I love this house - it's got so much potential for "wow" with a small budget, depending on the materials you use and if you're prepared to do all/part of the work yourselves. A trip to your local hardware store will help you get costings and work out what you feel able to do yourself and where you're going to employ experts. If the pergola is council approved, I'd keep it, extend a deck (eco wood is easy to use for a beginner handyperson) where the pergola is. I'd add a louvered roof over it so that you have a living space (I'd use specialists for this), and a way of keeping hot summer sun off the front of the house. As it looks like you've got a metal roof, I'd think about painting it, the house trim and the garage doors the same colour to give your home a sense of cohesiveness and keep the exterior walls white as it looks fresh, doesn't date and is in keeping with the style and period of your home. Refreshing the front garden beds will make a huge difference too.

Hi Jasmine almost impossible to give you accurate guidance without room measurements. However a layout similar to below could work with the right size furniture & the TV mounted either over the fireplace or close by. If you got 2 backless bar stools at the kitchen bench this would give you added seating as people can turn around & face the lounge area & be a part of the conversation. This layout also keeps the walk way free to the deck area. A rug would anchor the area. However again I can only say that without room measurements it is difficult to give you the best advice.

I was looking at the plan and although your question is about styling I noticed something. It doesn't look like the wc has a washbasin which would make it a proper powder room and it seems to me you could do that by borrowing a corner from one of the walk-in robes. Corners in robes are difficult spaces to utilise efficiently anyway. If you want to avoid arguments over who gets the bigger walk-in robe you could perhaps take the corner out of the other one to create a cupboard in the hallway. I agree with the comments about your home being shared with the people and things that matter to you and reflecting your travels and interests. I'm not sure you can 'buy' instant character, even if your builder was amenable to using recycled materials. I think getting the basic colours right to begin with is the main thing, and as suggested, an Ideabook will help you get ideas and get feedback on them. For street appeal I think landscaping is more important than people sometimes allow. Display homes look impressive but have been lushly planted for instant effect and I have seen some that looked terrible a few years after being sold. On the other hand some new houses don't have enough planting, and that can also look terrible even when the house itself is architecturally impressive. The token row of whichever plant is in fashion in an expanse of pebbles does not necessarily enhance the architecture and certainly does not make the house look like a much-loved home. When browsing Houzz or the real estate websites, I sometimes see houses I dislike even though they tick all the boxes for colours and features I like, and I sometimes see houses I like despite having colours and features I would not personally choose. There is something that comes together to create a home that looks happy and loved which is very appealing.

Alenka, thanks for sharing those photos. How wonderful. When I moved up to the Macedon Ranges I swore I didn’t want exposed brick or wood paneling. I’d only lived in Victorian, federation or cal bungalow houses in Melbourne, though I appreciate mid century modern design. Then I fell in love with and bought the house in the photo (but hate the light fitting). Even though our family circumstances changed and we had to sell I still love the authenticity of the materials, the attention to detail and the connection all of the rooms have with the outdoors, including main bathroom and toilet. Really bad orientation though so it was cold and dark and very hard to heat in winter. Cool in summer however. Our new build will draw on some of the best aspects of this house, and will include internal recycled brick walls in some rooms for thermal mass and interest, indoor outdoor flow and courtyards, raked ceilings etc, but 8 star energy rating and oriented to take advantage of northern light. I love your house.