The best place to put it and stay in sync with the architecture would be to align it with the horizontal break of the gable. Make sure the front board is the same width as your fascia board. To incorporate the roof lines it would be best to make larger than the inset and run to half way between the interior corner and the window on both sides.. If you just run it out from the inset it will end up looking like it's stuck in there. You need the wider breadth to match speeds with the roof lines visually. You also need at least 8x8 posts for the scale to look right. I'm also thinking that staining the pergola in a transparent stain in neutral (rather than the stain on the gable) will look best. it will blend in colorwise and tie to the gable but be understated. Painting it white like the fascias will make it jump away from the house. Nice job on the house, by the way.

siriuskey the grass trees are welded iron & wire, made by an artist who lives in our area, they are gorgeous and we don't have to worry about them dying! Yes you are right, the verandah is coming away from the wall, which is where the little birds nest ;) I love the last picture you posted and its the look we want. Interesting that all your images show grey/galv roof, which is what we want (not red). Mel N yes the cost is due to lack of tradies in the area so we have to add on travel, accommodation, meals. Also quote does not include removal of old iron & timber from site so we have to factor in dump fees. We could dispose of the timber battens easily enough, everyone needs firewood here, it's the iron that's expensive to dump. big reader yes she is a treasure, we love her. tessaway the house has plenty of light in the front rooms, it's very bright here, almost every day is sunny. We would just like to see the full height of the windows from the front garden. Maybe we should just enjoy the house, add pergolas to the sides and not worry about what she looks like from the street.

we need to have a better understanding of the current spaces...do you have a floor plan of the original house (usually shows lines for the roof ridges and valleys as well as measurements)...also need to know the height from ground level to the bottom of the gutter on the original house and the height of the wall from ground level to the underside of any existing gutter on the "outhouse" (quite confusing 'cause where i come from an outhouse is usually a "dunny" or outdoor toilet!) is the ground between the house and the outhouse level, how many steps up from ground into the house, is the floor of the courtyard already paved? is the floor of the outhouse level with the courtyard or a step up?...please advise the length and width of the outhouse and the distance from the house and any side fences...the attached plan is an approximation that needs accurate dimensions but most most important is the heights above the ground

I wouldn't recommend covering the northern deck with a permanent structure. As oklouise says, along with losing that lovely northern light, you'll miss out on all the heat that winter sunshine would provide (called passive solar heating. This could be very substantial, resulting in decreased comfort & increased heating bills. Read more about passive solar heating here, http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design My parents have a horizonal awning over a small balcony that works well, though may not be suitable for a larger area. They also have a large triangular shade sail upstairs, on their terrace. This must be put up & taken down every day that it's used (due to ocean breezes), which is a nuisance. So it's not used too often. The next door neighbours also have a large triangular shade sail. This one is a permanent fixture, & rolls up. Although it does take two people to roll/unroll it, it is still a much more convenient set up. It's not perfect, as the fabric is quite flimsy (although it roll away behind a guard that would protect it from the weather a bit). But something similar would be worth investigating. This was a custom job, & I'm struggling a bit to find something the same online. I have found an interesting rectangular roll up shade sail (by Soliday I think). I'm struggling to use the website on my phone, but it may be worth looking at. It's a 41 page pdf towards the bottom of the page, after the other images. http://pdf.archiexpo.com/pdf/plaspack-netze-gmbh/roll-up-sun-sails-soliday-2015/93246-245657-_9.html