I think a nice grey (not too dark, but darker than your concrete driveway colour), on the weather boards OR the render around the entry (not both) would look great! It would modernise your home further; bring out the brick more; and tie in with your driveway and roof? Green foliage also looks great against grey so will complement nicely when you get your garden established. I can't reccomend any particular grey as I know nothing about paint colours, sorry!

m_walker5, just from the 2 photos so far it seems to me the main first improvement to that space would be to remove the wall to the kitchen, so you need to find out if this is loadbearing or not. Stick your head up through the ceiling manhole to see how the structure is framed. If it is fully framed (rafters, ceiling joists, struts bearing down on internal walls) chances are that that wall is loadbearing. On the other hand if it is gangnail trusses (triangular frames with W braces held together with metal nail-plates) you are in luck. These typically span between outside walls and internal walls can usually be changed or removed easily. This is your staring point for deciding how far you want to go with this depending on budget, and is the point where you should involve an architect/designer to work out a comprehensive renovation plan. I have just completed a very similar project where the renovation was urgent (kitchen cabinets were falling off the walls!) but the budget was greatly reduced as the owner unexpectedly lost one source of income. We managed to do a full kitchen renovation, remove walls to create larger open-plan spaces, full re-sand and polish of floors, full internal repaint, all for about $80,000.

Someone earlier in this discussion said "embrace the architecture" and I agree. Changing the architecture is expensive, especially squaring off arches. Arches are typically associated with Mediterranean architecture and love or loath em, arches are pushing back into modern day architecture. So go with it by removing the concrete balustrade and build more arches to match those below. Bag and paint the brickwork with a Porters limewash paint to obtain that authentic Mediterranean and uneven look. Consider semi-circular balustrading for that Romeo and Juliet look or better still add semi-circular concrete planter boxes for added privacy. They can then be planted with low growing and trailing plants such as a variegated ivy. The head s of the top arches only can then be topped with a timber batten screen which will soften the facade further and you will have a modern 2023 take on Mediterranean Modern. Keep that going throughout the house to give it a full and complete reno. Think 3D as your home has 4 facades not just 1. I see all too often homes where the owner renovates the street elevation and just paints the rest of the home. It looks as if the home has had a full size photo glued onto the street elevation. Even the fake stone stops at the corner and the whole facade looks as if it will just peel off with the next rain. I've attached an image of a new development near my studio on the Gold Coast which give you an idea. It's not exactly what I have suggested but it does demonstrate the use of arches in a modern architectural setting with the use of timber and trailing plants.

Im getting head around it all now, its like putting a puzzle together and realising you’re missing pieces. i agree a deep charcoal/grey would be the best colour with the brick. Unfortunately my husband does not want to paint the aluminium gutters and windows which are brown. . His argument is that if we attempt to do it ourselves it may look worse as it is fiddly and time consuming painting aluminium and not really a job for a first time DIY, especially as it is a two story house. My solution was to match the windows and gutters with a rich grey with a brownish undertone like namadji. It is classified as a grey but looks brown to me. What i am afraid of is doing what your neighbour has done and making the whole house oppressively brown. Do you think I could get away with a deep grey that doesnt quite match the aluminium and then just paint the wooden trims? I would also paint the white brick in the entrance the same colour and the fence and studio. Im afraid of doing all this work only for it to be half arsed. We need to replace the balconies as they are unsafe but unfortunately my husband and i have had a difficult year financially and we don’t want to sink money into the front of house at the moment. The back will need a complete overhaul and we need to preserve funds for that. I suspect ultimately there may not be a solution unless we commit to doing the whole job. Alternatively we could stage it. I am clearly thinking aloud and appreciate all the input and patience!