Paint the extruding garage a feature colour and the room above a different shade of that. For the rest of the house one colour. I like what the other person said with greys. Use grey as a feature and may be a toned down white for the rest. Posts could be black or dark grey and timber slats as you thought. If you have timber slats anywhere, I would probably leave some exposed brick somewhere, that is, if you are painting or rendering the house. I like 3 different elements in a house. eg. 3 different colours or 3 different products/textures.

I found a website that might be quite helpful for you http://www.colourtouch.com.au/ to visualise what colours and finishes could look like on your house. You can choose a style of house that closely matches yours then choose a number of set schemes, or start with a blank canvas and play around with any colour / finish you like.

This will be an exciting challenge! How about starting with which style you would like. Hop onto google and search around before and after pictures that might help you decide on a particular look you wish to achieve. Pinterest has ideas too, and just type in “house facades before and after”. Do you want modern, or beach or Hamptons? Etc. The style should reflect your internal decor style for flow and a bit of harmony. Once you have decided on style, examine which aspects of the current facade you would like to enhance and that definitely don’t work. I would enrol an architect or exterior design consultant to discuss these aspects and perhaps get ideas. Start by considering a focal point - you lack this in your current facade. Could be an entrance, a large window, veranda etc and something that provides depth to the facade. Consider balance and symmetry: you have large garage doors that would benefit from something that balances that. First impressions from me are that the windows are small and shuttered: these might be within budget to change. The house facade is very flat: perhaps features such as a porch addition might break that up. There is no entrance that invites you in and as such it looks shut up. Could you work in a welcoming entrance here? Paint would work wonders and if rendering is too expensive, a good paint job could transform the look. Timber cladding adds interest, a little warmth to a cold brick facade, and charm. Would that fit with the style you are aiming for? It’s a big job but simple tweaks could transform this. Best of luck

I guess it depends on your budget , but I'd start with the obvious -- the paint . It looks 'dirty' , so I'd pressure wash . But it does look better in the for sale picture , and I suspect it has been photoshopped . Anyway , if your budget extends , maybe paint that couple of shades lighter . Again , budget matters , but I like cedar or similar timber garage doors , so that would be an option . The door , to me , is the least of your problems . Then I would go darker on the trim . The gutters I'd go the same shade as the roof , and carry that through to the vents , and hopefully the windows . Then the trim that can be seen under the gutters , I'd go halfway between the gutter colour and the wall colour . That would soften things . For a Wow , and before anyone says its a different style , I know , BUT I'd do the 2 fake columns in a small horizontal slate -- that would add a touch of class and variety IMO . But we are all different !