Penny the Raku is on our house & carport & we love it! Our house is timber (white) & hardies composite painted Raku along with the carport to the right. White Duck weatherboards (Dulux) & Windspray (Colorbond) roof, gutters, fascia & timber poles . Though we have no brick we do have a patio & gates in a rust colour along with Merbau stained timber decks which all seem to work together nicely.

I'm not a huge fan of the teal tiles. I would pick up a beautiful neutral travertine and some natural stone that highlights the white and pulls in the yellow timber tones to form the pool edge. Timber walls are stunning, but it requires a lot of maintenance and the commitment to keep it looking pristine. It is easier to colour block with a deep accent colour like grey or rich brown and use architectural features like pillars, shadowboxes or the frames as previously mentioned. It is also well worth getting a lighting designer to come in and help you think about how to create more drama and functional lighting for your pool.

Definantely keep the old garage, it's been there much too long to be considered illegal, your neighbour would also love the privacy it provides to both of you, we have a similar one next to our pool, we love it. Agree some gardening and clearing away some old bits and pieces. Just attaching a couple more photos, don't throw the plants away just repurpose them. the first photo is of a builders house, he used the existing garage as a games room with added pergola over original driveway, a second carport is off to the left looks brilliant (they get quite a lot of sun on this side). The next two are before and after shots of a mid centuary house similar to your's, the last photo is of our current house, flat roof garage is hiding solar panels, we have changed the colour pink to a more original one, grey green.

The good kind of mad! (Most) old houses ooze character, warmth and heart as much as new ones do chemicals and cheap fittings. I am a housebody, and love being in my house - I spend my money on it, instead of out clubbing and yes, there are always unexpected costs (new hot water service, leaking toilet...), but if you were renting you would have nothing of your own at the end anyway. Three years ago I bought my first house, a fairly original sandstone 98 year old lady in need of some TLC. No builder's reports in this little town, but then she cost me less than a landcruiser... Things I planned to do, but took forever because of rusting nails, old sizing, old quality workmanship include painting the whole thing, top to bottom, pulling up axminster carpet and getting the floors polished, putting fans and air conditioning in. Things I was hoping to avoid for a few more years but can't, include replacing the original roof, swapping the three-cupboard sleepout kitchen with a bedroom, redoing the bathroom, complete with new plumbing and actual drainage to the septic pit (which I had to have fixed a bit), and then I think the best option for the back room and laundry is just to rebuild them....But I don't regret this house, or the journey it's taken me on. Even if it has turned out to be a much more expensive journey than I thought! With time and google, you can do a lot yourself. Before I moved back three years ago I had always been n provided accommodation, so had never used a drill and only changed a couple of light globes, but now... I took a chimney and fireplace down on my own, then re-pointed the stone and put in a ceiling panel to close it up. I have painted, put up shelves, taken down cupboards that were built into walls, patched cracks, filled gaps, pried off skirting boards, and generally turned it into a home. For the more major stuff, like putting a doorway through a foot thick stone wall and rewiring an original bedroom to house a modern kitchen, I am getting the professionals in. good luck!