@ Gioenne Rapisarda...I for one do not recall seeing that...article on Arts and Crafrs inspired homes but would also really like to read it and maybe discuss...since my whole house is also from that era and, also, in its entireity, all local timbers, hand hewn, hand nailed etc, the craftsmanship is amazing. Four were built in the same district. In the 80s I met the then elderly electrician who installed the old wiring...and asked him why only 2 power points....this was all they needed back then. Since I purchased my house 30 years ago all I've done is repair and clean and maintain with the addition of a few 'old-looking' mod cons for expediency...otherwise it is still all original. Its a lot of work now many years down thr track. Enjoy your old lovingly built houses, you who have them, they don't make them like this anymore and I bet the newer ones will be gone before yours or mine.

Painting the front door a personal fave funky colour would be a simple start and would a more substantial letter box. A few landscape comments- because Landscape is invariably cheaper than building works. The white gum is magnificent but does not look good with the palm. Palms have a relatively compact root ball and are much easier to move. If you have a more tropical part of the garden maybe move it there or advertise it on gum tree (tee hee). It looks like you might be in Perth from the plants. You just need more plants in the front garden and to extend the beds a little. the existing style actually looks good from the photos but is not extensive enough. Decide on a simple theme with the planting that goes with the white gum and the xanthorea because it is a bit of a mixed bag with the palm, little conifer and the flax? If you get out to a native nursery e.g. Zanthorea or Lulfitz you can get some inspiration. Plants like kangaroo paws and scaevolas are fun in Perth to get a bit of colour in a native garden although both are short lived (2-3years)

Thank you everyone for your tips. I am feeling more confident now, I can start to picture what has been recommended by everyone. I am curious to learn more about some of your comments: GDP Interior Design - you mentioned a repeating pattern on the balcony, could you please further explain what you meant by this? The floor tiles or railing or wall? I am intrigued as we really want to add a little something there. Also, great tip with the eave colours, to be honest, I would have just gone plain flat white but I guess this would be too contrasting with the other colours if we did right? Sammy Elder - I LOVE your idea of the cantilevered/suspended roof. Thank you so much! That gives us something extra to work on! LesleyH - Plantation shutters is/was right up there on the to do list. They are very expensive for what they are but they certainly are popular. Could you please help further describe what you mean with your comment about cladding? I was looking at cladding options and initially was thinking I could clad the top half but there were many comments about how it often looks like you're trying to cover/hide something (bad walls, cracks etc). Thanks so much everyone, what a great community this is! Dan.

based on the dimensions shown on the plan the existing ensuite doesn't look big enough to add a bathtub unless you could take space off the master bedroom, wiw and/or add a "bay window" under the eaves and sometimes demolishing a good quality existing space is much more expensive than adding an extension (what about adding a new master suite overlooking the pool and using the old master as guest room and pantry? and, if you need an art studio do you have enough land to add another carsport and use the garage for the studio....can you post a plan showing the house on the block and the size of the block