Thanks for your advice, you have some great points. I agree, we don't want to go crazy at the start - just do the bits that we need to make the house safe/comfortable to live in (eg fix electrical, put in heating and cooling) plus do the basics to make it look "nice" inside (paint walls, polish floorboards and new light fittings like you suggested). I'm sure this will end up costing quite a bit anyway so this might be it for now! We also found today a few hidden surprises that will require attention asap, like asbestos vinyl in between the carpet and floorboards unfortunately and the fact that there used to be chimney hearths in the bedrooms that they have just replaced with cheap pine boards (not matching the rest of the boards). Having a nice garden design will also make a huge difference I think. You are right, there is lots of concrete and a bit of grass - very different from what we are used to (coming from an established garden) so I'm longing for some trees there already!

we successfully used Sarlon roller blinds on the outside of windows...make sure the blind is held out from the window to maintain air flow We also created a screened outdoor room using black Sarlon cloth attached to frames enclosing a verandah (access through an old fashioned fly screen covered in Sarlon)...initially to keep out the sun but it also did a great job of keeping out bugs and keeping inside warmer in cold weather..the black Sarlon has the effect of looking through fly screens thus improving the view looking out and obscuring the view looking in during the day...i suggest you double check the use of double glazing in the tropics as you need to allow heat to escape overnight and a window covering would be better on the inside to keep heat in during short periods of cold weather

If you are thinking for your roof restoration then I would suggest for Roof Makeover Specialist the best & affordable roof restoration Melbourne wide from a professional roofing contractor.

I agree with bigreader that grey and cream rarely work well together. You won't many photos of thic combination as it doesn't work. I would be considering other options before painting red brick - as once painted it is there forever. A picture would help Houzzers make some suggestions. Grey paint is the apricot paint of the 2020's. Best of luck with your considerations, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls