We also bought an 80's (decade that style forgot!) 2nd house & have been renovating over the last couple of years. Lots of red feature brick, dark wood, slate floors (ugh), dark. In most of the brick areas we rendered then painted Dulux Lexicon 1/2, where there was brick adjoining built in wardrobes we painted the brick. Also beadboarded over red brick walls dividing the main spaces. Painted all of the dark woodwork - beams, skirts, archs & doors Dulux White on White. The slate however was a major undertaking to remove. Did this in the dining & kitchen areas as there is clear delineation between these spaces & the main living area. Jackhammer, lots of noise & dust. Slate remains in the main living area as it's too big an expanse to contemplate going through the removal process & mess again. Have used light coloured rugs on those floors. Believe you can get slate ground down to flatten out bumps then cover it with tile or a floating floor. However if there's any drumminess in the slate it won't provide a reliable subfloor for another covering. In the laundry & bathroom we tiled over the slate, as these were smaller areas. Looks fine & you would never know it was there. Lighting is critical, but you'll find as soon as you eliminate some of the dark brick colour light will reflect rather than being sucked into the space. Here are some before & after images showing comparison, out of the dark & into the light...

Hi JV, I think unless you are planning to do a huge facelift to the home, I would just embrace the retro feel rather than trying to mask it and have it looking too random and shoddy. I actually think the cream brick at the sides is quite cool, it looks in really good shape, I would definitely leave that! And the trellis, I just think you can't fight it as it's all the balustrade too. Replacing that with glass will just look like a 70s home with bad out of place glass added. I like your timber idea, though I'd just go a regular cladding rather than decking which will look... well like decking on the wall! Get a cladding (Even a Scyon style product), paint it a light charcoal (or even a dark olive/khaki colour) and it would look stylish, retro and actuallypretty cool as I'd expect from an IT guy. Add some plants (mother in laws tongue, a crassula, another succulent) in a few pots of varying heights (say 3), add a stylish outdoor light, maybe a plaque wiht your business name, a cool doormat, remove the screen door and I think it would look great. Look up mid century modern references, there's a lot. Even though it's not mid century, you could stretch to that. I think it would look far better than trying to mask what you've got and have it come off as looking really amateur.

All the 'sad' and disapppinted people commenting here; those who 'dislike this and that, or want to see 'character' retained, etc, etc, ought to get out more; to go see the world. As far as I can see, much of the architectual integrity HAS been retained. Is this 'sadness' a Victorian thing?; must we save all the old buildings, all the trees, the whole planet - from what? For what? Despite the hype, we're not likely to tip the place off it's axis anytime soon. Likewise with older houses; give them fresh breath, i say. Using whatever our creative and forward-looking brains can offer us is a positive solution to all things. My recently renovated heart agrees! This cosmetic reno' is nothing short of a grand improvement on its' former presentation; it's lighter, brighter and far more livable; refecting the owners outlook on life, I'd say. So, to all the 'experts', to those who want to pretend that they'd prefer to live in the dark ages - say, the 70's which were notoriously bland and most everything built then was built to a tough budget. ( I remember building in the 70's, in the 80s', renovating and building in the 90s', the nouties and still renovating now; i just can't seem to leach it out of my DNA as I complete the restoration of a 1930's Cal' Bung', one runied in the 70s' by some hapless 'handyman' who insatlled a plastic Chub and added a Victorian bull-nose verandah! All my homes turned out differently as my tastes and budget changed. Beginning in 1974 when I painted the front door of my 60's 2-bedder, bright yellow, the weatherboards 'Conifer'; the darkest posible green, now cracking in the sun, no doubt! Or has it been renovated by some 21st century house-hipsters? Then in 1976 I chose Avo' toilets, basins and bath ! Used native timbers, unpainted T & G everywhere, too ) I pulled out 'space wasting' french doors and installed open arches ! And wall-papered everything that didn't move. Not every so-called 'mid-century' home is a classic, or is worth preserving. Like this one probably was, they were pretty darned ordinary, particularly compared to those of the Victorian, Edwardian, the Art Deco and Californian Bungalow styles before them; all of which HAD definable chararcter, had enduring stlye; and are much sought-after and highly valued for having it laid, thickly, throughout. 70s' era homes were / are lacking wholly in character; and they lacked space, lacked insulation, lacked lots of design and comfort amenity we all want and deserve today. They're, nevertheless, given a new and longer life when younger eyes and energy are applied to their renovation, design and decor. Good on them!

Hi Anne, Your home is beautiful with so much potential. There have been some clever ideas presented but I think its important to have an overall plan that you're working towards. This way you avoid needing to re-do certain areas. With the overall plan you would decide which materials you like and what needs to change and then you can stick to that plan as you roll out the changes. For instance, I think the brick on fireplace wall is a lovely feature of the home but the brick in the kitchen area is competing with it. With the timber panelling, it was certainly a feature of the home originally but these days we tend to paint out the panelling to make spaces feel lighter and more open. We often use Dulux China White when working with robust materials like brick and timber as it has a warm stone like tone. In one of the pictures, I can see that there is a full feature brick wall in another room which should creates a lovely flow and consistency. This is a home in Fairhaven Victoria that looked just like yours (but without the brick) and was painted in the China White. Cheers, Vikki. Your bathroom will also looks great with a touch of paint and a new vanity.