Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

Hi Siriuskey, They are timber looking tiles - we absolutely love them. We are considering the same for the new place but potentially herringbone/parquetry arrangement. Much more expensive vs. laminate but easier to clean and no concern in relation to water...

Is it your house Rebecca , or a photo you found ? If it is your place , but you are wanting to replace the window frames , I'd be inclined to ( whther you do it yourself or get a professional to do it ) strip off the white paint , and then stain it in a mid to dark brown stain -- I suspect you could do it without removing the glass . It would contrast nicely with the stonework ( interestingly , I've always known it as 'crazy paving' ) , take away some of that 70's look , and look more like an upmarket ski lodge !

Is that a photoshopped pic of your place , or just a similar place ? There are too many styles trying to happen there IMO , not only the windows , and like oklouise says , somethings don't quite look right . I'd do bars ( frames ) about 200mm from the top of the two upstairs sets of windows , to match the downstairs style . Unlike ok lou , I don't like louvres -- they are drafty and don't really achieve much IMO -- a kid can put their hand and/or toys and/or your valuables out there , my personal preference is top-hinged with a folding stay at the sides , so they open 150-200mm but no further -- no-one can climb or fall in or out , can stay open overnight if warm , etc . I don't particularly like the upstairs balcony and gable , but I'm not keen on the entrance door treatment either , and without knowing what it looks like now , I may be tempted to replicate the 'double square' look of upstairs , downstairs too -- make it all the same theme . I'd keep the garage in the off-white , because if you look at the right side , both downstairs and upstairs look a bit boring IMO , with that flat dark finish -- the garage door done the same would add to the slab look . And while I'm being picky -- I personally think the black or extremely dark grey is too dark -- toned back just a bit would be better IMO -- you don't want it to look obviously grey , but a nice charcoal IMO . And finally -- the column bases look 'dirty' -- imagine how they would look in a gloss black tile on the top and also the 'skirtings' ( or a gloss black paint at a pinch ) ; with white gloss tiles where you have a light grey ( or , again , maybe the same paint as your other trim , but $5k of tiling would really add to those ) -- I think that would work with your black , or even a charcoal , 'main' colour . Anyway , just suggestions , and purely my viewpoint -- it's quite a nice but still simple design , just a couple of small things that would bug me if it was my place .