Landscaping is the biggest issue. Have a designer come in and do up a plan for you.

As the house has wall colour all the same this gives it no focal or standout point. The landscaper may have some ideas for colour to make the landscape design shine.

As Sharon Bouchard said, Big opportunity!

What a great space and big opportunity. Firstly, it looks as though your soil is fairly sandy and possibly hydrophobic soil - before you decide on actual plans start working at improving your soil so that you're setting yourself up for success (think about a good dose of organic matter, worm compost tea, organic aids like Natramin (a personal favourite of mine) that will help get your soil working with biodiversity, structure and creating a nutritional environment for plans and micro-organisms) and then think about going with natives as they're a bit hardier than cottage/tropical garden plants.

Depending on your budget, you could pull out the fence all together or paint it a lighter colour. You could add a fence opening for pedestrian access further towards the middle and wind your path with steppers and gain a bit of privacy with arbours covered in climbing vines,. Don't hold back in putting in low growing plants in front of your fence either if you like (afterall your council ensure that you're responsible for it's maintenance).

You could also soften the edge of the driveway using curving edging - taking away the harshness of the straight lines.

I'd also look at doing something tall along the fence to balance the pencil pines on the driveway edge.

Good luck!

it's worth spending the money on a landscaper, even if it's just the plan and types of plants etc and you do it yourself. You don't want to waste time planting ones that don't suit the climate, and it's too much hard work to change if the design isn't right. Also changing the colour of the fence to the left of the house and the garage to a darker colour to break it up, spray painting might make the job easier, a green to tie in with the fence on the right maybe. Sorry another idea to make the house stand out more, would be to paint the window frames to match the garage and fence if you fancy.

Sorry, but just another idea, I like the thought of the fence being painted a red brown, a more natural darker looking timber, and with green plants behind would look great.

Thank you so much to everyone for your suggestions. It kind of confirms to me that a good landscaper might be the shot in the end. I agree MB, the house has no defining features, and I think it's all painted the same to reflect that (also the windows aren't quite symmetrical so it helps with that too). So I agree, the garden is going to be the interesting element. Eventually there will be a carport to the side of the house (something high coming off from the entry area). The garage down the back isn't a garage anymore. Georgio I had been thinking of similar ideas to yours, and I'm happy to hear you are thinking of similar things - it gives me confidence that I might be on the right track. I like your idea of softening the drive edges too, I hadn't thought about that. When you say about balancing the pencil pines, do you mean on the fence on the opposite side of the house? Thanks again everyone.

Hi - another idea - because it's the front garden, I think it might be nice to tie the style of the garden that you develop to the style of the inside of the house - at least the front part. Eg if you like things to be formal and neat looking in the entrance area / formal lounge (if you have one) then maybe some formality in the garden, with neat hedges and symmetry, but if things are more casual inside then maybe a more casual garden would feel right. I also think it can be tricky to have symmetry in the garden when the house isn't symmetrical and the door is at the side so that might push you more towards casual. I agree with the earlier comments though that planning a hedge or something on the left (as you look at the house) to balance the pencil pines and planting something small- medium sized (and perhaps strappy like agapanthus as suggested) in front of the front fence. I don't mind the fence in a dark colour, but I also agree it would be good to make the window frames etc match. I think you could have a really big impact quite easily.