Paint it, or price the home accordingly. All homes sell. They sell because of location, schools, the number of bedrooms. baths.

Make an immaculate interior, concentrate landscaping away from a less attractive spot.

Online interior photos. the best you can get produced; focused on the great views, and don't wring hands over anything else.

All homes sell when priced to sell.

A home, any home....is worth what someone is willing to pay.

Leave the rock alone, paint the white siding and trim a dark color, green, gray, brown would all work. Paint the garage door the same color. Freshen up the landscaping. Done.

What do other houses in the neighborhood look like? Do any of the others have volcanic rock? Context means a lot, and if there are other similar houses in the immediate neighborhood, maybe trying to make it look different isn't that necessary, and you just need to work on the yard a bit

Better pics willget better help but I agree do not touch that stone.Take a picture from the street and in much better light. Post that pic here in a caomment do not start another post .

Would cleaning the stone help? That would be my first suggestion. If there isn't significant change to the look of the stone, then would suggest a German smear treatment. That involves adding grout to the surface of the stone. If done well it will allow the stone pattern to show thru but will cover up much of the color of the stone. Good luck!

The stone itself is fine. The white siding & white garage door doesn't pair well with the stone. The traditional raised panel garage door style isn't doing the house any favors, either. So I would paint the siding & garage door at a minimum or paint the siding & replace the garage door.

Paint the siding light olive; paint the garage door a darker olive. Paint the downspouts a dark color to blend into the background. Because you intend to sell soon I wouldn't try for any big changes.

NOTHING looks worse than painted stones, so don't even think about that.

i agree with nickel . I HATE painted stone. Looks cheap . Address the paint colors on the siding & garage door, that’s what needs to change. Or do nothing & leave it up to the new owners to deal with. It appears that some new landscaping might be in order, difficult to tell from the pics.

I love it and maybe some other buyers will as well. I think it needs a good cleaning. I would paint out the garage door a dark colour from the stone so that the entrance stands out more but that would be it.

Thank you all for your comments: really appreciated!

To answer Palimpsest, the two closest houses are classic all- brick mansions, rosy- colored with white trim. The others are all generously-sized ranchers with nary a volcanic stone to be seen.

I‘m interested in the olive green suggestions, nickel_kg, I hadn’t thought of that color. I have been concerned about trying - and failing! - to find some way to make it fit better into the neighbourhood . But i can see how that could work to tone down the stone.

I have been considering whether German smear could be an option, so thank you for that reinforcement. I t feels like a huge job, though, and my concern has been that it could be to trendy: do you think that is a concern? I could try it out first on their huge out-of-scale fireplace before we get it re-faced - something all of us agree is crucial! (the othrr BIG problem!)

Funny, I don’t want my house to “fit into the neighborhood “, mine is a very modern MCM surrounded by Tuscan revivals & wannabe French chateau’s 😊. Perhaps the buyers of the house will like its unique qualities. I agree that the fireplace is a bit much, good luck dealing with it . It is interesting though , I’m sure some people would like it.

The current paint choices fight the stone. Lean into it as others have mentioned. I would paint everything Black Fox or Urbane bronze so the stone looks intentional. This is not the house for german schmear...

Love SW Urbane Bronze

Yes, the house numbers will be gone! I already had custom mid cenury modern numbers made, and they are waiting until Mom and Dad aren’t living there anymore. Seeing your examples I wish I had requested larger ones, though: loveyour love your

Another vote for paint, new numbers, and landscaping. I would build a bed and put some bushes or something on the side where the numbers are right now. It looks very bare and allows the rock to take over. Add some planters with some green in the walkway to the left of the garage. I think blending the house and brightening the bottom half with plants will make a big difference.

I like the stone. I suspect doing anything to it would reduce the value of the house. However, a good real estate agent should be able to give you a better opinion. The house might benefit from a different color on the siding, but it's hard to tell as the pics are all in shade.

Hallet and K Laurence, funny about Urbane Bronze: I had already chosen it as trim. Looks like a bigger commotment now!

Glad you already liked Urbane Bronze, but do everything including garage doors and gutters. Find a fun color for the front door (not red)

Here are more pictures, but there is still shade, I’m afraid. I’m to be down with them at the end of the month so can get more then. You can see enough to tell that the garage door shows up but the front door is virtually hidden: the 3rd challenge!

