Keep the face brick, don't render or paint it, it's still fashionable! The brown railings however is what really dates it. A new handrailing, repainted trims & doors will make a huge differance as would landscaping such as pathway to door, etc.

Maybe re-roof if the existing tile one leaks or has cracked tiles, etc and needs work.

The cladding? below the front windows on level 1 looks dated. Could have new windows or sliding doors or brick up lower half. Sliding door to the deck as well perhaps.

Could do a lot more but these things are for a tight budget. A bigger budget would require a professional to advise on site such as a awning over a new balcony, brick pillars each side like the newer project homes, new roof, etc.....

Thank you for the feedback. It's interesting to hear that bricks are making a come back! Agreed that we need to update the deck to a modern timber one, were toying with the idea of a small white trellis over the balcony for added interest.

Because we have white interior shutters, we see the only option for our window trim would be white. Do you agree with this?

Investing in landscaping and a proper path down to the front door is another terrific idea.

I'm wondering if we can do more though? - we're looking for maximum impact and willing to invest here.

i would consider extending the decking out and continue around the side which would add more room for entertaining. upstairs windows could be replaced with glass sliding doors or glass stacker doors, the actual upstairs doors could be window or just filled in as no need for if have sliding doors. downstairs i would consider full length paneled windows. even a merbau privacy panel at the entrance.

I agree not to render... I would paint the window trim and replace the balustrade on the balcony to update it.

Thank you! What colour would you paint the window trim? Were thinking White to match the shutters.

As an external designer, principally about landscape design, I look at your garden and see it as 'bitsy'. There is no cohesion with any of the plants and their placement.

I feel from the picture, that the site slopes towards the home - is this correct? If so, then this needs to be rectified. The slope should be away from the house.

What is at the bottom in front of the house- is it gravel or paving?

Your home to me looks like it is well made. Definitely don't render or paint. Are there posts from the decking or is it cantilevered? If cantilevered, it would look better with posts with all of the woodwork being a uniform colour. As a classic designer, I NEVER follow trends, so would suggest that you pick up the colour of the doors for the paint work or even a lighter tone of this. Grey is not good because of the roof colour.

If your house colours are neutral, you can bring in other colours with the garden, the best colour of all in a garden being green. And I would keep the garden simple, with variations through texture of different colours of green with trees for vertical accent and ground covers at their base with broad garden beds. You could have lawn joining these beds together or a fine aggregate.

But a big change to the slope and the garden overall would significantly improve the street appeal to your home.

Wow - thanks for such detailed feedback Tamandra Design and landscaping. Unfortunately we cant change the slope as the house is situated on the low side of the road, we need to work with it. However, i dont understand what you mean by the colour of the doors for paintwork? Cheers

If you look at the tan colour of the doors in the upper level, I think that this could be a good choice for the paint work for the timber throughout. Does this make sense?

I would get rid of the big tree stump and then work on your garden, selecting 3 to 5 plants that you like of varying heights and then using them throughout the area. If you triangulate them all using 3 of each variety, then you get a balanced, cohesive design.

Good luck with it.

Alison

I'd paint everything, bar the brickwork, white and maybe change the balustrading to stainless steel wire... It would be great if you could change the roof to colourbond!

May I suggest, go to your local paint shop or Bunnings. For around $150 an interior colour consultant from Dulux or any paint company, will come out and have all the colour cards with her. She will give you advise on the spot at home.Then if you buy the paint from them, the money you spent on the consultant will be deducted from the paint you purchased. Great investment. win win situation.Good luck

Given you've already added white shutters, you're probably going to benefit from white windows. White balcony rail, entry door and bottom floor trims will also look fine with the blonde brick and save you rendering. Rendering often tells people you may be covering up faults, such as cracks. And then needs constant maintenance if your house moves and does introduce a render crack. I would avoid rendering solid brickwork. Repaint the roof tiles in black to spruce it up as well. Hopefully the internal wood elements haven't all be blanded out. These 1970s homes can be great with the right furniture and often don't need the removal of all the war elements like wood trims, beams and brick that make them unique. Spend time greening the garden, definitely worthwhile.

get rid of all the brown and do a WARM white...new balcony balustrade

I agree that changing the roof to iron would be great but its all in the garden in my opinion. Might be worth getting a landscape architect even if you then do the work?

Good luck ....this is not a horrible house.

So much potential with this beaut property! Agree with the above comments - keep the brick, paint the windows and update that deck to get the most out of it!

