Well, for us our first 'house' was an old 50's commission house, very sturdy solid brick but small, old, ugly and bad layout (oh that layout was completely wrong)... it was bought solely based on location (young families in the area, good schools, easy access to public transport, shops, capital growth, etc)... we considered renovating and/or extending more than once, considered moving a couple of times, had two past failed attempts at building, and all of the above for various reasons redundancy, GFC, you name it... so we waited, tried, failed, waited, tried again, sweated long summers w/o A/C, one long winter with a broken heater, not to mention the broken dishwasher (arh those dishes) and drove each other mad in that house... nevertheless it had provided us with a roof over our heads and in which we had more happy memories for 14 long, very long years... but now, now that we finally can, we have kept the memories and have gladly said goodbye to this old house earlier in the year, to make way for our new second house which will definitely be our 'forever home' and we cannot wait... my mama always said 'good things come to those who wait' I guess she was right :)

The trouble with that Tribble4152k7 Trek is that everyone reading who has not experienced it thinks its just a page of jokes. The trouble with many milennials is they want everything now and have 'tanties' thiking they are entitled to it then they compare themselves and their situation to others when they have no idea how those others got where they are. It doesn't drop out of the sky for anyone but it might gush up from the ground for some Oil rich people. Some have absolutely no idea of what "I can't afford that" means! A good starter home is one you can afford but unfortunately, when they have no idea what "afford" means its not going to work is it? From what I've seen some milennials can't even manage on two salaries...and good salaies at that, many times because they include in their budget too many things they consider are absolute necessities. Because some of them earn two salaries they believe they are entitled to certain luxuries...theres that word again...the two words that defeat the purpose of getting their own home...even with a mortgage.... "afford" and "entitled". Sometimes $5 is out of the range of affordability and sometimes a two salaried couple forget why they are working so hard and reward themselves for their efforts. Then there's the syndrome "keeping up with the Joneses"...must not lose face, must not appear underpriviledged, must be able to measure up and match the spending habits of friends....who, you never know, might be doing exactly the same thing. My maxim has always been...and I count it as the reason I survive on very little, is,,,"Old is not bad" - " Out of fashion does not mean its broken" - If it works and is safe don't discard it and if it costs little to fix...fix it.... recycle, repurpose and re-use. If you can pick it up at the Op Shop its somebody else's loss and your good fortune. Finally, ask yourself..."Do I want this or do I really really need it?'...that's a good one. I always maintain that if you have something that you had to work really hard and save scrupulously to get...then you are entitled to it...and that applies to small things and to getting a home of your own.

I'd definitely leave the brick and the roof, it looks like a good, solid and classic house a and the front door would come up beautifully in a smarter colour. I'd paint your front door, gutters and garage door Dulux Monument and it would look fantastic, particularly with your brick and roof couloirs and that lovely sandstone. Then the gables in the same sandy colour as your posts, though if it's too yellow-creamy you could use a warm grey taupe like Dulux Dieskau. Replace the coach lights with a sleeker but still classic version like Beacon's Southhampton and an additional pair either side of the front door. Replace the urns with say 3 simple tubular pots of varying heights on the left side with some interesting crassula and rounded Japanese box. Trim your hedge right down and thin out to shoulder height. Not sure if you can replace the finials on your fence as this Victorian style doesn't suit your house and is a bit dated. Then rip out any ratty looking plants (poor roses always look ratty!) and replace with plants that are ideal for the aspect - if they're in the shade only put in clients that in part shade even magnolia little gem is versatile. Otherwise a lovely sweet viburnum will add softness and bright foliage. Plant mondo grass in the tall pot and remove the pew bench and rectangular planters and get a new small batch of fresh pebbles for between the square pavers. You could even put an interesting bench (or that pew) along the wall on the right of the front door, style it up with a couple of outdoor cushions (KMART even have some smart stripe ones). and finally get the roof cleaned but otherwise leave it! it's a great house, it won't take much to make it look really fresh and stylish.

it's a gorgeous house, nothing as awful as your description: think Roman mid century modern for inspiration but you must keep the breeze bricks (with an extra railing to bring it up to safe legal balcony height 865cm? and the stone panelling but the stacked bricks and the stair railings look too dainty and would be better with a solid framework to match the chunky pergola and, unless you have a gorgeous view from inside the house, consider making the front upstairs balcony railing in a solid panel (try painting the glass to trial a dark colour) and clad the whole upstairs balcony wall with the Scyon panelling but i prefer the dark (painted dark grey?) brick at the front with the very distinctive square white arch...