Hi Melanie yes this lovely brick colour does cause some grief for homeowners when wanting to update colour scheme without rendering.... !!!First of all I would recommend you keep the downpipes blended with the bricks rather than highlight them. Secondly I agree that charcoal grey would be two harsh against your brick colour so maybe look at a three tone colour scheme to breakdown the harshness of a dark colour against the light bricks. For example, dark on gutters and possibly on some smaller trims and mid tone on fascia and the vertical timbers.... obviously the 3rd colour is the brick colour...

Cisar, the timber is Karri from WA. Underneath and steps are merbau. We coated it with a Sikkens stain. The railing and glass are from Gelcon Fabrications at Bulli (Wollongong) and are aluminium and tinted (grey) glass. The painting starts in one week so I will post a pic when it is finished. Meanwhile we have bought a huge cantilevered umbrella for the deck in “sand”colour as it gets very hot in the summer even though it is south facing. We built the deck to capture the winter sun which it will get plenty of despite its orientation.

Don't try and modernise this home, it has a lovely mid-century character that you should build on. I suggest to all of my clients that they should live in a home for at least 12 months before spending big renovation dollars. Understand how your house works with the change of seasons, and the existing electrical and plumbing services. Sometimes when you are on a tight budget in an old house then boring things like gutters and hot water systems are more important than supeficial aesthetics. Elements that are not original, such as your roller blinds at the front aren't contributing to the look of the house. The right landscaping could provide the shade you need and look much better. Love it for what it is, rather than try and make it into something that it is not. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Hi Jen, Great house, I think a charcoal colour would look great on windows, guttering, steps , porch and brown bricks, here’s a few inspiration photos for you of what you may like for your house and garden, I would keep the bricks and just update the trims etc, could look great, trim off the scallop edge on blinds for a more modern look, you could even paint them to match trims( I have done this ) love the raised beds , adds a real feature, could look fabulous.