Your door is STUNNING in its natural state. I would, at most, have the finish refreshed, if possible. I would add bright color in the form of pots or plants in pots in your landscaping.

I would first cut back the overgrown shrubbery in the front before I decided what the home required in terms of color.

What's happening with the wall that I have circled? Looks as though it has a special texture.

Perhaps that wall should continue to be treated in a special manner. The doors are so recessed any color will be lost in the shadows.

I might keep the existing color of the house and simply paint the trim a dark gray along with the garage door.

If you paint that wood door you will become its slave. There's no telling how that weather wood will take paint applied to it but I promise it will chip in no time. I would keep the wood finish which is really in keeping with the style of your home and consider this product. Much easier to touch this up from time to time.

Light your steps

This could be a more modern color scheme for your home. See below for planting ideas also.

I wouldn’t paint the door - for several reasons. One, it’s a rare classic MCM one. Two, it works with the house. Three, it will be a pain to paint and could look awful due to the small squares.

Agree that a refinish job is your best bet.

Thank you for the feedback. We will not be painting the front door. I do need to decide on a paint color for the house, wood / fascia and we are painting the garage doors so color for those areas. I love the landscaping. The front gate needs to stay for now for safety.

Below are pictures of the wall to the side of the gate. We are having this cleaned and treated so we can keep.

That is split face stone tile. Once you get it clean and that could take some time, make sure to seal it so that cleaning it in the future might be less work.

Thanks so much! I have someone coming this week to look at it They specialize in exterior stone cleaning.

I need to finalize exterior hiuse color. Stucco, fascia and we have alot of lot of rod iron. Thiughts on all one color? I was looking at SW Dovetail for house and Black Magic for fascia and rod iron. Thx!

Looks like a great house. One small thing- I don’t think the rounded windows on the garage door suit the style of the house. Could that piece be replaced with a solid panel?

Thank snd and agree. Would I need to replace the entire garage door? We were thinking of just painting for now.

Help!! I need color selections by Satuday. I was thinking the grey and black but im worried with all the wood I might need another color also. Maybe one color / the same on all the wood and stucco and rod iron we have alot with the black?

Are you in SoCal?

That's the wrong gray you have in the above pic. it's too silvery/blue, and actually comes off as light blue

these are better grays w/coordinating tones

If you want a blue, then do a blue/black or deep navy, paired w/this SeaPearl:

Also, I love this wood door. I'd spend the time sanding and refreshing that stain. do a walnut stain and clear coat w/a UV ext varnish to protect it. These carved wood doors/panels would cost a forture to replicate! take care of those.

I'd remove the jail-looking bars and keep the wrought iron railing, paint it black.

imagine THIS railing :

In place of your white railing. (no tall cage though.) And if you could redo your landscaping like shown here, or some of the other example I've listed below, great!

as a color example, imagine you redid your wood door panels so that the wood had this type of tone to it. then pair all of that w/this dark trim/fascia, the white stucco. you already have the black window trim. do you like this?

I used these same colors on my house.

bring in the new pendant, door numbers, exterior lighting,,

and get new door hardware. The atomic ranch hardware was cool back in the 60's. also notice the mcm style address numbers. I love all of the colors w/the wood in this one:

Get an MCM style pendant light. Here's a globe style I photoshopped along w/a diff landscape

those heavy overgrown shrubs are hiding the home. I'd take them out and do something more fitting to the house. maybe redo the cement steps

Like this:

or something like this yard w/more hardscape, less round hedges!

Here's another all dark style w/calif plants.

For paint color,

I love this one, but would add some natural wood slats or wood accent somewhere

this was john legands home

Black Beauty and James Hardie Deep Creek. notice the wood

Lauren Leiss did this 70's home in black

here's another style done in Kendall Charcoal. This is a warmer gray w/out the blue undertones

Another shot showing the dark color w/the wood accent, mcm numbers, and this more modern garage door.

Hi Everyone - The ideas have been amazing and so much appreciated! I would love to remove the security gates at the front door but we can't at this point due to security concerns in iur area.

What we know is the doors will be refinished, stained and kept natural,

landscaping and bushes will be removed and replaced with a minimal look, new hardware on door, new light pendant at entrance and try and do something with existing garage doors.

I need to decide if we are going to paint the stucco and wood one color (really like a deep grey) or go with one color for stucco and another for wood fascia/trim. I really like the deeper greys so maybe two different greys one for stucco and another color for wood. And then need to decide on garage door color. All rod iron will be a dark color black but not actually black. Thank you!!!!

