Unless you have the money to update everything else to better complement the bricks, painting them will give you a much more updated look. Over the past 18mths I’ve been working on the front and landscape of my current house, including painting the bricks and it has made the world of difference! I’ve attached a before and after photo! Good luck.

Thanks guys, @Andy, I will be more than happy to keep everyone in the loop. Especially after everyone has contributed so generously. However, the reality is that we are in the very early stages of planning. Also, considering we are wanting to basically gut the house and renovate from top to bottom raising the funds will likely take time. Though I'm sure we will continue to return to this page and seek additional advise/suggestions moving forward. Oklouise, thanks for the floor plan. This will be very useful when showing a professional our/your ideas. A loft? That sounds expensive! Regarding changing from my beloved Hampton's style, we were thinking of keeping some elements from the original home. I.e the raked ceilings but white washing them. do you have an example of a modern mid century home? Siriuskey, ok you are making life way to hard for us now. You keep coming up with some fantastic ideas for the kitchen and my wife loves all of them! I agree with you about keeping those two front rooms. I think they are quite unique in the house BUT we really like Oklouise's floor plan which carves up that room into a WIP/study. Currently we are torn as we want to retain the room but love her floorpan. Life is just to hard! I do indeed like my barn doors! I think they are very cool indeed (not sure how quickly they will date), we were wanting to use one as the entrance to the WIP. I have attached another picture of an example kitchen style that I like.

Hi Ginger , I'm in New Zealand , and the suggestions I would make if your house was here in NZ or Australia would be that there's nothing wrong with the house itself , I like the colour and style . What I would focus on is 'the rest' . The garden looks a bit new and a bit plain -- personally , I'd do a big colourful glazed pot , at least 60cm tall and wide ( 2 ft ) in your favoured blue or red or burgundy or green or similar , and have it 'in' the garden near the footpath ( you might need to move 1 plant ) . Maybe something unusual -- a bamboo or cactus or 3 or 4 small plants ? In the main garden , add some variety too -- a brown flax , a shrub with red leaves , 3 or 4 low yellow grasses ? The pergola over the door I like -- white rails and uprights , maybe a slightly sloping clear plastic roof -- it would tie in with the door , the windows and the look and era . The fences I would stain charcoal -- that would fade and weather well , and although 'black' ( charcoal ) , yellow and white is pretty cliche'd , it would work , and hopefully be different enough to make your place stand out from all the copying neighbours haha .

Can you get in the ceiling easily ? I know they are 'boring' , but I'd suggest just going for 6 or 8 downlights per room , and obviously change the wall fittings too . Even Julies more basic chandaliers are a bit busy with those tiles IMO -- that's why I am thinking of going for more basic downlights , although brass coloured ones would be modern but also period at the same time . I like the fans though -- they seem quite classy . The kitchen has too much 70's wood IMO , and the splashback tiles are way too busy . How about going basic white tiles for the splashback , BUT also do the kickboard around the base of the cupboards in white tiles ( 100 x 100 ? ) -- that will break the timber vibe , but also reference the splashback . White legged stools like the ones used in the pics reinforces that . The rest of the house that can be seen here ? Its period , embrace it , and steal the staging ideas of adding art and rugs . Painted or panelled bricks will always look like that , changing will be difficult , and won't really achieve much .