I personally prefer rendered facades as well (although bricks suit certain types/style of houses better and some bricks can be nicer than others), but I don't mind painted bricks either, which would also be a good way to save some $$... whichever way you go I would certainly contrast the main wall against door/windows/garage/roof to create some depth... either dark windows, doors, etc and light walls (harder to maintain if painting bricks in e.g. white)... or my personal preference would be like a mid-grey for the main walls with white windows & doors, and darker roof & garage door (e.g. charcoal/monument)... good luck and if you want to get an idea of what it could look like before making a commitment, then have a dab at the different materials and colours on: http://www.digitaldecorator.com.au oh and P.S. I would definitely also consider changing that handrail at the front porch steps, and like the above suggestion of timber, will create warmth... but not sure about merbau, can be quite reddish, personally would stick to a more natural looking timber with a clear finish

Hello, I would recommend to consider going with a dark charcoal, (monument is a colour often used.) People often shy away from dark colours, thinking the building will stand out too much. In actual fact the dark blue tones of a colour like monument, mimic the tones found in natural stones like bluestone. Its actually very calming and integrates with the natural environment. Often light colours make houses stand out and feel very bulky and defined. Dark colours work beautifully with greenery. It creates a much more bali kind of vibe as opposed to a Miami kind of vibe. I like the previous idea of bronze planters to help tie in the bronze fly screens. I would also seriously consider planting the front of the garden out a bit. Possibly consider a water feature / pond with water plants and flowering trees around. The house is dated and feel exposed, which means it could do with some smoke and mirrors, tricks to spark the imagination. At the moment what you see is what you get, if you know what I mean. I would also consider adding a lasor cut decorative screen on the side of the carport, so that the whole property is not so exposed. It would introduce an extra element that introduces a lovely play of light and creates softness and charm. SUMMARY :Make the garden more romantic, change the colour of the house, add the lasor cut screen and add the pot plants and I think you will easily achieve a really pleasing aesthetic. Good luck with it.

Hi Lilith - your cottage has lovely charm - and a fascinating past! I can see you are seeking to introduce some contemporary elements - but my strong suggestion as per some of the above is to keep the heritage front and reinstate the bull-nose verandah. The verandah and front 2 rooms are 'the face of the house' - it's how people understand the style/period of a home, and helps place a house in context, and belong to a neighbourhood, even in country areas. The traditional design of the bull-nose verandah across Victorian cottages is not only an identifying period element, It also has practical purposes like providing an appropriate entry point, cover from rain as you arrive home, a threshold for greeting guests, as well as providing shade from the hot summer sun. Trust me - keeping and reinstating the bull-nose verandah will maximise the eventual resale value in your home especially as time goes on. I thus have several comments and a few big-picture suggestions for you! And I am deliberately not asking what your budget is; think of these as masterplan suggestions! 1. Don't just keep the verandah as is - reinstate it for its full length by removing the entry portico and built-in wardrobe. Tile it for the full width with your lovely tile pattern, and a selection of plant pots of lavender and succulents, or balls of lily-pily etc. Source a second-hand victorian doorway with stained glass above to let light into the corridor, and reinstate the north-facing window into your main bedroom - you won't regret it! 2. Ahh but that means you've lost your walk-in? The current walk-in actually blocks the north light, and removing the walk-in will radically transform how this room feels..........Building a built-in robe along one wall would be the cheapest option, for only the cost of the robe itself. However if you MUST have a walk-in, it will cost about $3-4K/m2 to add in a small new area of walk-in to the side. HOWEVER.... 3. Radical suggestion.....I observe that the contemporary addition at the back of the house reflects a large, modern-sized open-plan space, and yet 2 big chunks of it are taken up by bathroom and laundry. In fact the bathroom corner, poking out from the side of the house, actually looks like it gets north sunlight throughout the afternoon. SO..... 4. You could plan for a renovation that moves the bathroom, laundry and walk-in robe (accessed from the main bedroom) into the living-room zone, extending the corridor through it. Then you have created a large open-plan kitchen-living-dining at the back for the entire room, which has access to a north-facing wall in the corner perfect for afternoon entertaining which you could link with an extended deck! Just add big double-glazed doors to this corner. (I know I know - it will be looking straight at the water tank, but you could relocate this to the other side OR just landscape in front of it). You could modernise the back verandah to look more like the verandah images you posted above. All of the above can be done without adding any new floor area, just the relocated bathroom and laundry/robe, plus the cost of new floors, plaster repair and painting to the rear space.. Anyway hopefully I have given you some ideas about the possibilities over the longer term! Good Luck!

Hi Ginger , I'm in New Zealand , and the suggestions I would make if your house was here in NZ or Australia would be that there's nothing wrong with the house itself , I like the colour and style . What I would focus on is 'the rest' . The garden looks a bit new and a bit plain -- personally , I'd do a big colourful glazed pot , at least 60cm tall and wide ( 2 ft ) in your favoured blue or red or burgundy or green or similar , and have it 'in' the garden near the footpath ( you might need to move 1 plant ) . Maybe something unusual -- a bamboo or cactus or 3 or 4 small plants ? In the main garden , add some variety too -- a brown flax , a shrub with red leaves , 3 or 4 low yellow grasses ? The pergola over the door I like -- white rails and uprights , maybe a slightly sloping clear plastic roof -- it would tie in with the door , the windows and the look and era . The fences I would stain charcoal -- that would fade and weather well , and although 'black' ( charcoal ) , yellow and white is pretty cliche'd , it would work , and hopefully be different enough to make your place stand out from all the copying neighbours haha .