It needs some depth to the front. A balcony or some decorative piers for example. Stone cladding to lower half, etc. Maybe even the Melbourne house on 'House Rules' could provide some clues on what to do.

Render will probably make it even more obvious unless you add some detailing.

Don't be scared of dark colours, yes they get hotter etc, etc., but really its not that bad as even a light coloured house on a 40 degree day will heat up!!

Sounds like a beautiful position, it will be hard to part with, have a look at scyon cladding it could alter your facade dramatically, as mentioned use dark colours to highlight , check out the the Home Team Moorabbin renovation video on the transformation of the Moorabbin house , looks wonderful and the paint colours are beautiful , would look stunning on your house, also add interest using different materials with the cladding.

Thank you for the photos- love the look. I was thinking about using sone cladding to break up the look. Great feedback- really appreciate it

Thank you all for your very detailed feedback. You have given me so much to think about. All your feedback is invaluable and has given me much to think about. I probably will get a colourist to come out for the colours. Its really important to get it right. The scope of work is a little overwhelming at the moment. But if l can get the exterior sorted the value will increase and then l can draw down dome equity to do the interiors.

Will keep you posted

Is it possible (from an inside perspective) to enlarge the front window? I think that might help the overall appearance.

floor and site plans would help understand how the inside relates to the outside but the steep driveway and long distance around the side to the entry steps suggest that a wide flat area of decking at the bottom of the steps with another flight of steps down level with the garage would help break up the long distance to the front door...paint the bricks and existing cladding in a dark colour and add interest with landscaping...horizontal retaining walls instead of the sloping bricks, tall in ground and potted palms would help screen ugly views and under the deck could be surrounded by horizontal slats ..where is the front door to the other dwelling?

What you need is a logical strategy that maximises value gain relative to spend. It's important to have grounded understanding of how any idea translates to cost, which is tricky to do accurately without some professional input/knowledge in this regard.

What I'd be thinking about here what particular lifestyle are you trying to sell to a potential buyer and develop the ideas from there...... texture and freshness possibly is what I'd be trying to inject. Ideas of changing windows are valid, but will be expensive. Cladding upgrade, similarly, is a valid idea, but potentially quite expensive, relatively, for what will be achieved. I would steer clear of rendering as it can be really bland if not well balanced. Also once you start it's hard to stop somewhere without looking half baked and before you know it on something like this you could be $20-30K down. Potentially some strategically placed/applied battening or screening forms could successfully break up the brickwork and increase the facade depth (which is currently lacking). Also if you updated the balustrading to the deck and stairs similarly this could all tie in together to both balance the building texture and increase sophistication. I'd also consider a softer landscaping & paving scheme - at the moment a big part of the issue is the overbearing driveway and brick expanse.

More fantastic feedback- thank you all so much. Love the idea of the extra decking on the ground... hadn't thought of that. Plus better landscaping will be very important. And yes screening or battening will go along way to balancing out the areas. The trick is going to be not spending too much, but enough to give the curb appeal that will draw the buyers inside. Am currently going through the process of putting together a schedule of works and measuring every wall and floor to calculate sizes and then researching costs of materials. Then its about labour costs. That is going to be interesting. I have done other much smaller and basic Renos in the past- but this is a huge one. It needs to be done right and on budget to maximize my final profit. Once I have a fairly good idea of costs then I can start to budget the appropriate amount of money for each area in the project. Luckily I love the planning and researching stages..

Thank you all for your very informative feedback. You guys/gals rock!!!!