Lindy, Why dont you do a computer image of the outside of your home like you can do with digital decorator and play with some schemes. You would instantly know if you like it or not!! Otherwise as Luke suggested, you need to decide if you want to contrast or blend?? I would certainly start off with a blend, as changing it to a deeper colour later would be far easier than trying to go back to a lighter colour if you decide you don't like it. Deep Ocean can look stunning with Jarrah but now that you have Monument I think you really need to stick to Windspray if your window frames are that colour otherwise I feel you will be introducing too many colours and you will spoil the elegant look of the home. Cheers, Barbara

Hi Katrine, The renovation went really well - thanks! It's been finished for more than a year now - hard to believe!! I could only find one pic of the cladding that was easy for me to upload - here it is. We've been really happy with the FC cladding and how it looks. We replaced all the existing exterior weatherboards (which ran on an angle parallel to the roof) with the same Duragroove FC cladding that we covered the new extension in. Our builders said it is very easy to work with and it certainly went up very quickly. Their only comment was that you can end up with a fair bit of wastage as it often gets damaged in transit. The supplier they used said this is pretty common, however, and so they actually allow for it and oversupply somewhat to allow a proportion of damaged sheets - sorry I can't quantify this aspect for you. The cladding was very easy and quick to paint and we're very happy with how it has come up. If you're interested in details, it's painted in a new Colourbond colour called Gully. The darker trim (fascias, gutters, downpipes etc) is Woodland Grey. Good luck with your decision making. If you'd like more photos, let me know and I'll try to take and upload a few more. Cheers, Kate

Hi Chris. I like the colour scheme and materials for your house, although a few things come to mind. Why have two different timber finishes, Merbau and Western Red Cedar? Is Merbau not available as a garage panel? Or is Western Red Cedar not available as post cladding? If they are both available for both applications, I would choose one for both applications. You mention black Sikaflex as joint filler for the cladding, and off-White mortar for bricks. Would you consider black mortar for brickwork for consistency, or do you not like the look of it? I bring these questions up because there are a lot of materials, which is great, but maybe minimising the number of colours and using them more consistently would produce a more cohesive visual outcome. I googled images for brickwork and black Sikaflex and this is the only decent one I could find quickly - just to give you an idea of how it might look.

So not knowing your style, budget, climate etc (!!), this is what I would do! ; D I'd stay true to the original character, although it could certainly do with some prettying up! Make it fresh, a bit tropical and a bit retro, there's no need to spend a lot to make it look great! Keeping it classic will mean it won't date, instead of following a current trend too tightly. Often helps to think inside out first too... I LOVE the Atlantic at Byron Bay as a reference, both inside & outside. It's got a nice beach relaxed feel but still honouring a bit of retro but still feeling fresh. There's loads of images on the web, but here's a start: https://www.habitusliving.com/architecture/kick-back-in-one-of-byrons-luxury-beach-shacks http://www.distinctive.net.au/blog/n/out-about-the-atlantic-byron-bay-160111 - Interior walls & floors: Keep the base fresh & pared back: Dulux Natural White on walls, satin polished timber floorboards (natural with clear satin varnish, no stain). If you need rugs, again Ikea sisal or a natural coloured textured one. - Window coverings: white venetians (often cheap from Spotlight etc), natural coloured roman blinds, linen full length curtains (in natural or even light grey - again Ikea if you don't want to DIY), even bamboo matchstick blinds. - Then layer texture: natural coloured cottons (e.g. sofa: Ikea sofa Ektorp or Freedom Hampton), linen. Then add feature pieces e.g. a few rattan / cane feature pieces (easy to find on gumtree), interesting pendant lights - Ikea have some great ones - rattan pendant, Ranarp metal, vintage (ebay) enamel industrial pendant lightshades. Then some pattern/colour: black & white stripe (again Ikea have great fabric and even $5 Vargyllen cushions!), maybe a retro style palm print https://www.templeandwebster.com.au/Palm-Tree-Cushion-Cover-VINA1177.html Black & white family photo wall... And indoor plants!! EXTERIOR - Obviously remove all the clutter first so you can better see what you're working with. (I'm guessing this is from previous owner photos) - Uncover the exterior! If practical, remove the blinds, the security screens, lattice and trim the bushes right back. - Paint colours- so many options on these old fibros. You could paint fresh Natural white, add some smart black & stripe canvas awnings would look cute, fresh and a bit retro (actually similar to The Atlantic above). Alternatively paint neutral white with coloured trims - such as Dulux Deep Ocean. Or if you're really brave, I love the look of a dark Ironstone or Monument colour with fresh white trims! You could even do the main house the safer white then the granny flat in the dark! It would be great to change the emerald roof as this does limit what you can do. Don't go dark, it'll trap too much heat, maybe paint Windspray or Shale Grey colour, depends on your wall colour choices. Actually this is assuming it;s iron, I can't actually tell from the photos. - If you really want to trick it up you could even do a weatherboard style cladding, even Scyon, it would look amazing but I thin there's something lovely about the original fibro too if that's a better option budget-wise. - Would love to see photos when you've done that and then you could get suggestions for the next stage. Options could be replacing granny flat sliding doors with French doors (Bunnings have some great super cheap ones, which I saw a reno show got a handyman to connect 3 as trip-folds?!), if you have to keep the large cover for shade into the house, paint fresh white and tidy it up, otherwise make smaller. - It's hard to see the shrubs but they do look a bit nannyish (!), but it could be good to retain them as they're established and give good filler for the short term. Alternatively if you're keen to re-do, I love lush Sweet Viburnum (check out Dense Fence, it's super quick, hardy), then add in groupings more contemporary plants - I love clusters of Mexican Lily (Beshoneria, the spiky one in the pic below), Westringia is a good filler, succulents like silver spoons, chalksticks and even a feature frangipani at the front of the house underplanted with chalksticks. If you want a nice small tree, Tuckeroo is great (see 2nd photo), other planted individually or in a line as below. A bit hard to find, but a great native option, I really love it.