here's a simple fence and path that might suit

Mid Century Modern Fencing Revival · More Info

My Houzz: A Mid-Century Marvel Revived in Long Beach · More Info

Hi Zara,

What did you have in mind yourself that you were planning? Did you have a budget in mind? What are the key features you like / love about the house at the moment? Were you planning renovations at all or looking at a colour face lift only?

Looks positively beautiful compared to your neighbour's house! Coat of paint and some good landscaping would make a world of difference.

I can see why this has been tricky - it probably feels like you have too much of a blank canvas!

Just a quick idea that would be an investment, but wont cost a fortune.

Paint the front a brighter neutral (like Colorbond Surfmist), then a deep blue (like Colorbond deep ocean, or something else a bit lighter) on the trims.

Build a curved raised garden bed using brick or besablock, paint it blue too.

Build a hefty looking front fence to give an overall stronger look to your home. Brick/renderedblocks with horizontal timber panels. Fit a contemporary letter box slot in the fence, and a new house number to match.

Here's a very rough sketch to show what I mean

Hopefully that helps!

Embrace Interiors idea's is similar to mine except I'd paint it a very pale green.

Look at Dulux 'White Box' or 'Tiamo'. The house that Dulux used in one of their inspiration brochure's show a mid century dwelling in 'White Box'.

Landscaping (and fresh paint) is the key rather than the house itself. House looks awesome.

oklouise's idea's are also great (as they alway's are!)

I also like blue grey.

I'd go for a pergola over the front of the carport/drive which extends over the little bathroom window and ends in front of the toilet pipe, to cover it. Hiding those utility areas would help a lot. You wouldn't need to roof it. Make it a little fancy to take the emphasis off your plain featureless walls. it would make your home look larger and if you painted the walls a darker colour, like the blue Lesley H suggests, the white pergola would look stunning alongside. You could grow a bourgainvillia or something just as stunning up the left side. My art attempt is a bit useless (blame the lack of software) but you get the idea.

I'd be getting advice re sealing in or removing hazardous asbestos-bearing materials. Important to protect anyone working on the house, and yourselves.

Paint the whole house Monument or similar and build an 1800mm high tomato stake fence around the whole garden. Plant it with Passionfruit. Big affect for little money and more useful garden space.

No idea what the front rooms are, however new full height windows an entry portico and parapet - portico and parapet could be either Hardies blueboard or polystyrene rendered and painted in Colourbond - Paperbark = parapet and Portico in Monument. lower bricks on foundations painted in Dune. Stones to garden, water to lawn....Cost depending on skill level or fully done by a builder = between $12,000 to $25,000 approx....

I just realised there was a bathroom at the front so an alternative would be 3 small 'matching' windows in the bedroom? and keep the small window next to the new entry portico...

Friend of mine had a similar house but changed it up with a large timber deck out the front. Add privacy with some horozontal slats or a quick growing dense hedge on 2 of the three open sides making it quite courtyardy in feel, add a large quality market umbrella for a pop of colour. Reward yourself with a funky table and chair setting and pour yourself a cocktail while watching the world go by. Personally i would reclad with a more modern material and invest in a set of simple french doors if the room is big enough.

Paint house white with charcoal guttering and fascia. Erect two freestanding timber screens with horizontal slats, either oiled or painted charcoal, in front of the two front windows, about 1.5metres out from the house. Between the house and screens from driveway to side boundary, lay large charcoal stepper pavers and infill with light coloured gravel. Edge a decent width garden bed fom driveway to side boundary in front of screens. This could be curved down side boundary if wanted. Centre a large feature pot between and slightly forward of screens. Finish with a small horizontal slatted structure similar to window screens, for letterbox at front driveway boundary.

I am with you Zara - I think it could definitely be a contender for ugliest fibro ever. I think I prefer the neighbour's house. Why would someone choose to place the bathroom at the front like that? And the front door opening off a gloomy single carport - definitely a mid-century modern touch.

My suggestion would be to build a modest addition that would draw the eye away from the boxy elevation - possibly convert that carport to a decked outdoor entertaining area and open the wall next to the front door into the living room (guessing that is the floor plan). Or push something up through the roof, maybe a clerestory window to capture light and air - this would give the building a bit of vertical energy. Then paint the original fibro monument, as fulton & salomon suggested. Or matt black. Very dark colours will make the building look more substantial and work well with the texture of the fibro panels.

I saw a very impressive building in North Fremantle once - three storeys + roof garden with a big concrete curved panel falling over the front like a waterfall. It wasn't until the owner/builder pointed it out that I realised that the ground floor was actually a single storey salmon-brick 70's house. The roof had been removed and the upper floors cantilevered over the original walls which had been painted black. The original building just disappeared. Lately I have been fantasising about doing something similar with a fibro beach shack like yours - flying a lightweight, open-plan structure with strong geometric form over the top but keeping the core of the shack for bedrooms, laundry etc.

Hi Zara,

Your house has struck a chord which has prompted me to forward more comments. Please take it as constructive criticism rather than negative. Please note also that I really like black and indeed the majority of our house is painted in dulux domino, an almost black colour which I love. However, in case you are considering painting your house black, do you think that will clash with the huge ugly yellow house next door which is so close, it could draw attention to and overpower your house making it look smaller? Painting yours a light colour should blend better and is more beachy as you were wanting.

Also I forgot to mention in my last post, in case you were interested, when I suggested a large glazed pot as a focal point (positioned to draw attention away from the toilet pipe,) that whatever colour was chosen could be matched to your front door. There are lovely colours that would pop against light coloured house - turquoise, red, yellow, green etc.

I really like your cute little house and think that by addressing the obvious short comings such as the mismatched windows and the toilet pipe and planting the garden, the end result will be very attractive without over capitalising. Good luck, hope you end up with something you love and please post a photo. Really interested in seeing.

Spend the money on a good landscaper who will listen to you, and after that just have fun with the interior. Great house, looks like fun to me.

Loving the darker colours like Blue and Charcoal. Very beachy and if you went with the nice green garden suggested by Embrace Interiors, it would look so chic!

My experience if the budget is tight is to paint shed walls a darker colour, (not mission brown) and plant small shrubs or trees to as the feature. Need to make the metallic wall "dissapear". Light colour show all the dust and grime and shadows formed by the metal profile become pronounced the gables and window frames can be lighter.

This house came up in my Pinterest feed, and there were some elements that reminded me of your home. http://pin.it/Uaa_cqK

I like the look of this house but I wouldn't try to make it beachy because it lends itself to modern. The fibro looks as if it could be metal and so I would paint it a dark grey flat, not glossy, colours that are extremely modern. The metallic look is very modern. That will disguise the different shaped windows and pipes etc. The plants look new, but I would swap them for something more architectural like Yucca or Happy plant. I can't see the whole front but if anything needs hiding I would do it with horizontal slatted wood stained in a medium colour.