To da_jg_king...This thread is about Stephanie's dilemma and all responses are directed to giving her some suggestions....its grown to be a rather long article and it is unlikely that anyone will respond to your dilemma. Why don't you start a post about your house and put up some really good photos to give Houzzers a "look in"? I bet you will get lots of respnse if Stephanie's post is anything to go by. Its hard to imagine your environment and make alternative suggestions without having photos. Cedar or any timber panelling can be deceptive depending on the area of the room and on the lighting that would change during the day..really need photos! I'm sure Houzzers would love to pitch in with suggestions...some of the ideas given to Stephanie might inspire you too! I love the challenge of natural timber. I've come across and advert for a beautiful new paint colour from the RESENE company..They have some amazing stuff that gets me quite excited imagining what I could do with some of it...You ask for suggestions for flooring that would look good against cedar walls....You do not say whether you want colour suggestions or materials suggestions...so...Go to the RESENE paint site and have a look at all their paint products, you might be inspired by the colours and that could lead you to other ideas...like tiles, floor renders..etc. Lately I've had a "thing" for a definite shade of Wedgewood Blue..( and I don't particularly like blue in my environment), but there's something very appealing about a dusty, light, warm-looking exact BLUE...leaning neither towards green nor purple...a perfect blue that I just love next to my timber walls.....That might be a clue for you...though it would depend, as colour always does, on the natural hue of your timber walls...Wood has its natural colour variations according to its type that also change with age....lots to consider. Put up some PICS! Yes?

Colour is a whole-of-house thing ie it begins at your letterbox and ends at the back fence! When I work with clients I assess their personal colour type and make recommendations from there. Often people will add just one colour eg red, as an accent and use it throughout the home...red pots at the front door, splashback, cushions, throw rug on the bed etc. Personally I prefer to use two colours to spice up a neutral scheme. They may be complementary eg red/green or analogous eg green and blue. The trick is alternating which is the more used colour in different rooms. Taubmans have a formula of 60/30/10 - the bright, intense accent colours should not make up more than 10% of your scheme. Never go 50/50 it always looks out of whack. Pick two colours that you both like, and find pictures on houzz as well as Pinterest for ideas.

Thanks Anne and I will look at pale grey given the maintenance considerations. I have already paid for a colour consultant who was great but the Reckless grey she suggested for the house render and basalt gutters/fascia and front wall were too grey when we had the render samples put on and while it had a modern look, it was not giving the beach/coastal feel. I will head back into our inspirations paint store this morning to see if I can find the warm grey colours that have the most similar colour make up to Dune, and go from there. Anne you don't happen to know the dulux colour most close in composition to Colorbond Dune so I know where to start? Thanks again and I would love to hear from anyone who has got a dune roof and hear if they tried light coloured gutters and what render colours they have used on their walls.

The architecture of your home is wonderful, but the blue is just so wrong in so many ways. "Monument" is a very on-trend colour and is used a lot in contemporary architecture, perhaps too much! It is not the right choice for the style of your home. A lot of your features have carved openings in the timber, and these openings can only be appreciated when the paint colour is light. If you paint these elements "Monument" these features will disappear as there is not enough contrast between the timber and the carved opening, which always looks dark. With so much happening in your elevation, I would go simpler with paint (which your painters will prefer). I would suggest choosing a light monochromatic scheme, such as one of the cool whites from Dulux for all the timber that is currently painted, possibly one of the Lexicon strengths. Whatever colour you choose make sure it works with the elements that you are not painting, such as the decking, the timber ceiling to the porch and the gutter and roof. With your home, the feature is the contrast in light and shade between the timber work and the shaded spaces behind the timber, and you need to make the most of it. Picking out elements in different colours will make it look too busy (as it is now). A simple monochromatic colour scheme is best for your beautiful home - classic, timeless and elegant. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits