Hi, we received an email from Houzz about you and I thought I would introduce our business; Sydney Doors to you as we could be of service. We manufacture custom made kitchen and wardrobe doors in a raw or polyurethane finish. We also pick up and deliver and are known for our friendly, efficient service. Please contact me if we can be of assistance. Regards.

No worries! Most people haven't heard of them yet! SIPS panels are basically a couple of sheets of timber board, with a core of polystyrene. They come in panels, or can be pre-cut to size to fit the job. As far as builders go, I don't personally know of any that use concrete panels for residential jobs - mainly because they're not really cost effective until you get to larger commercial sized jobs (as far as I know). Another good way to achieve the industrial look is by using polished plaster render. That gives the look of concrete at a fraction of the cost and can be done in a variety of finishes to suit your taste. It all depends if you want the whole house to have the concrete look or just as features in places that count - all comes down to your design.

I would be very careful about painting to match Colorbond Night Sky in such an exposed position. Dark black paints tend to absorb more UV radiation and starts to flake off before lighter colours which are less absorbant to UV radiation. Have a look around for any dark black painted buildings that are five years old to see what I mean. I would not ne introducing a contrast colour, but looking towards the colours that are already in your bricks for inspiration. For the new Easylap panel consider the warm charcoal tones in some of your bricks, and for the shadow board use one of the lighter brown/tan bricks. If you want a pop of colour then bring it in with the furniture and planting for your new deck. I often have this problem with my Melbourne clients in matching brick colours as there are so many possible paint colours, and only a limited range available as paint samples in paint outlets. I use a Dulux Snapshot device which gives me very good colour matching accuarcy with the 4800 different colours available from Dulux. https://www.dulux.com.au/specifier/services-and-programs/snapshot If you need a colour analysis/marriage mediation consultation please contact me, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Ahhhh (sigh) yes...... wouldn't that be great Arcke - a conversation about the true benefits and value of professional design..........one of the biggest challenges I think (we as) designers have is when design is done well, it looks so simple and effortless, that it can be mistaken that it's easy to do.......when in fact (as you know) that underlying the (as you said) "illusion of simplicity", is a deep and complex balancing process that ultimately takes years, arguably a lifetime to properly master........ Wai's house here is a remarkable opportunity (frustrating to look onto from our position) as it (dare I say relatively easily!) could be cleaned up to be a stunningly elegant residence of simplicity, with a far superior living experience and consequently a much more valuable piece of real estate long term......but it requires a seasoned design Pro at the helm who understands this type of architectural language, form and the relationship of human scale to deliver it, not just a drafty who has been directed what walls to draw up by the owner and just slaps a hip form over it all.....