Just a thought - Have you tested the existing cladding for asbestos prior to removing? Some of my coastal clients also feel the need to 'fill' the corrugations at the ends prior to capping or butting up to end frames: to dissuade small creatures from also moving in to a nice new home. Colorbond Surfmist will look great and horizontal will help to balance your homes height, however, it also gives ridges where dust and dirt sits and so needs to be hosed down more often - probably a good idea as it removes some of the salt as well. Good luck with the reno, the Architects image looks great.

Great character home, shame to to see it rendered or such like. Render can make a house very bland. The bricks could be available but second hand/recycled, etc.. If the garage was setback behind the building line it wouldn't be as obvious that its been extended. That way using second hand bricks, with the white rendered corbel strip and garage door could reduce the impact of slightly mismatched bricks. I'd also try and keep the existing character look going by using the posts on brick piers. The brick sills are still done this way on many new houses. Not popular at the moment but thats due to the current style of home being constructed. They also cost a bit more to construct therefore they become unpopular..... The windows look like aluminium (?), change to painted timber with a quality glass. I'd also remove the window awnings and screens. Colour choice, I'd use white like Natural White on whatever is currently white and cream. Roof looks great as does the brickwork. White picket fence? Driveway looks ok, maybe just a repaint in a mid grey.

With a North facing house the sun makes the front of house quite hot but only on those few days a year when it is over 40 with no sea breeze and I love the heat so ceiling fans work for me. The back of the house is much cooler and the winds generally come from the ocean side but can be from all directions at times as we know. On the west side of the house it is only app 1m to the fence line and so the option of having the garage on that side isn't viable. Sorry I am not up on terminology so when I said the set back was 7 odd metres that is the current set back from the front of my house to the road. The council requires 3m for house and 4.5 for garages. I have been looking more at mid century modern design and I don't really like it so I am looking at ways of changing up the bland facade to disguise the fairly flat roof line. With those in the know could I add a front porch and somehow blend the roof line into my current one to look more like this style? I realise it means saving more to afford it so on top of my current budget. I am just not sure how the roof line of the porch would look at the back end (how it would attach to my roof and look from the side and back) I wouldn't want it to look like it was just stuck on at the front. Would I carry that through to back of house so end up with a witches hat roof or is there a better way you can see this working. Once again thank you for all of your input I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to help me :)

frcrooks, I wouldn't be changing the garage doors and removing the garage gable as the front of the garage will look like a poorly proportioned aircraft hanger. I think you have a good starting point with the teal garage doors and acid yellow front door. One of my clients lived in a very conservative suburb and trusted me with a choice for acid yellow cladding to the entry. Now that it is finished they love it and they get lots of compliments from neighbours about their exterior colours. Best of luck, please don't do another drab Melbourne colour scheme, and consider engaging a professional colour consultant who understands the architectural style of your home. Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls