Here are some of my thoughts on your front garden ... 1. Create a better "welcome walkway to your front steps . remove the hedge currently there ... mass plant an architectural wow-factor plant and uplight so peoplre know where the front entry is during the nightime. 2. "Correct" the sloping lawn, add a paved area for extra parking. 3. Create a garden bed along neighbours boundary and plant up with a hedging plant for privacy. 4. Create a garden bed in front of the wall using plants that will not block out the view from the windows. 5. For the remaining garden bed toward the kerbside, xeriscape with drought loving plants, choose plants that will not be taller than 5 feet (1.5mtrs) 6. All the garden beds with gravel, crushed river pebbles, or small river stones to compliment existing driveway. No need to change colours of house! Now there'll be no lawn to mow - but a valuable extra parking space - a designated "welcome" pathway to guide visitors to your front door - and a gorgeous "garden" to view from the front windows.

Why wouldn't you just have them set/sealed so you don't need any trim (like the very first photo)? We have many of these sorts of windows in our house, and most rooms are trimmed with architraves BUT in the public rooms we opted to have "trim-less" doors and windows to match the square set walls/ceiling.

siriuskey the grass trees are welded iron & wire, made by an artist who lives in our area, they are gorgeous and we don't have to worry about them dying! Yes you are right, the verandah is coming away from the wall, which is where the little birds nest ;) I love the last picture you posted and its the look we want. Interesting that all your images show grey/galv roof, which is what we want (not red). Mel N yes the cost is due to lack of tradies in the area so we have to add on travel, accommodation, meals. Also quote does not include removal of old iron & timber from site so we have to factor in dump fees. We could dispose of the timber battens easily enough, everyone needs firewood here, it's the iron that's expensive to dump. big reader yes she is a treasure, we love her. tessaway the house has plenty of light in the front rooms, it's very bright here, almost every day is sunny. We would just like to see the full height of the windows from the front garden. Maybe we should just enjoy the house, add pergolas to the sides and not worry about what she looks like from the street.

my suggestion contains the toilet and shower in a separate ventilated small bathroom with an open vanity and wiw designed to fit around the windows and original sliding doors cutting through the brick wall is a better entry than off the kitchen and allows more flexibility for the ens and wiw but precise measurements of the distance between the outside edges of the architraves around the sliding doors into the corners on both sides and the width and height off the floor to the outside edges of the architraves) of the windows may suggest other options and the bedroom is very generous and could have additional storage to suit the style of the house