Thanks 2 FIND and Design - I had seen some other ideas with the dark greys too. What do you mean about render maintenance? Having to repaint over time etc?

With the garden, we did get a quote to do the fence, but the quote was $30-40,000 because it's a corner property with a lot of fence! Instead, we have started planting to hide it - the bed along the front is citrus trees and we've just put in passionfruit vines to grow along that length of fence - I'm keen for some food in the garden as well as prettying it up.

Too much of one material will be too bland be it brick or render. Render is probably the worst material to get looking right without being bland.

I'd look at other areas first such as landscaping, repainting, etc. In this instance I'd repaint the shed and carport and not even touch the house!

Brilliant! Thank you so much for your opinions. I'm excited to see some agreement to retain at least part of the brick - that was my feeling too, that it would be far more interesting than a concrete block.

Here are two options we have been given by the architect - I definitely think it is more interesting to keep some of the brick, BUT i'm having such a hard time finding any examples on here (or google) with a similar colour brick, that actually looks appealing! Most either has variation in colour or texture?! Would appreciate any more thoughts with these additional images?

Hi. I find your existing house very attractive. I have no experience with a rendered home, but I would not want the extra maintenance. You mentioned your garage roof is galvanised. What type of roofing is planned for the extension and the bridging of current house and garage/renovation? I agree Monument colour would be beautiful for window frames and trims, and maybe painting the tile roof to match. It's possible a darker roof colour would hold heat, so perhaps consider extra roof insulation. Alternatively, spraying the roof tiles a light grey may look good too, and tie in nicely with the gal roof. Looking at the additional photos you provided, I like the use of timber (it is timber?) for some of the cladding. Would you also consider galvanised cladding for your extension(s)? Brick, gal & timber look fantastic together, and they also look pretty good with Monument colour scheme. It sounds like your project will be very exciting. Pls keep us posted and best wishes. :)

Thanks again. I think the grey was just indicating render, not actually supposed to be that grey colour. We are getting into the next design stage with the finer details next week. Same with the screen at end of the verandah and at carport.

Ok I think we have settled on retaining a lot of the brick, but obviously have to tie in the already rendered garage (which will become part of the house) and the new bedroom/WIR/ensuite at the other end - do people generally agree darker materials/paint with the orange brick rather than light?

My preference is darker colour against the bricks.

I have heard that rendering is not good for bricks as brick needs to breathe, but I am not knowledgable on the subject. Is your house a bit mid century?

I'm with the above comments - keep most of the existing brick, add some charcoal to trims (Monument is excellent) and consider timber to create an entry deck / steps to warm things up a little. A platform that projects out from the house to create a statement and draw people to the front door rather than smaller, shorter steps - lends an atmosphere of elegance and statement to the front which will provide statement + impact. Good luck with the project!

Just to confirm, would you suggest the whole extension (new bedroom) be dark grey?

I'd consider steering away from render and perhaps using a different type of cladding - perhaps vertical timber or a grooved plywood and then stain it to either a charcoal or walnut for textural interest against the bricks.

eco edge nailed it...dark trims, timber extension and maybe front door?

Hi all,
Wow - hard to believe it was 7 months ago I posted this! We are getting there, but now having window dilemma. We decided to retain brick and use cladding for extensions. A few questions:

1. should existing windows in brick part of house (which are like a cottage window) be retained or replaced to match new ones? any advice regarding new bedroom windows - currently louvres - air flow appeals but does it look odd?

2. Opinions on the rear doors - we want this dining area to open as much as possible in summer. The current solution is to have 2 sliding doors on each side, and bi-folds across the rear, with corner glass in both corners - any opinions?

Would love to hear your thoughts. thanks in advance!