That looks so much better. Definitely make chair covers for the rest. I've used aqua accessories in my room- a throw, some coasters and a leaf shaped bowl for the table which has a silver outside. You can always change the accessories with the seasons (I have a red throw for Christmas time) . I'm also having a dilemma with a large window. Initially I'd wanted plantation shutters in white to replace the dark red cedar venetians which made the room gloomy, but I'm now thinking of softening with semi-sheer curtains. It is only partially overlooked in one corner and the rest looks out onto a wall that is less than 1 metre away.

From the title I was expecting something completely different. I think your house has good traditional street appeal. The two things I notice are the balustrading and the landscaping, which I see others have also commented on. I'm not sure what to suggest about the balustrading but somehow it looks not quite right to me. I think those ornamental panels look too busy? Landscaping can really enhance a house. Yours looks quite nice in the second picture but in the first picture it draws attention to the fact that there is no clear entrance. Be careful if considering painting brick or replacing aluminium with timber. You could end up with a high-maintenance facade that looks like a budget reno. I think your house could be completely updated with render and new windows and glass balustrading and maybe a stackstone feature, and I have seen some like that which look beautiful and it's hard to believe it's the same house. But if you don't want to go the whole way then I think you can get a nice result by working with what you have as much as possible rather than covering it up.

guess you would have completed the update by now but just in case, They built great houses in the 70"s, a lot had concrete tiled roofs, have them checked and if sound paint them grey along with gutter and barge boards as you suggested but please do a soft grey otherwise it will look too top heavy, down pipes same colour as bricks (photo of soft grey roof) Paint garage doors same as brick colour minus the stripe, Front entrance update would help, does this open into a small foyer Railing, windows painted, I prefer black for this, I have attached a photo of a house that the owners had the roof painted, they painted all the metal windows themselves, said it was easy. Paving in front of entrance, this photo shows they used white pebbles and pavers with a small screen, plus a new hedge. similar entrance doors to these let in much needed light as these houses can be quite dark

Are you sure the roof is stainless steel?? That is VERY expensive and only used in very exposed corrosive coastal locations since it lasts forever. I think it might be Zincalume, a low cost but very durable and very common roofing material that has a light silvery surface and should last for 50 years. Definitely do NOT paint the roof black (or any dark colour), it would add more than 10° to the internal heat load, and you would have to spend so much more on insulation and on-going AC costs just to get back to where you are now. Have the roof checked and repaired by a roof plumber instead. If it's an old leaky galvanised iron roof at the end of it's days, replace it with zincalume. The porch roof looks like it needs replacing, but I would replace it with new roofing, possibly the insulated sandwich panel kind, that has a smooth white underside, then add a gutter to the front edge so you don't make your visitors walk under a waterfall in the rain. The canvas awning suggested earlier would not last as long without looking tired and would require the removal of existing roof structure, so I think it would be the more costly option (and you would still have the waterfall problem). I would leave the front fence as is, it ties in nicely with the house, but trim the tree. The back deck could easily be roofed to match the front, and be more useful to tenants with weather protection. It would be good to make all trim colours the same, and against the cream brick I think the dark grey you have on the front door and columns works quite well. I would make the other windows and trim, as well as the weatherboards over the back door match that if it just involves painting. However, it's not essential and if it means changing powdercoat finishes it would be too costly to be worthwhile in a rental.