sorry, I forgot to add......invest in energy efficient window glass on those puppies? really? wow, it must be great to have money. and why is the roof being replaced? do you really want to be spending these huge amounts of cash on these things? this whole thing is starting to do my head in. lets start with the roof. why replacing? does it lack insulation? is it some 'orrid old clay or concrete tile heat absorbing monster or just a badly done tinny? here's something to consider...if you're have an issue with heat radiating through the roof/ceiling and want to add insulation did you know that batts in the cavity will give you a much higher r rating than anticon blanket. the roofers won't like it but do some research. depending on the depth of your rafters you might be able to achieve an r rating of say 3 (if the batts are installed nice and snug and proper) whereas anticon blanket is much less than 2 and suss at that due its unknown compression. ceiling lining above the rafters? consider building up the cavity. it depends how much you want to spend on what you are trying to achieve. me and the other nicer members of the community all agree that your house looks cool and there are heaps of ways you can make the streetscape look really classy. my final attempt at redemption will be to raise the point that you can improve the street facade simply and without spending too much cash because it's already a nice design finished badly. but hey, if you got pots of dosh, go hard.... heaps of glass, heaps of stone, heaps of hardwood and hire a pro, they know more than internet forum morons like me and they'll say things that you want to hear. peace y'all

Your problem is the heat generated by the fence and the pool and path. Anything you plant will have to be super tough. All plants loose and replace their leaves. Evergreen drop some leaves all the time and deciduous once a year. Adding pebbles will only reflect more heat and is becoming a dated look along with the cordylines. I'm not sure of your climate but a bullet proof evergreen plant that will cover the fence and take sun, drought and frost is the nandina domestica. Upright growing but no pruning required. There are new varieties of this plant but this one is just the right height to cover the fence. If you get cold weather in winter you will also get autumn colour. Will sucker from the bottom to fill the gap but not a garden thug. Has berries but because of the upright habit should fall into the garden bed. Sometimes called sacred bamboo but not a bamboo.

Thanks everyone, yes I love the look of old shearing sheds, which is the rustic look I'd ideally like to achieve, however the house design is a bit more modern - it is a long rectangular shape like a shed but the roof is curved at the top (like the Glen Murcutt house in Kempsey) instead of the traditional pointed gable. We're actually thinking of using the Ritech product for the roofing instead of Colorbond, as it has a high bushfire rating and comes in Colorbond colours. We like the darker grey roof because it doesn't stand out too much in the bush landscape and therefore 'anchors' the house. So as much as I love rusty gal, I think we will have to leave it to the outsheds (our current cottage 'the shack' is clad in the old galvanised roofing, which we replaced with a Windspray colorbond roof). It looks great because it's already rustic. I'd also like to use it as a feature inside the house (e.g. behind a woodstove) but don't have enough to clad the new house. The Dune colour is a good match with the creamy grey trunks of the Brittle gums, which is why I thought of using that. I also read somewhere that it's the best match with traditional gal (which I've tested and tend to agree with, although it doesn't have the rustic colour variation). Dune is also a good tonal contrast with the darker bricks and timber, so I'll probably go with that for the cladding as we don't really want a light roof, despite better reflection properties. I'm hoping having the high roof inside (to 4.8m at highest point of the curve) and good insulation will mean a darker roof is okay. My only real concern now is that I can't get standard aluminium windows in the colour Dune (they come in Shale or Woodland grey). I might be able to have them made in non-standard colours, but it would cost a lot more. Hence I'm thinking Woodland grey for the window frames, but am not sure if this would make it look too busy (i.e. with the bricks, timber and lighter cladding).

Thanks so much for your ideas; the climbers are ideal and there are so many to choose from. Will do this and send photos when established , now it's off to the garden centre Thanks for the photos Julie cheers and v happy n.y. to everyone, just love ideas on houzz