Perhaps upgrade the balustrade to some glass fencing? You can install the fences below yourself:

Number 17 · More Info

Sandstone Pool Landscape · More Info

Not a brick fan, still rendering this facade does seem a shame. I would invest in good quality windows. I would go for a sort of Asian/Modern look with black rimmed modern windows and sliding doors. It will look a lot cleaner and more harmonious I think like that. Then invest in the porch and balcony areas and keep it either clear as suggested above or black to match the windows. Sorry in a hurry can't find a facade to illustrate, but below gives an interior with such doors.

Narrabundah House · More Info

Do wander though any local housing sites new ones to find houses with your brick colours to see how they have worked with it in 2016 styles . I am planning a new home and intend to do bricks as sooo many houses are doing rendering that infant to be different and avoid going painting costs in future.

I think render would look good on your style house. I agree with Undercover Architect above, the exterior needs to connect with the interior, doesn't have to be exact but similar. So if you're Hamptons or French Country etc I'd be looking at those designs for inspiration. Wishing you success!

I don't find your house "ugly", even though some updating would be good. Rendering is not a good idea - very expensive, hard to change. Based on keeping your current brick, I'd look at painting windows/trims etc something that toned, not white. Also extend/re-bannister deck. Get your garden work done and then look at what colour would work best with brick and garden. Yes, seek professional help from colour consultant at paint place. But with a little work, I think your house could be very attractive. Don't change it into something it isn't - go with the bones and style and upgrade.

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I would extend the deck so it replaces the carport (so you still have carport and big deck up top, new ballustrade, new cladding under windows, paint hte windows, path to front door. Do something with stairwell window. Leave the brick. Its a maintenance nightmare later if bagging and painting or just painting. Bricks need to breath too. Ditch the tile at the front door. Stone look would look great with the garden.

Agree with suggestions by Undercover Architect. Dark coloured trimming and windows and doors and steel balustrading will give nice contrast from light coloured bricks.

And here I was thinking how attractive this home was. Embrace its time. Paint windows, and generally smarten up. Look with fresh eyes

Oh geez....I've got similar ugly bland blonde 1979ish bricks that we're trying to figure out what to do with and everyone here say to leave it!

Do not touch the bricks.....render or painting will require constant maintenance and is a real pain( I speak from experience!). Changing the window trim and roof colour will provide the update you are looking for. Also the other comments on modernising the balcony are excellent.

My house doesn't have the balcony. We've had the roof, guttering, fascia board and soffits painted. Replaced the HUGE coloured amberglass which was unsightly with white glass that helps keep the heat out of the internal staircase. Not looking at HamptonHamptons look but did also consider using Hardie horizontal boards as love weatherboard look. The blonde bricksare uglyand nononeof our friends think otherwise!!!!

I'd keep the brickwork, have the roof refinished and the trims and balcony railing to a pale eucalyptus green (a pale greeny gray) that will fit in with the surroundings. I'd also paint the front door and re-tile with a pale sandstone pavers in keeping with your bushland setting. I'd also look at deciding on a garden style and start layering plants and getting a good quality mulch .

Looks like a good solid home. Definitely lose the balustrade, glass would be great either with no top rail or top rail in crisp white or smart black. What about replacing some of the brickwork with weatherboards to break up the brick expanses and introduce some white, or colour, on the weatherboards to go with your shutters. Maybe under the windows and on the panels by the entry doors. Your entry door styles could also be replaced by a more modern style in a feature colour. Red, pink, lime green or styley black.

Keep the brick, please don't paint or render. Both eat into your budget (rendering in particular is not cheap), and will mean more ongoing upkeep (render still needs to be painted on a regular basis and with a two-storey house, that is a lot more work). Our house is rendered and we would never have it again. Whenever the house moves, the render doesn't, so is prone to cracking or, over time, pieces even falling off. Even subtle movement can cause hairline cracks, which means regular patching and painting. Quite frankly, most people render an older house to make it look modern, but when rendering becomes passe (which I think is already starting to happen), then the house will look dated again (and render is almost impossible to remove once its on). Also, if you're in an area prone to termites, termites can get in between the render and the brickwork and you won't see the telltale signs of "mud" at the access points to let you know they're there. As far as the rest of the house goes, I totally agree with what Timandra Design recommended.

This is an old post...is the owner still logging in?

I've got same ugly house issues so I'm interested to hear comments

I don’t find the house that ugly (esp compared to most Mcmansions and many volume build homes), the only thing that really jars for me is the balustrade. Keep the bric. Work on the landscaping