I love this house - it's got so much potential for "wow" with a small budget, depending on the materials you use and if you're prepared to do all/part of the work yourselves. A trip to your local hardware store will help you get costings and work out what you feel able to do yourself and where you're going to employ experts. If the pergola is council approved, I'd keep it, extend a deck (eco wood is easy to use for a beginner handyperson) where the pergola is. I'd add a louvered roof over it so that you have a living space (I'd use specialists for this), and a way of keeping hot summer sun off the front of the house. As it looks like you've got a metal roof, I'd think about painting it, the house trim and the garage doors the same colour to give your home a sense of cohesiveness and keep the exterior walls white as it looks fresh, doesn't date and is in keeping with the style and period of your home. Refreshing the front garden beds will make a huge difference too.

Wow now we can see the front, I think you should use the double garage for parking with side access to the garden to unload shopping etc. Remove the other roller door and carport, replace the carport with a pergola,. As previously suggested make lovely garden path access from the new front gate which would be to the left side of the picket fence, , Run another courtyard fence off the garage so that you can plant this area and include a clothes line, this now the rear entrance to the house. At the end of the new pathway to the lane side of the house, extend the deck and add stairs so that you come from the pathway up onto the deck on the old carport side. All that parking drive way parking space could be a lovely out door area. Paint the garage doors and gutters on both buildings grey to match your roof.Use a fence similar to this with a gate at the front and between the neighbours to the left. cheers,

My suggestion is to first look at the steel curved based roof. If it was lined and In the same colour as the shingles(as is now or painted) there would be more balance. The limestone is so eco ‘organic’ and grounds the design. I like the the shakes as would be just lining in and same colour. Marine play would be ideal. Also a more flattering photo would help.

It is getting a bit dated in the colour scheme , BUT I'd keep it substantially as it is , with that yellowy beige . Grey is trendy , but it doesn't suit the bricks , you shouldn't paint the bricks , and it will be dated in 10 years anyway . The 2 upstairs windows look substantial , because of the shutters , whereas IMO the lower smaller windows looks plain by comparison , so I would add narrow shutters . I can't make out the exact colour of the other shutters , I think it is green , but I'd go a slightly greeny/charcoal , and do all the shutters in that , but I'd also do that downstairs door too -- at least I would if it is white , not glass with net curtains , and I'm not sure which it is ? I'd also do the garage door in that darker greeny/charcoal too , and the gutters . While on that colour scheme , I'd do a wooden fence by the rubbish bins too , and obviously paint/stain in that dark shade too . And carrying on , I'd do the steel gates on the left the same . All the block fences I'd go for an off-white , just to differentiate it from the house . The last bit of painting I'd do is the actual front door , and I'd second HU's bright and happy colours -- bright red or orange or yellow , maybe a modern blue or green . The downstairs door area looks like it is paved right to the door , so I'd do 4 or 5 small low colourful pots , with plants , about where that pillar is a metre or so out from the wall -- basically , the edge of the overhang . I'd get pots in a similar colour to the 'other' ( main ) front door . This slightly colourful line , combined with the darker door , should make the main door that much more obvious . The rest is landscaping obviously , and a letterbox .