I don't want any of those options, I would like beautiful sitting room with plush furniture, classical French inspired (not baroque), I would like a climate controlled glass house to match with orchids and all other exotic plants. A beautiful garden with flowers and fruit trees and a cleaner and a handyman to help me with it.

This is just like our Mediterranean house in Canberra. It was rendered white which never cracked or got mould on it, though I would prefer it to be done in a modern colour like our current home on the Gold Coast which is a rich sand colour with a heavy bagged appearance that has faded from a strong dark sand. With beautiful dark patterned orangey tiles all outside that reflect their colour on the walls during the day it is quite magical. Roof tiles also spray painted after being re pointed. I suggest you amplify the lovely quality of arches and don't go for what is trendy. But go with colour scheme for the house design. At our entrance there is a built up garden courtyard feature with wonderful iron gates and a large water feature in the courtyard that the lounge room looks out to and has the French doors that also opened onto the courtyard garden. Commence the courtyard wall to the left side of the steps and create a flat area at the gated entrance where we had a north single gate and a west double gate. The Pines were planted on the outside of this courtyard wall and gave extra privacy and blocked the westerly afternoon sun. The house always looked impressive, yet was just a simple presentation.

I guess the first question is what do you want to do in the front garden ? A fence like dreamers 2nd pic looks great , and hides almost everything , but personally i don't think it matches the style of your house . You don't have children or pets , so it then comes down to a bbq , or a cricket pitch haha . My gut feeling would be to enlarge the front terrace , probably by removing the wrought iron work , and have a 2nd wooden terrace , one step ( say 200mm ) lower than the concrete one , add a pergola over the lot , maybe a latticework wooden panel ( or even 2 ) at the very front , maybe a builtin seat along the righthand side . Of course , you will also want at least a stainless barbeque , maybe an outdoor kitchen , as well as a couple of outdoor tables , and at least 8 matching chairs . There are problems with both low and tall front fences due to the layout of your section , your house is pleasant , my idea would be to update and upgrade it a bit , without trying to make it something it isn't , or without hiding it .

Erskineville is a lovely suburb where it is nice to see old homes (however challenging) preserved and updated. What an awesome job with clever design to make the most out of the space, even managing to fit in a bath where you can star gaze.