And to you, and to Chook too, of course. Sydney just has the best fireworks, doesn't it? Though I'm glad that Mr Dog and I don't live there. It'll be rough enough here. Row, I think you've done a great job. Yes, the roller blind may no longer live in that room. Thanks for sharing the other pics -- see, you were dreaming of pattern on walls before I came along.

to suancol......a 'yellow/pink based beige'? Having trouble trying to get my head around that colour and 'seeing' it in my mind's eye, suancol! If one had to mix it up....could it also be described as a...pinky beige with some yellow in it... or a yellowy beige with some pink in it? Or is it a pre-mixed colour that can be bought off the shelf so has an actual brand name? I'm very curious! From what I've learnt about colour..and what comes from mixing this with that...I've learnt that BEIGE, like GREY, is one of those indefinite hues that can be a combination of several colours.,,,its not a colour in itself... I was looking at a designr's page where many of the bedrooms featured were in Grey and I was surprised that I really liked some of them...so serene and pearly soft....then it dawned on me, Photography combined with Photoshopping is very clever today. I bet if I painted a my bedroom exactly in those grey colours it would resemble a tomb...probably because of the amount or quality of light coming into the room. So not a fan of grey for interior decor, nor a fan of beige...whatever hue these are. Not crazy about all white interiors either where the colour interest comes from..."pops" of this or that.

Honestly, cladding the house in grey because it is trendy right now is only going to date your renovations and is not going to do anything special to the house. What is the finish on the house now? I'm assuming you are cladding to save on maintenance which is very wise, but if you paint the windows you are only going to start another maintenance issue. The finish on them now has been designed to last - paint won't. I also note you have brown posts on the verandas, brown/cream tiles on the ground and a cream fence - this all has to be taken into consideration if you want to change to a grey palette and achieve something really special. It has to be a total package. Unfortunately, colours do not reproduce on computer screens so there is no point in me suggesting colours, but I would call in a cladding specialist or 3, they are used to doing this type of work and generally know what the finished result will look like to advise you. They should be able to suggest colours that will blend better with the browns and creams but still give the house a more individual and timeless look. If you are still not sure, put the photos of your house onto a Paint Company's website and paint it in a similar colour. To me though, this house really needs some softening, I think a bit of a cottage look will make it look much more warmer and welcoming. It is just not blending in with its environment. Work on your landscaping - look on Houzz for some ideas for a front path to lift your home out of the ordinary, you don't have to spend a fortune, just be creative, change the hand railing, maybe even fence the veranda or grow a hedge in front of it and screen one (or both) ends of it to give you some privacy to sit out there, Perhaps grow a creeper across under the guttering to really soften the front of the house and make the veranda more welcoming. Beautiful, well kept lawns and gardens and some special outdoor areas in your back garden will really enhance the house so the brown windows will cease to become an issue.

Okay, firstly, this is very difficult to do without seeing the room in person. So rather than suggesting a colour, let me tell you some theory and hopefully you can work it out. The painting looks a little yellow on my screen, I think it would look different in person. You want the image to stand out. What you're looking for is contrast between the image and your surroundings. Contrast can give seperation between elements and that's what you're after, the wall to receed behind the painting. white is not cutting it because it's competing with the image. The image has some light bright tones ie it's bright and the white wall will be bright, so a while wall and the painting will both compete for your attention. the other problem you have is all of the other elements in the room are darker and warm timber, we notice warm colours before cooler colours (ie blues) first, so it's likely all of thu sis competing against each other. So to not compete with everything else, you want something cooler but also not saturated (without a lot of colour). You want people to forget about the wall. again it's very difficult without seeing the room, so any colour I give you is not going to work. Get a few swatches from Bunnings and take them home and hold them next to the picture in the room. Narrow it down the 3 paints then get a small canvas, Bunnings is cheap, paint that with your colours and rest them on the wall with the painting. Move the canvas around the wall. Good luck. Colour is difficult but just try and get something that doesn't compete with the painting.