Replace the front door and joining window with a set of double doors - either solid oak or just classic glossy black. They will add value to your home, personality and will make life easier when it comes to moving in or out large sized pieces of furniture that can be a headache if you tried to fit through a single door. The path to the front door can either be painted a colour of your own choice or even paved, while I would also add a border of either pebbles or flowers (e.g. Lavender, Geraniums, Agapanthus, what ever suits your fancy ) down the right hand side of the path to add colour and a visual aspect to your front yard. Make sure your whole front yard looks neat, clean and tidy. If possible, employ the services of a landscape artist. Though highly expensive, he or she may give some quality advice in how to capitalise on your existing garden.

I am a straight male haha , so probably have no design flair , but I do have 30 years expereince of doing up my own houses . Firstly , I'd take an overall view , and not focus just on the doorway . The house appears to be a lighter grey , while the door surround is a darker grey/charcoal . I'd be inclined to paint the door and the screen door the same colour , and go with a bright gloss colour -- citrus orange ; teal ( the greys seem 70's , and teal was a 70's colour ) ; fire engine red ; purple if you are brave . By painting both , it looks more planned and integrated IMO . If you or the house wants to be 'playful' , maybe attach larger '3D' street numbers to the door too , either large brass or stainless ones ; or MDF painted a complementary but different colour . Anything over 12mm ( 1/2 inch ) thick would look good , and give that 3D effect . BUT I'd also pick out some highlights around the whole house ( maybe an eve or all the window surrounds or similar ) and do in the darker grey/charcoal ) ; and some subtle places to add the orange or teal or red or purple -- maybe the window sills and/or the gutters or similar . This , in my unprofessional opinion , would lift but also integrate the whole house , highlight the door but not so that it looks dis-associated ?

About your question about sourcing some of your own internal fittings. It is best you discuss this with the builder early on. Usually, the builder's contract will specify an allowance for particular fixtures. However, some may specify actual brand and model of fittings ie taps, toilets, sinks, etc in their quote, and they may or may not allow you to vary this. IF you are happy with those specified fixtures and you think the allowance amount is reasonable, then you can go with it. Otherwise, any changes or variances need to be discussed with builder, and it is very important this be discussed upfront and before any contract is signed. Some building contracts may also disallow some variances. In any event, carefully read the contract so you completely understand what you are agreeing to, and discuss any and all parts where you are not in agreement so these issues can be ironed out. Also, and this is my own experience and opinion, but I advise specifying in the contract the completion date AND if the build is not completed on time then what happens (consider that you may be paying interest on your mortgage, be financing a bridging mortgage, etc. and/or you may also have already sold your home and then have to pay rent until the build is finished). If you are in agreement with builder to source some of the internal fittings yourself, there are any number of suppliers and sources to investigate, and this might be a good way to keep your budget in check. There will be Houzzers who are experienced at this and can provide you with ideas. Just keep in mind that you will have to have all fittings READY and ON SITE when the tradesmen require them, otherwise you will be holding up the build and that is going to cost YOU money.

The price is real ... Project builders can build for approx $850/m2 and sell most project homes for around $1000-$1050/m2 (base price!!!!). Where you will need to shell out more is when you look into things like :- The kitchen package (laminex benchtop & Carcass) could be $3000-$5000 price difference just in the benchtop; The external cladding could be cheap masonite or vinyl cladding system which will be outdated before you've moved in or you could be looking for something classy like James Hardie SCYON cladding (Stria, Linea, Axon) cladding systems - add $10,000 - $12,000; The tiles in bathrooms - could be $1.000 to $5,000 difference in prices here; The type & quality of timber flooring (if any), the type and quality of carpet could be cheap $3,200 carpet package for entire home or it could be $8,000 carpet with quality underlay which is LOW VOC (important if you have kids and love your family) or $18,000 for timber floor or it could be $45,000 for european parquet flooring throughout if you have an aversion to carpet because of allergies; The type & quality of PC items such as taps, toilets, vanity, shower rail / head, kitchen sink, towel rails right down to the toilet paper holder - there could be $5,000-$9,000 price difference here; The type and quality of main kitchen fittings such as cooktop, rangehood, oven (could be $900 package for an unknown brand or it could be $2,200 for something decent 600mm wide or $3,500 for something decent 900mm wide or it could be Miele and cost $5,000. Then if you look at the windows and sliding / stacker / bifold doors ... these could be cheap aluminium with 4mm float glass or you could be wanting 100mm x 50mm commercial aluminium with 6.38mm laminated tinted glass with low-e glass to all your western windows or you could be more interested in PVC windows with a steel internal frame with double glazing and blinds built into the double glazed unit with tilt and turn doors and windows - price difference is at least $10,000-$30,000; That's about 75% of the major decisions that you might want to investigate further. The biggest factor you'll be hit with is a little thing called 'site costs'. This is where project builders get to charge like wounded bulls. Any land that you find which is not 'dead level' will incur additional fees (counted in the thousands) and any soil classification which is not 'M' class substrata will incur additional fees. You may find an additional $40,000 - $200,000 slapped on for these charges and it will be disguised as "i'm so sorry but your land will need piers and footings and some serious excavation - there is nothing that we or any builder can do about it" Then if you want to upgrade the tap and kitchen sink you will find their pricing regime is out of this world. I built a single level home for a pharmacist and his family in north sydney back in 2011 and quoted $750,000 (it was a big home - almost 300m2) and the client got a bit edgy with me after months of discussions and decided to approach a few project builders after seeing advertisements for single level home packages starting from $370,000. After they had gotten part way through their enquiry process and had a site inspection and soil classification test carried out they were presented with a quote for $610,000 and that was without any of the travertine or double glazing or spray foam insulation or acoustic walls and home theatre systems that I had proposed. I think the shock of a project builder jumping from $370k to $610k overnight scared them more than my initial quote of $750k. We finished up at $830k after the lady had made all her decisions including $100,000 joinery (cabinetry for kitchen, laundry, custom vanities, walk in robes, built in robes, study) and $80,000 of Miele appliances (including $3,600 coffee machine) ... strangest part was SHE DIDN'T COOK. There was a massive bbq area with built-in bbq and wine fridge and indoor and outdoor fireplace and custom landscaping and the list went on. My point is, I believe you will get much more value - both immediate value for you and your family to enjoy when you move in AND resale value (people do appreciate quality and will pay for it) if you build with a proper builder and architect / designer who designs the size, style, external finishes and internal products to be how you want them and a quality that will last. If, however, you do not have the capacity to invest somewhere around $700k - $800k for this monstrous 52 square home you are looking at, but need the room to accommodate your family, then by all means investigate further with the project builder. I've been doing a touch typing course lately to help with my report writing and it has been quite interesting just rattling away at the keyboard without looking and giving you the best of my experience over the last 10 minutes. Hope it's of some benefit to you and your family. Best regards, Steve.