A feature of the modern architectural style of which your house is a great example, is the use of "exposed structure." I'd celebrate that feature on your house and paint the wood a different color than the stucco. Not sure I'd go with a near black on the wrought iron. Can you do it the same color as the wood if you're doing the wood a darker color than the stucco? Not sure why you'd introduce another color for something that isn't really a design feature but could become a structural feature with the other items painted that way.

I'd paint the garage door the same color as the stucco. You can reassess that once you've replaced it but for now, it needs to fade into the background.

Is there a chance you can get the stone cleaned before picking a color? That might affect what you choose.

Really great house, would love to see what you're doing to the inside!

Overall I like the look of your home, but agree with the gray roof and black wrought iron and gray stone I would want something less creamy, but I am not sure just how dark I would want to go.

I kind of like the light colored house.

I would probably have them paint all the trim black and clean the stone, have a dozen samples that are close to the stone color and wait to make my decision until I could better assess the look.

Below are not so well done visualizations with black trim and mid toned or light stucco color

Did you have any opinions on the grays I suggested? A gray with green undertones is much better suited to your house style than Dovetail. I would actually eliminate Grizzle from here, too. Homburg Gray is similar to an inspiration I shared and Beth reshared where everything is painted one color. I think the more simple the better, but if you want a different color for your garage door, I would do the dark you do for the wrought iron. Though, with the stone accent, painting a color similar to that would look better (hard to know what that is until it's cleaned). Then, if anything, do the soffit, fascia & beams dark. Agree with the comment above from @tozmo1 completely.

Hi Again and THANK YOU! It now sounds like concensus is to go with a lighter grey color for the stucco and then a darker grey to compliment. I will use that same darker color for the rod iron and paint the garage doors the same color as the stucco so they don't stand out. Is there agreement on the stucco color and then the beam color? I need to go get samples. I am so happy I posted here. The response has been incredible and I am truly grateful. There are several color combos listed below. I can't wait for the stone to be cleaned but there are some very clean pieces, and it does have a lot of grey variations. Super excited about this project now thanks to each of you! Elizabeth

Thoughts on these colors?

Are you familiar w/undertones in paint colors? or the color spectrum? basically paint colors, the way they're tinted w/the basic primary colors, can have a wide range of undertone. Grays can look blue, yellow, pink, purple, green or brown. and a combo of everything in between.

The direction of light that hits your house can also have an effect. Light coming from a northern exposure will be cooler and more blueish than light coming from a south or western exposure. All of this affects how a paint color looks on your home.

That being said, that last pic you posted have a purple hue/undertone to it.

That stucco color is a lavender based gray.

It's fine. I don't mind it. It would be in the realm of these colors

These are green undertone grays

taupe grays have pink (red) undertones. most of these are taupe grays:

and these are brown and yellow undertones

look at some of these other grays next to the lavender house and you'll see the diff.

I really like this color too

Are you aware that the stone on your porch is Silver Travertine? (I have the same inside my home)

The top colors would look great w/the warm wood tones of your door/panel. I hope you don't paint it. You can see the Charcoal Slate color has some warmer undertones to it, just like your travertine tile has.

The colors in the lower left are a bit cooler and would look great w/all of your elements. This is the trio I used on my home.

My wrought iron railing is painted black

If you want the warmer grays with more brown to them, try these

Does that explanation help at all?

if you want some other examples of dark gray, check out this link

https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/benjamin-moore-10-best-dark-gray-charcoal-paint-colours/

Tried Gray Huskie and Wrought Iron and really like it.

Thank you Beth H! After your last post of the entry area, I really like the Covered In Platinum versus the Gray Huskie. It appears lighter which I like. Would you combine the Covered in Platinum (stucco) with the Wrought Iron (I would use this for the beams and rod iron)? Thank you so much! Are you in Southern California?

Team, yes, I'm near Brea/Yorba Linda area.

I used the covered in Platinum for my fascia (i thought that my charcoal roof tiles were going to be a lot darker and figured the wrought iron would disappear against it. But, once the tiles went up, (I painted first) I was surprised at how light they were)

You can see it a bit better in this shot. the patio cover is Wrought Iron by BM

covered in platinum is a dunn edwards paint. yes, I mixed all three companies when doing the house. lol

you sure you want this for the stucco? what about the trim colors?

this one is lighter but still a cooler gray. not blue though.

Hi! What about the Thunder for the Stucco? I will test Cold Morning also. I really like the Thunder and Charcoal Slate against the wood that you put together!

