so I don’t think you necessarily need to darken it - just a little less might do the trick. I’m looking forward to seeing the evolution of this space!

Wendy h: yes my vision for this space had more like 3/4-1” spacing in the slats. Unfortunately the contractor installed it incorrectly. Since it’s just completed and paid for I don’t think I can convince my husband to go through the hassle of changing it soon. Maybe some plants and a light rug will liven it up. Thanks for your input

Thanks for the tips, Kendra. I’d say I have more of an eclectic style, maybe a little boho, a little contemporary…. If that’s a thing? Haha.

Dani_m, thank you for your detailed response. I definitely wanted a lighter floor, and more light to come through. This was one of those projects that seems to go wrong at every corner, so it didn’t turn out exactly as invisioned. I’m hoping down the road I can convince my husband to change up the privacy wall design a bit, we’ll deal with it for now. Your plants are beautiful and they really liven up the space! Your whole patio is to die for.

The slats also provide privacy from noise so the 1/4" gap is useful in that regard.

White furniture and decor is the way to go to make a big difference. Like the white curtains and white cushions by dani m and with those spring green accent pillows is very nice. Something like this white potting bench against the slat wall would work.

@hplatt87 - The patio + adding the covered portion a year later were the only two projects that have gone well out of several lately. 🤨

I had a primary bathroom renovation that had SO MANY ISSUES that it makes me nervous to start my kitchen renovation (even though it was supposed to happen a couple years ago).

I appreciate the compliment about the patio + plants. I spent quite a bit of time putting containers together!

I think that once you add some furniture + throw pillows + accent pieces + landscaping around it + a few container plantings, it will look much different. My patio looks much better when there are plants/flowers!

Also, I knew NOTHING about gardening until two years ago - I always thought that I had a "brown thumb" instead of a "green" one! Now two of my sisters post photos on FaceBook of different containers I've made for my patio + the arrangements I've dropped off at their houses that I make out of various cuttings from my backyard.

I've learned quite a bit over the past two years - most of it just by purchasing different plants/flowers + paying attention to the light requirements + asking questions at the family owned nursery that I go to. Just remember "Thriller/Filler/Spiller" when you put containers together (one tall flashy plant for the 'thriller" and then use easy to grow flowers/plants to fill out the container + add one or two types of plants/flowers that have a growth pattern that causes them to spill down the sides). You may know all of this already.

You can always paint the pine ceiling + boards on the back wall + privacy wall later if you decide it needs "lightening up" - and you could paint your slab or do some type of tile or pavers later if you want.

Just do not stain your cedar to be a different color than natural! Cedar was more $$ - making it look unnatural would be a shame!