Is there part of the house we can't see? Where is your front door? Just the double frontage like that is plain, but that was the style and not much you can do about it. The homes you are looking at do have a lot of features with opportunities to bring in other colours but there is nowhere with yours to do that and if you try it usually cheapens it. If you take the triple fronted house you posted, I would do the lighter green on the weatherboard and the deeper green like they have used on the window frames, I would do for the baseboards and the front door. I would keep the window frames and eaves white and paint the guttering to match the roof. Are you country? Are here any water issues for the garden? Instead of trying to do something with the house, I think I would be inclined to give it all a cottagy look with a picket front fence, nice entrance, a lush lawn and lots of plants for colour and lushness. The dark green baseboard will be a nice background for some small shrubs in front of the house. Weatherboards really lend themselves to that look. Don't forget the addition of old tyre swans - lol I notice you have small awnings over the windows - maybe replace them with some striped canvas ones in greens and terracotta - if you can get the combination. [houzz=]

Thanks for your thoughts, they have helped us with our decision. We're now planning on using the barramundi roof tile (it's a grey, a bit softer than the soho nights black. And not so shiny) with matching gutter and fascia. And the cladding in paperbark. I was thinking cream windows instead of the timber, so there's some lighter colours on the brick downstairs to tie it to the top. We can't match it exactly to the paperbark cladding because we aren't using aluminium windows, but I'm hoping the cream (which is supposed to be more of an off-white with this manufacturer) will look okay in the clad dormers upstairs. Fingers crossed!

1. I'd probably start with removing the ornate lines on the gables. It seems a bit 'busy' and dated with the brick and gutters. 2. I'd also paint/replace the gutters to match the roof colour or even the garage door colour. Gutters aren't an architectural feature, so no idea why they are terracotta. These 2 things will calm it all down. You could consider texture-coating the board of the upper storey. It's a colour-embedded acrylic render. No painting for 25yr. It gives you the look of render, and can go straight onto board like you have. Unless you have rot or other maintenance issues with it that you need to replace it.

Sounds like a great project with the potential of some nice views :) I would start by getting a good builder or structural engineer out to have a look at the walls that you would like to knock down. As if they are structural it would cost more to add some support beams and if your budgets $150K and you want to do all of the above it could take a chunk of your money. Sometimes structural walls dictate what can and can't be done ( without loads of money) to a house. I'd start with a builders quote for all the wall demo items on the wish list and then on top of the structural you would be looking at spending around; A small bathroom reno would be $20-25K with a bathroom reno company. DIY with a plumber and electrician. $10-15K. Kitchen $35-50K dependant on level of finish ( includes appliances) Flooring (Timber) $100-145 a sqm laid. Extra $ for any floor prep or levelling prior to installation. Carpet's $45-65 sqm laid. Gyprock line walls labour $75 an hour plus materials. Plastering internal walls after demo and gprocks completed . $15-45 a sqm. If you are really keen on getting the lower level extension and upper floor level done at a later time I would also ask the builder for a quote whilst he's on site. Having all the facts up front helps make decisions on what to do with reconfiguring the rest of the house :) good luck!