Hi Sandra, Being in a marine environment either option you go with will require a bit of maintenance over time the salt air is pretty unforgiving. If you do decide to go with render make sure you go with an acrylic render it will last alot longer and avoid cracking much better than if you go with a traditional cement render only. Generally the cement render is applied and then the acrylic render is applied over the top this makes the cement render a lot stronger and more flexible. You can tint the acrylic render to the colour you wish so if you want you don't even have to paint it. Although some people still apply a bonding agent and paint it regardless. Good luck with your project I hope it turns out great.

Do you have any photos of your area

Yep , looks good ! The older white bricks now look even less cared for though , so a blast or a chemical clean . Also , the window with the pointy facade above it , looks a bit average as it is IMO . You have the contour and point of difference there , but painting it the same just means it blends in . The main render colour is charcoal with a blue tone -- I'd do the pointy bit in a lighter silvery blue just to add interest , without being too dramatic or different .

Once we get more texture (rugs, wall scones, pops of colour, shelves) and accent furniture in the room… it will seem a lot less bare. We were really going for a more masculine industrial feel here. The rest of our house is all over the map lol. Balinese front living room. Rustic modern farmhouse kitchen/dining room. Hamptons bedrooms… but each space is thoughtfully decorated and neat/modern. I don’t like to have the whole house seem the same…. So we have ‘areas’