Agree about the paving stones - a mistake to be repaired & pulling them up & allowing someone on eBay to reuse them where they may match, sounds good. However, don't agree that the bricks are a mistake. Personally, I love textured bricks as you can pick out a colour from them to do trims & in 15 years, change the colours & refresh & still go well with the brick colours. I think yours are particularly nice. Removing shutters - great. If you can, take the opportunuty to take off the ornate screens on doors & windows & replace them with the very simple looking security screens. Renewing the roofing material to something that lets in more light is also a good idea. If it's not feasible to do at this time, it can always be planned in steps, but it's good to know ahead what the plan is/will be. Re colour choices. I would suggest not going with the current fashion completely. Remember when everything in every suburb was "mission brown"? Everything that has that colour is immediately dated. Best of luck, and enjoy

My guess is you're on the right track. Sandstone types of colours work with almost anything. Terracotta is fine too but it can look bland with too much red tones in the one area.

Yes, I think your thoughts of off-White and coffee colours for house would suit, and, if you do decide to retain the tiles on the steps, their colours would help to transition house colours to the grey pavers. Painting the dark pavers to match the other pavers, I think, would work well also, or paint over the entire paved area so it's seamless.

If you are maintaining the same exterior render colour then you will need to find a paver colour that will work with it. Paver colours vary a little bit across the country so I would check with your local supplier for some soft, light greys. http://www.adbrimasonry.com.au/homeowners/paving/see-all-paving Best of luck Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls