We all have different goals on what we are looking for for our house and I firmly believe that natural fits in with some looks, just not the one I'm going for.
I definately prefer it when it's all one or the other.
Not a fan of the dual mortars like in that second picture as I feel it makes it look dirty rather than the nice dark overall look.
Absolutely, everything has it's place.
Basically I love that the natural mortar keeps the feel quite dark overall, that way our accent white rendering can pop more for the facade. I wouldn't have been disappointed if it was off white by default - but I'm definitely happy with the default natural, I was worried that I wouldn't like it at all.
Definitely agree that the house with dual mortars makes it look as though the house is dirty. haha