I would bring the roof line out with a pergola. Use hardwood timber and allow a natural patina to develop. This will help to give depth to the front of the home. Dont paint or stain the hardwood timber. Maybe a glory vine, but nothing just as good, and less work. I find the teal timber paint old-fashioned. Can it be stripped back to natural timber if hardwood? Otherwise a light charcoal grey would look better as the patina of the pergola timber would go this colour. I'd remove the existing garden. Maybe a native cottage garden around the periphery of the area to include some small gums for vertical accent as well as bird appeal. Keep the lawn area, but control any wandering kikuyu if this is the current lawn. Alison

With all due respect I am going to disagree with amonymousanne, and say painting everything white is completely wrong for this style of home. It is in the "Sydney School" style where the rustic nature of the brickwork and oregon beams make up part of the character of the home. This style of your home is about organic texture and drama, so I would only paint what was previously painted, possibly in a Dulux colour called "Luck" which complements your brickwork beautifully, and is a deep brown/black colour similar to this photo. Your home may even be one of the much loved Pettit and Sevitt homes which are currently undergoing a revival in popularity if they have not been modernised beyond recognition. However the paint is only secondary to the main issue which is your landscaping which is at odds with the architecture. The style of home is more suited to an informal, native Australian garden, rather than trimmed, box-shaped shrubs that look quite alien. Your landscaping should also draw the eye to your entry, the current landscaping is concealing it. Improving the landscaping is the key to improving the street appeal, and new paint, without new landscaping won't be enough to do it. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

I think the task of transforming homes like these is an exciting challenge! If your budget is not huge then timber trimmings and paint can make a huge difference here. You could paint the brick, or better still clad it with weatherboard to soften the house, but if the budget does not allow the whole house to be clad just do the front and go around the corners by about a meter and then paint the bricks at the sides and back to match. You definitely need a verandah across the front, with the steps centred and going straight down to meet the gate - this will transform the facade and is worth spending the money on. If you dont want to change the windows consider framing them with timber to make them look larger and replace the front door with something nicer, luckily your door is centred with same size windows either side. Id suggest replacing the fence with a picket fence and matching gates to hide the concrete driveway and then screen off the long side driveway and camouflage the overhang with a picket gate to match. Paint choices here are really important, it looks like your neighbours homes are beige or grey? Consider painting the house a classic colour such as dusky blue or sage combined with light trimmings to make yours stand out from the surrounding neutral homes (ive done a couple of quick mock-ups below as examples) You need some plants but your front yard is not large so a single, low height feature tree with mulch or pebbles instead of lawn would look wonderful plus a couple of strategically placed pots. Good luck!

Wow, what a great looking house! You don't need to distract from its pure form and honesty of materials by introducing "decorative" elements that will detract from the clean lines of the architecture. If anything you should be following the original intent and simplifying it. Possibly lining the underside of the verandahs to conceal the exposed and contrasting beams. Your decorative pot is just so wrong with the house - give it to somebody who has a Tuscan style villa. Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) adopted the motto "Less is more" to describe his aesthetic. His tactic was one of arranging the necessary components of a building to create an impression of extreme simplicity—he enlisted every element and detail to serve multiple visual and functional purposes. With your house remember "Less is more". If you hate the aesthetic of your house I am sure that there will be a pretty, decorative Hamptons style house for sale in your suburb soon, just don't try to change the style of your home with unessary decoration. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls