In preparation for house paint (probably this Summer/Fall),
I'm trying to decide what to do with the porches. Exterior
of each is cheap, painted paneling. Rest of house is stucco
over block.

I could stucco both but that seems pretty boring.

Another option is tongue and groove planks -- possibly set
at a 45 to the floor (for a "swept" look). Natural stain.

Yet another option (my favorite) is a fitted stone facade.
But, the sort where there are no grout lines -- just very
tightly fitted stones (the stones having shapes similar
to *bricks* -- of various sizes). I.e., the wall feels
almost flat -- but rough.

They are not structural -- perhaps just a couple of inches thick
(front to back) and no stone/brick is more than an inch or two "tall".

A cursory look at these sorts of walls (usually on commercial
establishments, not residences) *suggests* that they are individual
stones and someone just was incredibly patient/lucky to manage
to ALWAYS find "just the right stone" for the odd shape that
needed to be filled.

I'm pretty sure I don't believe that! I suspect they are
prefabbed in some way (like the little 1" tiles you encounter
on bathroom floors -- sold in 12x12" SHEETS (so you don't have
to set each individual tile!). But, the arrangement of
"cracks"/edges is so busy that it's virtually impossible to
*see* an underlying pattern!

Can anyone confirm that they are, in fact, sold as "assemblies"?
That I don't have to budget weeks of time to preisely fitting
a gazillion little rectangular blocks?

And, as there appears to be no mortar (between "courses"),
how they are attached to the structure?