The charring of wood as a method of preservation is nothing new and was known to European and Mediterranean builders as well as Asians. I have for years charred the bases of deck posts and such as a rot preventative. The practice is mentioned in John Fitchen's classic book Building Construction Before Mechanization. Some of the samples of this shown above are a bit crude. The most beautiful finishes of this type are rather labor intensive as some of the char can be brushed back off to some extent to reveal wood grain. The planter shown below has been coated on the interior with linseed oil, blackjack and turpentine and then set alight with a roofer's torch. The finish is cooked into the wood producing a carbonized insect and decay resistant surface. It gets filled with soil and so the char will be seen only at the edges.

The weatherboard look suits so stay with that but maybe a recladd in an FC Weatherboard. Have a look at Scyon Linea. Which is a high performance version of Fibro Cement. Also use some architraves around windows and doors. A repaint will make a big change. I'm not a fan of blue blue I'm more a grey so look at 'Windspray' or 'Timeless Grey'. Paint the new architraves in white or 'Shale Grey'. One other change I would make is landscaping. Have a professional do a design for you this where you'll really make the property your own.

The house is fairly small from the photo but elevated on a basement or garage plinth. If the base is brick, leave it as is. But whatever colour you chose, eliminate contrasts so if, say, a soft French grey, paint the walls, window and door joinery and roof flashing the same colour. A contract could be the new deck rail, but I would even consider painting it the same colour as the basement to link the 2 levels or just the same as the top. A bright glossy front door could break up the monotone.

This is the inside of the house. The bottom photo is the inside of that extension. The House is a Yellowy Creamy colour that is very dated and we want to change to a more neutral off white at a later date. I did think that a white or off white for the outside might look a bit too white and washed out with the white Brick. The Brick does have like charcoal flecks through it. So maybe that colour could be good to coordinate with.