I think the same Sian, I really love the black but worried it'll be look a bit out of place?? Inside the floors will be dark laminate, mid grey walls & white trim. Ive gone for large chrome pendant lights over the kitchen island, and glass & chrome pendants throughout the house, so no black as of yet. But Ive got lots of my b&w photography I'll hang in black frames so maybe I could introduce black with the lights?

Well I know you want to be true to the house & reuse what you can but I would probably go with a more modern style like the stainless wire and timber top rail rather than dowels or timber for the infill. Be mindful of building code for the infill as horizontal is climbable and has to be very close together. There is so much upkeep in timber & if you go with the vertical metal rod look with the timber top plate maybe...? I am not an expert on any era or style though I know you will have a preference in mind & I would go with that. Look at the big picture of how your house will look with a change of paint (are you painting the house?) & for me it was about making the 25 year old house more contemporary. We love it!

Just me , but I'd start at the front , and just take the 'small steps' approach . The basics look well done . I'd go for repainting the front door in a 'popping' bright colour ( a bright red seems logical to me , as it would tie in with the 'plum' colour around the guttering ) , and see how that looks . The door does have the advantage and disadvantage that it is in the shadow most of the time , so it needs to be bright to be noticed , but you'd have to get the colour right . If that worked , I'd then be inclined to do the front and side window surrounds in the same colour as the front door , but initially only 30mm wide ( use making tape ) . The ones along the front and rear may look okay with the whole 80-100mm board painted , but I suspect the side windows would look overdone and out of character , So start smaller , stand back , wait a month , and modify if need be . Another thing , the 2 concrete 'bases' in front of the front door may get an uplift by doing just them ( they look like maybe 800mm tall by 300mm wide ? ) in the plum colour of the guttering -- ties the top and the entry together ? The pillars above them and across the front of the house , I'd leave as they are .

Hmmm I know what you mean about not wanting too many colours going on - but if you could count the roof as a neutral (that kind of ties in with the white), and then do a pale grey as the cement balcony, they may still tie together as one visually. I agree it'd be nice to add some colour and interest, but you've got such great bones to work with, I think it's just about adding to bring out it's style, rather than masking to make it feel like a house built today -it never works very well. So I would: - refresh white paint on the white balustrades & windows - even consider spraying. I've just done my front gate that was 1/50th of that size and THAT took a while. Though if you do decide to paint by brush, I found my son's Ikea kids craft brush (it's real bristle) was so much better than any of the proper paintbrushes I had! http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/90193320/ - remove the air con unit and even the satellite dish to other locations if you can. - paint the concrete patio and steps a lighter grey such as Studio Backdrop by Berger (remember that colours come out lighter outside) - Plant some bright & lush plants like sweet viburnum (providing it's not too shaded, or if so, some hydrangea) where the dark brown bricks currently are, as well as lots of other plants in the front garden - a pretty maple or crepe myrtle feature or some background plants like small cypress etc will actually add more visually and mean the house doesn't have to shoulder all the prettiness! Or go more Palm Springs style (though it looks cool where you are?) and add succulents, pots of Chalksticks, Crassula Bluebird etc. And all still in keeping with the era. - Then have fun with styling the exterior. Maybe look at some fabulous Slim Aarons photos for inspo! I can see a cool acapulco style chair and (yellow & white!) stripe cushion on the balcony, some succulents in grouped pots - bring back it's heyday when the owners might have had people over for drinks on the balcony! I love this era, the homes can be so light, bright and elegant, but people often try to update (rendering etc!) and lose their original style. Even paint your front door in a matte rich gold yellow or tomato red! - And a small thing, but the curtains inside being blue and green make it look quite busy too (in reference to your concern around too many colours) as well as looking dark. If you wanted to , it would be great to add white sheers - these are in keeping with the era, will make the house look brighter from the outside too, will make the white windows look even better, and are surprisingly good for privacy (coupled with roller blinds for night). - I forgot to mention earlier that I would definitely leave the dark lower brick and introduce some plants along there, then you wouldn't even notice the difference. Brick is a pain to paint, you then will have to clean it, it may well peel, bricks are porous and breathe, I definitely would only paint them if you have to, and I really don't think you do - it's another original element and is inoffensive. - Here's a variety of links/photos for inspiration, but I really think smartening up the house and then adding an interesting garden (there's a few looks you could go for, depending on your climate & taste!) will make it look amazing. http://thedesignfiles.net/2013/02/melbourne-home-ada-leon-kagan/  http://thedesignfiles.net/2016/02/louise-and-graeme-bell/  http://thedesignfiles.net/2015/02/tim-ross-and-michelle-glew-ross/