I would paint the roof charcoal grey, the exterior walls a lighter grey. Trimmings in black, same with the slats beneath the verandah. It would blend into the environment and bring attention to the view of the mountains in the background. To add a pop of colour and bring focus to the front door in an inviting way, I would paint it red.

Hi Brett about 5 to 10 years ago the trend was if your design style was contemporary your trim colour was the same as the walls and if your design style was classic your trim was a lighter, often white contrast to the wall colour. These days the trend is to the latter regardless of your design style as your builder's designers suggested. However matching your trim colour to the walls is still a good option if you have 8' ceilings. As there is minimal difference (only in the level of sheen) between the skirting boards and wall colour it makes the ceiling look higher. Another option is to do the trim in a similar but lighter tone such as Dulux Grey Pebble quarter. This is a very subtle tone on tone look. Whatever the colour, do you have a choice in the sheen level for your trim? I generally recommend semi gloss enamel on trim unless you are after a more classic look and your woodwork is in very good condition (the higher the sheen level the more any imperfections show up), in which case you could consider full gloss enamel. At the end of the day it's your home so you should do what you'd prefer - after all it's only paint so it's easily changed! All the best with your build.

Don't cover the bricks with bagging, if there is no need. Once the brick has been covered there is no turning back. As Kate has suggested, square up the verandah supports, with timber. Then landscape, landscape, and landscape.

Here are a couple of other angles that show the back of the house with the office - currently clad in weatherboards and duo tone with Dune and Ironstone but soon to be all Ironstone corrugated iron like the office - and the entry at the front of the house. Do I just keep the Dune, or go for a lighter white?