Agree about the paving stones - a mistake to be repaired & pulling them up & allowing someone on eBay to reuse them where they may match, sounds good. However, don't agree that the bricks are a mistake. Personally, I love textured bricks as you can pick out a colour from them to do trims & in 15 years, change the colours & refresh & still go well with the brick colours. I think yours are particularly nice. Removing shutters - great. If you can, take the opportunuty to take off the ornate screens on doors & windows & replace them with the very simple looking security screens. Renewing the roofing material to something that lets in more light is also a good idea. If it's not feasible to do at this time, it can always be planned in steps, but it's good to know ahead what the plan is/will be. Re colour choices. I would suggest not going with the current fashion completely. Remember when everything in every suburb was "mission brown"? Everything that has that colour is immediately dated. Best of luck, and enjoy

Im hoping this pastes the correct Pinterest pics; here goes: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=Australian+rural+ranch+country+style+exteriors+with+front+verandah&client=safari&hl=en-au&prmd=isnv&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&fir=hFWlXzxWD2ATPM%253A%252Cka6KBRcABcEIaM%252C_%253BRry9JAyo2VsvaM%253A%252Csn0Fj8STeTwLXM%252C_%253BgCcXlkSb3KAOiM%253A%252Cka6KBRcABcEIaM%252C_%253BQk4oAkT4Wsp1fM%253A%252CWJAS-Cz8Zr0BKM%252C_%253BuiQjltFTfuA3AM%253A%252CoDVkuB4oFF3P-M%252C_%253B0KTuRsLZ5ZcYrM%253A%252Csn0Fj8STeTwLXM%252C_%253BCmVN_MpEz9RDCM%253A%252Cka6KBRcABcEIaM%252C_%253ByBsldC8VRkSFPM%253A%252Csn0Fj8STeTwLXM%252C_%253BPGWMuP5c7xigmM%253A%252Csn0Fj8STeTwLXM%252C_%253BeGKzR2qeN8eXfM%253A%252CjZk57iwkBE6dHM%252C_&usg=__XboyluXQ-miHFNOm9jE_LHdF6Uo%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiIhbGA5ovZAhUCh7wKHX1ZCu8Q7AkIJA&biw=1024&bih=704#imgrc=pIqMTpTWpHsZaM:

i think the downstairs verandah looks much too skimpy for the house...is there a good view from upstairs? a long term investment could be to remove the existing verandah and add a deeper?two storey balcony with roof and smaller square posts across the full width of the house... replace the angled bay windows with square bay windows, keep the brick corbels and paint all the brick white with a dark trim ...replace the floor of the downstairs verandah and the cramped garden bed to create a deeper sitting area under the new verandah, pressure clean all the paving and add tall shrubs in pots to screen across the pool fence and emphasise the location of the entry gate

I love Siruskeys idea ! I must admit , if it was me , I would have been more inclined to get some post extensions ( wood the same 100 x 100 or whatever it is ) , unbolt the top , get some galv brackets made with a 'hook' on half of them , bolt the old and new together using the brackets , then do everything in charcoal . Of course , these new brackets ( flat steel say 30-40mm wide and 6-8mm thick ) will look a bit funny , and the charcoal stain won't take the same , so they'll always look a bit out of place . But thats why you get the engineers to put a 'hook' on them before you send to the galvanisers -- a bit of 8mm solid rod coming 120mm or so out , with a couple of small bends , one down , one up . Yes , hang hanging plants on them -- takes the focus away from the poles , the extensions , adds some colour and 'life' . But I'm a lot more rip than sirus haha ! Oh , and I'd paint or tile the deck , probably charcoal to match the windows , or terracota to suit the style , but even off-white or grey ( if tiling ) would work . The brown less so .