I think this is the perfect tone next to the brick. If you see it near a light colour, in contrast it may appear that way to some, but seeing it complete has a different impression. I think it looks modern and sophisticated. I would continue to complete the porch and reserve an opinion until then. Paint as much of the rendered base also to get the full effect. Regardless it will be painted so it's worth doing, you will be repainting soon anyway. I don't agree lightening th ecolour, it will look wushu washy next to the boldness of the brick. Your rendered brick has so much feature, this grey will accent that. Paint the rest and live with it for your husband to see. Don't stop at that square. Once you've done that, only then reconsider it. Too many people stop when they start, because they're having a reaction to change, an adjustment has to be made visually, and different is not bad. Light is comfortable, but I can't count the many of period homes that professional specifiers apply this too. How many architecturally renovated homes do you see cream? One more colour I will suggest along these lines, but not better, just slightly lighter is murky water. And last case, dune. Get all three, I would bet on your husband liking dune, which proves my theory, but dont settle on the dullest colour. It won't do the facade favors. Rather it will look ho hum. Render flattens the facade, removes character, so I think it more important than before tonuse these tones to effect to compensate the loss of character. First look at it, I smiled, that's it, keep going. Hard to trust me not knowing me, but many have to success. I have been a dulux colour finalist and are recognized for my colour specifying. Please just see it out, then you can make an informed decision, one where you've had time to adjust to a change.

The grey on the western wall looks dark and purplish on my monitor. It may come over as too imposing and monolithic on the southern face. If you're sticking with the grey palette then a warmer tone would suit the sandstone better. Does Dulux have a colour palette recommendation that includes your Berkshire White plus a grey? Check online or in store pamphlets. But, for such a big, expensive, and impactful paint job I would actually be tempted to get a colour consultant. You're not just repainting a loungeroom wall if it doesn't work!

Your house is going to blend in very well with it's surrounds once the timber has silvered off, if you choose to use colours like Colorbond Woodland Grey, Dulux "Pavings Stone" (left hand side of colour swatch in the image far below) and/or Dulux "Grey Mountain". Other darker colours that will work well in this setting include Dulux "Cambridge Hall" and Dulux "Nomadji" (mentioned before). These greys don't necessarily blend in with the fresh timber but look fantastic as the timber ages and the building is seen as a whole (see image far below). "Paving Stone" is a versatile medium, warm grey that looks really good as a render. It also works well as a neutral internal wall colour in rooms with lots of natural light. In the following image, Dulux "Grey Mountain" was used near the timber work and "Woodland Grey" on the garage walls to help the garage door become less noticeable. Remember that colours generally appear lighter than the sample when applied to external walls and darker when applied to internal walls.

hahaha tribbletrouble...U kill me :)) No charge - every week they have a free consultant at my local dulux paint shop :) Question - Do you think Surfmist matches with Colorbond Dune ?