This is just like our Mediterranean house in Canberra. It was rendered white which never cracked or got mould on it, though I would prefer it to be done in a modern colour like our current home on the Gold Coast which is a rich sand colour with a heavy bagged appearance that has faded from a strong dark sand. With beautiful dark patterned orangey tiles all outside that reflect their colour on the walls during the day it is quite magical. Roof tiles also spray painted after being re pointed. I suggest you amplify the lovely quality of arches and don't go for what is trendy. But go with colour scheme for the house design. At our entrance there is a built up garden courtyard feature with wonderful iron gates and a large water feature in the courtyard that the lounge room looks out to and has the French doors that also opened onto the courtyard garden. Commence the courtyard wall to the left side of the steps and create a flat area at the gated entrance where we had a north single gate and a west double gate. The Pines were planted on the outside of this courtyard wall and gave extra privacy and blocked the westerly afternoon sun. The house always looked impressive, yet was just a simple presentation.

Hi Andrew At Bodo, our motto for exterior colour schemes is Keep It Simple! with a maximum of 3 colours, including your roof, windows etc. If you break this rule, the colour scheme becomes complicated and fussy, and may make your house appear smaller, as introducing differing colour in differing sections, confuses the eye line. Dont make the same mistake, by making "for now"decisions. Think of the future :) We recommend keeping everything in Colorbond Bushland. We have attached an example of how this could look below. 1. Rendered Rear Retainers 2. Existing front retainers 3. Fencing (existing) 4. Full House repaint (this is where the future comes in!) This scheme will work beautifully with your white aluminium joinery, and feel seamless. It will be ok with your classic cream patio and roof. This colour scheme wont be one bit boring! just stylish and classic. Not to mention an increased sale ability of your home. Then you can bring in some timberwork, pots in a colour that you love, outdoor furniture etc or maybe even a wall garden on the rear fence line. If you really want to take the guesswork out of which colours to use right throughout your home, inside and out - jump on and have a look at the concept that Bodo recommends for you: You can purchase and instantly download a full shopping list of paint, materials and products to bring your look together! http://bodoboards.com.au/collections/paint-concept/products/australian-bush-paint-concept Good luck!

I love that you have gone for a zinc roof on shed and house. With zinc there is no issues with fading and mould and the matching roofs are enough to match your house and shed. Also it is timeless and leaves more options if you change your mind down the track about wall colour. Like you I am also on a country block and had the same dillema when building my home a few years back. My shed is Jasper with zinc roof and guttering. I debated for ages about painting my house shades to match jasper. Someone said to me.....don't make your house an extension of your shed!! So glad I listened. I painted our house a green similar to coloubond mangrove and went for zinc roof and guttering. Everyone went berserk about the zinc roof and guttering (and the green) when I suggested it, but it looks wonderful!.... and very quality. The brown undertones in the green and jasper brown compliment well. The house also has zinc window frames. You want your house colours to look nice next to shed and also you want the house to catch your eye sooner, but not look too matchy. My suggestion is that you go for zinc guttering on the house to match roof, and introduce a different colour to your house that has grey undertones to look nice next to the shed. Hope this helps. I'm still loving my outside colour choices. (The inside ones are a different story and Im ready to get the beushes and rollers out again.) Good luck!

It has a sort of Tuscan/ Mediterranian vibe , and I like most of the features ( that chimney design is clever , for example , and the way the paving is wearing is great ! ) . You say about red trim , but to me it looks like a reddy brown , which suits . The bluey greeny board doesn't suit , and doesn't go with the roof either ( I assume the roof is all those charcoal tiles ? ) . Ordinarily , I'd say to lighten the render and go with a darker board -- probably charcoal , but then thats just a continuation of the roof . BUT I like the weathered vibe of the existing render , and I like how the windows etc works with the render too . So here's my 'easy' improvement -- leave it mostly as it is , but change 2 things . The downpipe and collector near the door ( the single story one ) I'd change to genuine copper ( not just paint ) ; and the barge board around the top I'd change to either crisp white ( the safe option ) or a metallic coppery bronze -- that references the downpipe but also ties in and transitions between the render and the tiles . A bit riskier , but IMO worth trying .