Just a thought, but you could paint out your garage windows to match the garage door so they don’t stand out as much. Paint them on the inside.

just try some samples and see what you think. Thunder is almost like a griege.

I think this would look nice w/the wrought iron paint color and your travertine pavers.

here's a house w/Thunder. click on the link for a review of the paint color

https://www.brickandbatten.com/review-thunder-benjamin-moore/

SW has this Thunder gray.

I mentioned kendall charcoal too. that one is a yellow undertone. Thunder appears to be a brownish/yellow

check out these

https://www.brickandbatten.com/best-gray-paint-colors-2021/

they have a paint visualizer here:

https://www.brickandbatten.com/paint-visualizer/

any of these combos will work.

just keep in mind the style and time period of your house. I wouldn't go too heavy w/the grays. it just doesn't suit the style.

what do you think of stucco in this white, and the charcoal on the fascia trim and maybe another part?

this After is kendall charcoal

take a look at these mcm style homes

https://www.brickandbatten.com/19-stunning-pictures-of-mid-century-modern-home-exteriors/

I'm in love w/the wood doors and panels and really hope you refinish those.

I'd choose a globe style pendant in a gold finish, ditto for door hardware.

this one has the white stone similar to yours. notice the pendant, the railing (wood rail w/dark cables) all of the lighting, the address style AND the garage door.

you say you can't remove the bars? what city are you in?

(the garage doors, you can buy diff window inserts, or, just get a more modern looking door)

Colors selected!!! Benjamin Moore Thunder main color and Charcoal Slate for all wood beams and rod iron. So excited! Thank you Beth H! Cant wait to share the updates. Suoer excited

TeamGrega, Oh nice! looking forward to seeing those colors.

Have you tried out some samples?

Stonington Gray is a nice gray too. just in case Thunder looks too beige?

As a suggestion, do you see the fascia and soffit here on yours, ( look at mine on the next pic) The fascia is the trim just beneath the roof line, and the soffit is the underside.

I think yours would look similar to mine if you painted the soffit, the underside, the dark charcoal color and did the fascia in the lighter trim. This way you get some contrast w/the stucco

Also, check out the rafter beams under the roof/soffit. these are similar to yours. do you like the contrasting color? (you don't have to choose this one, I know you mentioned the slate color for the beams, but then you'd have the underside done in the thunder? I'd sample that first.

Here's your duo of colors. I added the WRought Iron color you painted as a sample to see if maybe you'd like this for the railing? (try a sample of the Thunder under this roof on the patio. see how much diff it looks from what you currently have)

Cement Gray (or the Stonington gray from above) might be another option if you want more gray rather than a griege? It all depends on your lighting at your house.

Remember how you were looking at the other house w/the lavender gray? found this

This would look killer w/that patio travertine tile. and the wood.

These are two other soft charcoal-blacks that are similar to Wrought Iron, but have a touch of purple to them.

Honestly? I'd try 2 of the combos in my last picture just for grins. You can always get a color match w/the Behr sample pots ($3). The color won't be EXACT to the BM color, but it will be close enough. I actually like Behr paint too. have them make you a few samples of these other colors, try it on the stucco and the trim (near the patio area) to see how you looks.

You brought up this home as an inspriation in your post. The gray you see in this ipic will be very close to those last example I listed. The color on the garage door will also be any of those last two blacks or the wrought iron color. Digging the mcm exterior lights too.

also, (not trying to be rude here, but it's wrought iron, not rod iron. Just thought you'd like to know! common error. )

These are samples of the final colors. Marked in red

is the second pic a norther exposure? looks a lot cooler than the first exposure.

Personally I would have painted larger samples including the trim, just to see if you like it. But those should work out fine.

Please post an update when you are ready.

Any recommendations on someone that specializes in door refinishing? We live in Los Angeles. We are looking to keep the door in its original form. Thanks!

Replacing the light hanging by our front door. This light was posted below. Votes? I like it!

My vote is yes!

meh. too contermporary looking for the style of the house. I think there are better options

as for the door, I'd love to tackle it but it would be a ton of work. call in a wood refinisher. perhaps a local carpenter who specializes in finishing details could help.

what part of LA?? looks like you're up in the 'Dons' in Baldwin hills!

Hi. I have reached out to a couple people and waiting for them to come out and provide quotes. We are in the View Park area. Can wait to see it refinished!

(that's one neighborhood over from Baldwin Village ! I knew I recognized those homes up in the hills! Travel around Don Felipe, Don Jose, Don Millagro,,,,all those homes built back in the 60's. Very familiar w/your area. worked around there for 25 yrs! Great homes. are you flipping?

