Cedar will darken with soil. It's worth trying a gentle wash to see if the overall appearance will lighten.

If necessary you can STAIN over the existing color. DO NOT PAINT CEDAR, IT WILL PEEL.

Would we need to have it stained again if we just have it washed?

I suggest a solid stain to cover the dark brown.

There is also wood and fence cleaner that removes dark oxidation on old wood. Very easy to use, brush and scrub with a broom and bucket and hose off.

I would not do a color stain with a green roof.

We used a really good stain 5 years ago so hopefully a wash might do it

To lisedv - im not tech savvy at all. can you tell me how you did the picture with the solid color stain? i would love to see my house with several different color schemes

I would keep the color you have now. It looks good on your house and its setting. On the stain you have now, you can see the wood grain of the cedar. If you use a solid color, its more like paint, and you wont see any of that grain.

Thank you

IMHO I love the look of dark and gothic for wood cabins and the way they sort of blend into the woods. That said, I would tweak the current colors a bit. Choose a dark gray-b brown on the horizontal siding (horizontal) to continue with the old aged wood vibe - exact shade/color whatever fits well with your stone colors. Have the trim, shutters + timbers be your lighter/brighter wood tones. Dark and/or cool colors recede, light and/or warm color comes forward. Since it looks like you already have white for window sashes, you could consider white as your accent color have your door , outdoor furniture etc. be white as well I think these things would brighten/freshen but without taking it back to looking like a newly built cabin.