Thanks Anne and I will look at pale grey given the maintenance considerations. I have already paid for a colour consultant who was great but the Reckless grey she suggested for the house render and basalt gutters/fascia and front wall were too grey when we had the render samples put on and while it had a modern look, it was not giving the beach/coastal feel. I will head back into our inspirations paint store this morning to see if I can find the warm grey colours that have the most similar colour make up to Dune, and go from there. Anne you don't happen to know the dulux colour most close in composition to Colorbond Dune so I know where to start? Thanks again and I would love to hear from anyone who has got a dune roof and hear if they tried light coloured gutters and what render colours they have used on their walls.

Look at 'Iron Ash'. Its a treated version of what you're after. Don't know anything about it but seen it recently on the web. Overall avoid Merbau as mentioned above, as well as being an imported 'sustainably' managed timber.... Use local product's when available as they're manufacturered to high standard's, supporting local job's, companies must meet tight regulation's, etc. unlike other countries....

We had timber tri-folds (also facing north) in our previous home and whilst our landlord sanded and re-finished every couple of years, they didn't stay fresh for very long and it affected the integrity of the timber too (slight warping and 'furring'). I used some Haymes Exterior Solarshield recently and it was brilliant over very poor quality timber and I noticed it's guaranteed for 20 years?! It was acrylic and very easy to use, but has sealed the timber beautifully. It may be better option for the longer term if you're happy with the look of painted. It would look lovely and one less thing to worry about!

If the home was built in 1938 it is not a Federation Bungalow. It is an interwar home (between the two world wars), with an art-deco influence. There would probably be art-deco style ceiling roses and cornices inside? This photo is a neat solution that would work well. The existing brick fence on the front boundary was maintained. A new taller steel fence was built about 600mm inside the boundary, which incorporated a gate. In this case it was a hinged gate, but a sliding, electric powered gate could also work. The space between the old brick fence and the new steel fence was planted out with a hedging plant, in this case a Pittosporum, and was trimmed to conceal the new fence. This saved costs as the original brick fence and footings did not have to be demolished - although it looks like somebody had a go with a car next to the driveway!