Had a compnay come out today to see about cleaning limestone wall. They did a test on a couple of areas. See picture.

Total to clean and seal wall is $1300.

Do I have it cleaned or paint over limestone. I dont want to soend the money to remove snd replace tile. Thoughts.

1300?? just do it yourselves. Get some of this cleaner, a good brush and a hose. (get a spray bottle and dilute this w/water since it's concentrated)

u can attatch it to a broom handle if it's too high to reach.

to keep that soil are from getting too wet, lay down a large tarp or painters plastic so that the runoff will flow over it and away from the soil.

The lower orange part of the stone looks like rust. you may need a diff clearer to remove that mineral build up that has discolored it.

Are you sure it's liimestone??

When the stone is fully dry, seal w/something like this. (it's an enhancing sealer so the color will liven up a bit)

pour it in a paint tray and use a roller brush to apply, smoothing it out w/a large paint brush. don't over saturate. blot dry w/a rag after 5 minutes.

materials will cost you less than $80. no way I'd pay 1300 to have it done!! (it's just that one spot, right? shouldn't take you more than 30 mins to scrub it clean, and when dry, another 30 mins or so to seal it)

Do NOT!!!! Paint OVER that STONE!

I'd also plant some type of ferns or philodendrans along that wall area. it's cool and shaded all the time yes?

like these fern gardens. this would be perfect under that wall area

bromeliads and ferns and begonias would look nice

after planting, cover that soil w/a natural black mulch material. will help keep things moist (but not soaking wet) and help w/run-off

Hi - he has been in business for 20 years and highly recommended. He was certain it was limstone so assumed he knew. Im fine putting in some elbow work. I will check this stuff out. I like the ferns - also thinking something in that area that doesnt require water. Maybe some stones? Just in the area to protect the wall. We could also do a drip system. Next project having all the current landscaping torn out. Want a very minimal, clean look and low maintnenace. Painting is looking good!

good. can't wait to see it ! save the money and do the stone yourself, and put what you saved toward getting that beautiful wood refinished!!

So, is this a flip?

Holy cow, for $1300 you an buy an excellent pressure washer and do it yourself in no time, have money left over and a pressure washer for future use. Or rent one.

Hi! looking for ideas on house number placement. Current landscaping is being completely removed and we will replaxe with minimal and mostly ground level, succulents, etc. I'm thinking large modern numbers placed vertically. Either on the wall Ive marked in red or somehow attached to the stone? Would love some ideas. Gate needs to stay for security reasons. Hanging light is being replaced. Provide light ideas if you have and front door is being refinised and stained, not painted. House is being painted now

and will post pics soon. Thank You!

Once the landscaping is removed, the right wall (right at the edge) could be a better place for your address. It’s mostly for the postal people, so you want it to be easy to find.

Yes, something very MCM would be wonderful.

agree w/Red. wait until everything is done before worrying about placement.

you could also post it on the house near door, as well as in the yard as part of landscape decor

are you changing the railing at all? or just painting?

BTW, if you go over the Landscape Design forum, post this pic, and see if DigDoug will provide you a rendition. he is amazing at his yard transformations.

ThankNJB Beth H and Red Ryder.

Railings are not being changed. Exterior painting is almost

done. We have a couple people coming out next week so we

can get started on front exterior landscaping. Everything is being taken out. Also received several

quotes for finishing front door 2500k to 5k! Backyard after that. Backyard is a disaster. Will get rid of alot and just want a minimal set up

with a error to sit with friends

and lounge by pool. Painters have been work so its bad looking.

the quote for the door isn't bad (that's why I said take the 1300 u were quoted for the stone cleaning and use it for the door money). I've refinished wood doors like that. It's a very tedious, huge amount of work. you're paying for all the labor. just make sure the final coat they use is a high quality, UV marine varnish. (not a poly, not some cheap oil. has to have UV qualities to it.) It will protect it from the elements.

Nice backyard. I'd look at some palm springs mcm style back yards and take a cue from those.

Beth H - thank you and agree -

doing the wall on our own. The door willl be stunning when complete. Im trying to dexide on what to keep in backyard. Its a great yard for sunnning snd entertaining. Judt need to figure out where to put items and what.

If 2500 - 5K includes doing the door and all the panels around it, I'd say that's a bargain! Can't wait to see it completed..

The door is a true one of a kind, so leave that job to the pros and tackle the wall on your own. It also saves money for landscaping!