Too bad your pictures are so dark. It's hard to see anything. Maybe Google pictures would help?

I hear you. This is the best I could do on Google Earth, I’m afraid.

Trying again after editing the photos to make them as bright as possible while still trying to keep the color true. You can barely see the front door but if you expand the 2nd pic the left side of the door is just showing…

I would not paint the stone veneer. There are lots of men that love the appearance of that rock. I would just make sure it was clean and neat. That's what sells.

I’m someone who loves natural stone, especially vintage, so am thrilled to see others agree. I would immediately pass on any house that has painted or limewashed brick or stone.

I would think twice before changing the fireplace stone veneer. Your buyer may like it. Or your buyer may be like my sister who took out both fireplaces in her current home. She just bought a fixer-upper and is taking the upstairs fireplace out and completely re-doing the downstairs one. She was overjoyed to find an unspoiled house in a great location that was fairly-priced because it hadn't had expensive renovations that she'd have to rip out anyway. The cheapest house in great neighbourhood always sells the fastest.

Wow, the new pictures! The high contrast between the siding and the rock cuts the house in half, not in a good way. A new much darker paint -- green, bronze, whatever -- will be a huge improvement! Also I'd remove the shutters and arch and replace with chunkier window trim.

Thx for all the suggestions of the darker paint. i tried it on a paint color visualizer and it is a remarkable improvement! The shutters and arch are long gone - awful!

^ thanks! Sometimes you wonder what people were thinking ... but if those items made your folks happy to come home to, they did their job. :-)

Paint the white downspouts a dark colour so they disappear against the stone.

For the street-side view, perhaps some wider trim around the window. It would be good to plant something between the shrubs. Something else to look at besides the expanse of stone. If it's too late to plant decent-size shrubs, I think tall grasses would look great. Very MCM.

Larger exterior lights are always attractive and relatively budget-friendly.

This is not an unattractive house - the stone gives it a cool masculine vibe. But some of the design choices (e.g. siding colour) don't bring out its best. ( LOL shutters??) Thankfully these are relatively easy to undo.

The burgundy colour in your stone would look great with navy or slighty lighter blue, for example in an accent colour to spray paint the chair on your porch. Or for the doors. It's a classic colour combination in men's clothing. like this

https://www.theberkshirehouse.com/articles/black-houses

https://downleahslane.com/dark-exterior-ideas-to-revolutionize-your-house/

https://www.beneathmyheart.net/2020/07/trend-alert-dark-home-exteriors/

Yes, I put in a crescent - shaped bed of simplicity roses last summer - pretty except in the winter, and I m hoping they’ll bulk up this summer. Tall grasses could help , good idea!

We repaced that light last year. Making gradual changes as we look ahead…

Agree with all the suggestions. Another thought - related to the problem of the hidden front door. You might consider some large planter pots - tall mcm style - to help create either a path to or more of a destination at the entry. Best of luck.

I would paint/stain that stone in a hot minute. Here's a house with a similar look

Rambio on lava rock

I happen to have a MCM ranch with the succo from the 50s on part and the rest siding the stucco has bits of black glss in it so we paintered the siding Raccoon Fur last spring I love the look and no way would I try to paint the stucco it is part ofthe style of the house and I happen to love MCM. Ous is the only MCM house for blocks it is awesome to not look like everyone else. I agree paint the siding in s acolor from the stone or the grau from the crout do not touch the stone and for sure not try to stain it .

Im with the majority that say paint the siding, not the stone.

If you do paint the siding, paint the gutter downspout the siding color, not trim color.

can you remove the semi circle trim above that window, or would that require patching the siding?

Can tbe shrubs at the fron of the house be trimmed back?

Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams offers virtual color consultations for a small charge if youd like sime guidance. BM also offers image rendering for $25.

Thanks, SashaDog, for the info on BM and SW: sounds helpful!

We have removed the fan and shutters from that small garage window, and those bushes are gone, replaced with mini-roses, lavender and heather. These are improvements, for sure, but the problem of the stone overwhelms those small improvements, I’m afraid.

I like the suggestions about the big pots, Elisejames, and that’s now part of my plan - thx!

So helpful to have all this expert advice, everyone: thanks SO much!

Patricia Colwell, wou would you be willing to post a picy of your house now that youv paintpainted it? That sounds intetesting and I’d love to see how it turned out!