Hi. Great spot! When we had an acreage first thing I did was to start closest to the house with easy water able stuff so that there is something there to look at from your windows that gives you impetus to go further. However, you could also figure out where you want to be walking to and your views and needs (big veggie patch, orchard etc) and begin by setting out pathways leading there. Always taking account of that run off issue too. Once those are in, you can get your trees ( for shade as you walk) and any other plants you want or make beds or ponds etc - perhaps your paths could make a loop that takes you back to the house? Also think about watering needs and access to irrigation points. ahh am I ever envious - but too old now!

Hi RePete, another app for drafting is Home Sweet Home which is free. My experience has been that some of the really good architects are happy to share their ideas when they visit as they enjoy the creative process so much. Eg Williams Burton met with us years ago (we are still figuring out what to do!) - and I was very impressed. We didn't use them as they are very fastidious so their builds take a long time and we can't cope with that but they do some amazing work on character homes in particular and although people think of them as only doing very expensive jobs, I am aware that they have also done some cheaper jobs where the project has got their interest. You could try talking to them and a few others from that "tier". I can't remember if we paid for the initial meeting, but if we did it was only a very small amount. I would seek as many views as possible (including here), keep trawling the net and pinterest as well as Houzz, look at lots of magazines etc, go to every open home that is vaguely like your style and ask the real estate agent who designed/built it... (hmmmm this is why we haven't started building yet after 8 years...) As Ok says, probably the only person that can determine what accommodation is required is you, so make that thought process a parallel one to looking at pictures. Good luck.

I think the task of transforming homes like these is an exciting challenge! If your budget is not huge then timber trimmings and paint can make a huge difference here. You could paint the brick, or better still clad it with weatherboard to soften the house, but if the budget does not allow the whole house to be clad just do the front and go around the corners by about a meter and then paint the bricks at the sides and back to match. You definitely need a verandah across the front, with the steps centred and going straight down to meet the gate - this will transform the facade and is worth spending the money on. If you dont want to change the windows consider framing them with timber to make them look larger and replace the front door with something nicer, luckily your door is centred with same size windows either side. Id suggest replacing the fence with a picket fence and matching gates to hide the concrete driveway and then screen off the long side driveway and camouflage the overhang with a picket gate to match. Paint choices here are really important, it looks like your neighbours homes are beige or grey? Consider painting the house a classic colour such as dusky blue or sage combined with light trimmings to make yours stand out from the surrounding neutral homes (ive done a couple of quick mock-ups below as examples) You need some plants but your front yard is not large so a single, low height feature tree with mulch or pebbles instead of lawn would look wonderful plus a couple of strategically placed pots. Good luck!

You can spend quite a bit of money ( $2K upwards , even $10k if you aren't careful ) and not really achieve much space wise , as you pointed out its tall , not a positive in this situation . Its also warm natural timber , its a bit quirky , yes its a bit dated and a bit boring . You haven't said if you intend to keep the balustrade on the other side , but obviously the two match and reference each other , so I'd keep both . But to break the boredom of the slope , I'd do a couple of small 'steps' ( flat timber on top , then down the front , maybe with 'triangular' closed in sides or left open ), probably done in a charcoal because it would be difficult to match the wood tone and varnish and get the patina right , and have small creepers or even maiden hair fern or cactus in small pots . You'd need a ladder handy for watering , but I like things living in the kitchen ( maybe not so much in the fridge haha ) and the warmth of timber -- plus its $100 or so !