I personally think the cladding would look nice and be the easiest to maintain. We also live on the Gold Coast and have a brick house that has been rendered (not by us) and, to be honest, it is not particularly low maintenance (if you want it to stay looking good that is). It is prone to leaching which leaves ugly stains so regularly needs retouching with the paintbrush. It can also develop small cracks in the render due to temperature change and movement. However, the most worrying thing for us is with regards to termites. If you render over your brick on the lower half of your house, it is highly unlikely you will see the telltale "mud" they leave that indicates they are trying to gain access into your house (they climb up in between the render and the brickwork). I would be trying to keep the exposed bricks in preference to rendering over them, particularly if you have a garden bed up against the house anywhere.

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.

Yes, our harsh Australian environment does hammer our external finishes but if exposed timber is coated with a good quality finish initially ( i recommend 4 coats minimum ) then an ongoing maintenance coat every couple of years, your timber can still look great many years down the track. People just need to understand if you want that beautiful natural timber look you have to put time in to maintain it.

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.