After great thought with the advice given & other researched sites, we have decided to not render our bricks. :) We have begun re painting our pergola from dulux lexicon to taubmans coffee cake - very similar to our window trims. It's a neutral stone/beige colour. We hope to paint our garage doors & gutters monument & probably the facia trims in coffee cake. Fingers crossed for it to look ok. Thanks again.

Also the house faces west.

Fiona, you have a very traditional looking home, with some nice rustic looking brickwork. A rendered box added to the first floor is going to look like it was plonked in with it's contemporary smooth finish contrasting with the traditional, ground floor. Had you considered some other forms of lightweight cladding such as James Hardie's Linea weatherboards, which are much more low-maintenance than traditional weatherboards and work well for first floor extensions to traditional homes? Less labour to install weatherboard than to render a first floor.Best of luck with your addition, Regards Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Good morning Ish Shah, Great looking house ;-) I can help you choose exterior colours to tie in with with current choices. Head over to my website and send me an email and we can chat and exchange info. LClick on link to Website