I have two ideas for you that will keep the openness (because are you really likely to stay out on the verandah if there is much wind and rain?) 1. wire fence 2. Queenslander slats I guess I am voting for weatherboard not!

For the street appeal I’d get rid of some of the trees - at least trim them so you can see more of the front of the house. Then look to paint in a tone-on-tone set of colours with the weather board and brick in contrasting depths of colour. Greys, blues, creaming grey-beiges look modern and fresh. You could also choose a strong contrasting colour like dark red or bright green for your door to make entrance more obvious. For the extra room, agree that converting the garage would be most cost effective. Then spend a little money getting a carport designed to create visual interest for the front of the house. Good luck!

apologies for the poor quality pic..anyway hopefully u can see. My design features a cantilevered upper floor over the existing living/dining/kitchen using exposed engineered hyspan beams, it's hard to say but the new ceiling could be around 9 feet high, giving enhanced space downstairs. Upstairs there should be enough room for the master bed, study and additional lounge area (approx 8mx5m). Northfacing windows will provide ample sun in winter but shaded by the overhanging skillion roof in summer. A balcony overlooking the garden can be created using the cantilevered beams. Flooring can be particle board floor sheeting (again in keeping with the modest nature of the original worker's cottage). Southfacing windows will give expansive views of the lake and surrounds. Another feature I am proposing is a light well to light the downstairs, and connect the downstairs with the upstairs, so when you walk into the room, you see the fireplace, lookup and see the lightwell, look outside and see the views of the garden and lake. The exposed timber beams and high sheet ceiling will add interest to the downstairs as well. To complement, and soundproof the masterbedroom I am proposing a japanese style screen which can be pulled across for privacy and restrict noise from downstairs. The existing kitchen and bathroom can be demolished, and placed into a new wing, in the form of an old 'colonial' style (for want of a better descriptor) brick or sandstone extension (harking back to previous times). Complete with corrugated roof in the same colour as your existing roof. The extension will include a small walkin pantry, bath, shower, wc, and laundry utilities. All up these are modest extensions which I believe will enhance and encapsulate your existing workers cottage without costing a bomb. The chimney will be kept and will need extending either in brick, or steel flue up over the new roof. Steel might look nice.

nothing wrong with a mixed but balanced materials palette.....we regularly mix weatherboard cladding with rendered sections, but it comes down to how it's configured and the form articulated....the problem is when say only the lower level is render and then you have a lightweight upper form articulation - it screams obvious upper level add on, rather than seamless extension.......... It's always about balance and texture - on your home the tiles provide a nice complimentary textural contrast to the render.....you pull this out and replace with a more streamlined contemporary material you'll get a different look - it could well work, but as always when we deal with these types of project we try to respect, preserve and derive the solution form the original character as much as possible........ If you are using an architect specialising in this type of work then it sounds like you are in good experienced hands and rather than confuse the process for yourself you'd be best to work through the options with them privately - it can be almost too confusing and overwhelming the you get multiple opinions, particularly say from here where your context and the project subtlety/details are not fully understood... Best of luck with it Cheers PD :)