Definitely go charcoal, would show off the stone wall beautifully, add more lush planting to your palm area, also you could add a designer look with star jasmine trained on wire, would tie in with your outdoor furniture, could look fabulous.

The 'underneath' is really nice , and that would be my preferred option . The current cladding does remind me of a Queenslander -- well , a Queensland shearing shed . Sorry to be so rude , but it's not great -- even the windows are different sizes ! The only couple of positives ( apart from the obvious fact that it is your home ) is that the windows appear quite dark , and that front stair looks quite pleasant in charcoal or black . The gable in a faded green doesn't help , nor match anything . A green like the Houzz house may suit , a mid blue , a steel blue , a yellow -- hell , most greys would be better , and thats saying something ! So that would be my step 1 . Step 2 would be better steps ! Even if you kept the existing ones , added railings , horizontal boards around the base in charcoal . If you are on a real tight budget , get a couple of sheets of smokey grey perspex cut so that they are about 100mm smaller than the holes in the railings , and attach using 10mm wide strips of stainless steel . Likewise , close in around the base of your house , as you quite rightly said , with horizontal railings , 100mm wide , 25mm gaps , stained charcoal . Maybe do the top rail in the same colour as your gable , so it looks a bit planned and interesting . The side fences -- stain in charcoal . Around the windows -- mask ( masking tape ) and paint in a metallic charcoal so that the sizes appear the same . A front fence would help , but all it needs is a 100 x 100 rail , with chamfered corners , mounted at a 45 degree angle , about 250-300mm above ground level on short posts , stained charcoal too . Add a letterbox , keeping to the monotone theme , so the only real colour is your gable . The life will be , as you said , in your excellent garden , and that is all it needs until you have the $$$ or braveness to go back to the houses roots .

If you do light fence and dark posts , what colour will you do the wooden section ? I think that if you did the wood in charcoal , which is the logical colour , it is going to look funny with the posts also dark -- it will look like you have done the whole fence dark , think it is too dark , so have painted the lower panels lighter to try and lighten it . And when you say about changing 'the doors' to match , I hope you mean the garage doors ? I was nearly going to suggest in my earlier reply , but I had made enough suggestions that didn't relate to the fence -- but I love the warmth but also lighter honey tones of the entrance door , and was going to suggest changing the garage doors to a similar warm honey wood . Doing the entrance door darker would be a mistake IMO -- it will darken the spot you want to be light and welcoming ! My 'it wont be cheap' suggestion ( aka money doesn't matter too much ) would be the fence the same as the house , the fence caps and house trim in charcoal ( both being horizontal lines ) , the entrance door as it is BUT change the garage to match , and the fence timber too ! That way , you get the roughness of the house and fence , but toned down and warmed up with the honey toned wooden highlights . Again , you don't have to agree , just an idea .

@dreamer yes I was thinking a simple timber balustrade would look better than a more modern one. we are planing on putting a covered deck off the back with a similar balustrade too. @fianou Luca I love fixed upper. They were the reason we bought this house as I could see the potential. it is much harder than it looks go bring a look all together. I was contemplating painting the brick lighter like a wash but to scared to vomit incase it looks terrible and it is an expensive job to do. I was even thinking of putting shutters on the windows downstairs to give the front some texture