Many thanks chookchook2. This is the front of the house thus far I was thinking of lilly pilly which are trimmed round shape in big black gloss pots on either side of the entrance where the white hand rail is . I have bad allergies , hay fever etc hence j need to stick to Australian natives, hence either lilly pilly or magnolia ( teddy bear ) plants ...

Hi Jaimia, I tend to agree with 12sally12 sentiments. Celebrate the house and it's foibles (boxiness, entry, colour, balcony treatment). However it's great to adapt a home to make it yours - just making the right decisions is the hard part! The extent of change depends on your budget and your tolerance for inconvenience. I've listed a few ideas that vary from 'nice to have' to significant structural (and cost) changes. These will affect the colour scheme, and therefore the way it will appear overall. Roof – dark colours appear heavier and more dominant. Your home looks to be built in the 70's, it's likely due for a new roof soon. Consider a fresh new zinc or white colorbond roof. Upgrade the gutters and downpipes at the same time. Balcony – remove the clutter (replace handrails), and extend the balcony beyond the face of the main facade. This will give the effect of elongating the front elevation of your home. The detail of the new handrail extending along the continuous balcony frontage should in turn provide a fresh new look (more contemporary). Arches – these could remain, or go (depending on your desire to keep the quirkiness). These are likely to be aesthetic brickwork only - but check with a structural engineer if these can be removed. Entrance – there are two parts to this: The first aspect is to do with the appliance from the street frontage. Prioritise making the front door the most welcoming part of your home. This can be done with a pathway from the front of the site, with garden areas and great planting to accentuate the entrance to your home. The other aspect of the entrance is how entrance 'reads' from the outside of your home. This depends a little on your location (and climate). As a guide I'd suggest revising the entry wall, including the door and windows proportions to 'open up' this part of the facade to the street. This should be designed in the context of those iras listed above, as well as benign conscious of security and protection from sun loading. I hope this helps Jaimia, (Keep in mind many of the aspects listed above will require structural design asa minimum!) Cathi

love the design and colours of your new house, definately not too dark, looks stunning and edgy. love it.

You are on the right track with the Monument garage door, and possibly changing the glazing. I wouldn't tack on anything to the brickwork as it will always looked tacked on, and won't go with the rest of the house. Nothing worse than making a "feature'" when trying to conceal something - it just draws attention to it. Continue to make your porch and entry the feature which draws your eye, rather than distracting it with a feature garage wall. Where do you start and where do you stop when applying a cladding over brickwork? The rear garage wall can probably be seen form the neighbours front yard, so how far around the corner will you need cladding? It will need to be carefully resolved and detailed around the window sills and reveals. A better bet would be spending the money that has been earmarked for cladding on landscaping instead to the front of the garage with some dense, ever-green shrubbery. At least it will look natural and not draw attention to the garage wall and away from your front entry. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls