Visit stratco or Bunnings and look at their laser cut screens. I would place a couple in front of sliding door, remove part of concrete driveway and plant shrubs in front of screens. If you require access, maybe install screens offset.
Remove and possibly replant tall shrub at the front door. It looks out of proportion. Install a matching screen on brick wall, at the stairs. Maybe hang flowering plants from screen.
Save up and get aircon unit moved to the side of the home.

I would add a verandah at your front door, then create some privacy around the slider

First thing I'd do is waterblast -- everything you can see , especially the terrace , the paths , the bricks , the wall on the left .

Then I'd paint that silver gate or fence panel in charcoal , the fences on the right , and basically every fence you can see .

That grey barge board around the top , just under the gutters , is shocking . Paint it crisp white . I'd probably do the the gutters and the mesh door in a bright red or yellow to highlight the lines and add some visual excitement , but I know a lot of people wouldn't .

Dreamer suggested a panel or 6 -- it looks to me like you still park a vehicle there , so maybe a carport , in colours that carry through from the house , would deflect from the ranch sliders' openness , and protect your vehicle , and look good too . A relatively simple cage in cedar stained wooden slats ( so that air can circulate ) around the air con unit would hide it , and maybe carry that theme onto the 'far' end of the carport if you decide on that route , or 2 or 3 steel uprights if you 'just' want a screen ( obviously with 12-15 cedar stained horizontal slats attached , say 40mm x 40mm , with 40mm gaps . I've purposely suggested cedar stain or similar tones , to break from the rest of the charcoal fencing .

carport is to the side of the property now behind the opening gates to the left

I will add the whole view to get clarity

That silver gate just adds to the 'confusing' look . The bricks are a great feature , but the gate isn't , and I'd do that in charcoal . It looks like the window frames are brown , and it would be tempting to say do the gate in a nice brown , but you have a yellowy beige garage peeping over the top , and that beige , with brown , just screams 1970's , whereas charcoal is more modern .

Okay , so a 'cedar' screen in front of the ranchslider , blast everything , charcoal everything that looks like a fence or gate , white on the barge board around the house , white across the front of the carport ( I don't know if it was planned , but that looks like it is all in a straight line -- the same height as the house barge board ) . I'd also probably do that top 'turnover' piece of roofing that looks about 60mm wide , on the gabled front of the garage , in crisp white too , or possibly whatever colour you settle on for your gutters .

It is different styles , but by sticking to a theme , it looks more 'together' -- which is why I said the bricks are great !

Suggest breaking up the concrete onthe old driveway, unless you need two for some reason, and landscape the garden. If you work out a garden design or have one done for you you can work on the plan in stages yourselves to save money. This would include replacing the existing bushes with plants to fit with an overall cohesive design plan. The plan could also include a small wooden screen in front of the aircon unit that could itself be screened with plants and adding a curving pathway to the front door that is part of the garden design is a practical addition that will stop mud and dirt being tracked into the house. Besides street appeal and making a pleasant approach to the house for your visitors, having an interesting front garden enhances and frames the view from inside the house. A view from inside of trees, plants and flowers that change with the seasons can be enjoyed every day by all the residents.

As you are on a tight budget I would also recommend dealing with some of the more necessary jobs first before painting. I couldn’t see any peeling paintwork anywhere however there is a large - looks like dead(?) tree overhanging your roof that needs to be removed by an arborist which will set you back a few hundred dollars. You don’t want dropped limbs on the house causing damage to your roof and gutters which would be expensive to repair. After that I’d get a garden design done by a professional that incorporates drip irrigation ( necessary to sustain the new plants) and start work on that. Painting can be done later once you’ve dealt with the issues with your yard which unfortunately is a bit of an eyesore at present. You are very lucky to have such a great big front yard with enormous potential to be quite spectacular!

Landscape first, cedar slat screen in front of garage conversion. Personally I’d bulldoze the whole front yard of those driveways and start afresh. It’s amazing how clever plantings etc will enhance your place. Similar to pic to give you an idea

Thanks so much for your ideas and suggestions so far. I will absolutely look at cedar screen at front of slider door and a small one at the air con unit. A porch would be lovely but I don't think the budget stretches that far tbh.
I am looking for real bang for buck changes to increase appeal in the short term and then maybe can make big changes down the track. Definitely landscaping plans.

Actually , that has given me another thought !

If you are going to do a ( real or fake ) cedar slate screen in front of the ranch slider , it is going to be around 3-3.5 metres wide , and say 1.8 tall . If you carried through that theme , and did the same slats screwed onto the gates going into the carport , it would tie that in .

But here's the thought -- do another screen the same size ( 3.5 x 1.8 say ) and put it just in front of the path , so it 'hides' the front door and the air con unit -- hides a problem and adds some privacy . But then , you can , either at the same time or later , add 3 or 4 150mm x 50mm beams back to above the front door , several cross braces , and add Colourbond or clear perspex . Voila -- privacy , hide the air-con , and have the protection of a veranda too , at a reasonable price ! Plus , with 3 similar barriers across the front , and the same brick , it all adds to the look !

Love that idea. I will start to look at some inspo for tieing in the screens with a veranda.

Also, i have thought about the driveway and agree that the two could be bulldozed to start a fresh, but main concern is - I use the closest driveway a lot and the farthest driveway through the gate when I need cover.

Obviously , just leave the 2 driveways -- just my opinion , but there's worse features to deal with haha . If you do a screen in front of the ranchslider though , and can rip up a metre or so from the screen towards the road ( leave the bit directly outside the ranchslider ) and do a garden , both for the looks but also to stop cars driving too far forward ! I'd actually do a bit of height , either mound the dirt a bit before planting , or add a couple of decent sized rocks , or similar -- adds a physical and visual barrier .

Have you considered painting the bricks white to make it look more up to date? I have seen amazing results with houses of your era looking so much more current. Agree with some previous comments. Your house would look much more attractive if you got a beautifully landscaped front yard, with more variation in height and texture to add interest and redesigning the straight driveways. ( No point cleaning the driveway, it will just further highlight their lacklustre shape and disunifying effect.)

I actually love the idea of painting the bricks white. I didn't even think about that as an option and I have been looking at inspo all day. Thank you! I really don't mind the driveways at the moment but when I plan the landscape I will take them into consideration.

Remove part of the drive way and extend garden bed so it is the width of the house and plant same type of shrubs you already have but make it into a hedge and keep it trimmed. You can install sun shade blinds on the inside of your sliding doors, you will retain views and have privacy from the outside during the day. Add some kind of roof above the entrance door it would be practical and guide visitors to the front door.

Please don’t paint the brick- this popular at the moment but will soon (hopefully) become another dated trend. It changes an almost zero maintenance surface into a much higher maintenance one, and makes the house pretend to be something it is not. Break up the driveway to the “drive in room” , then concentrate on landscaping to get best “bang for buck”. Plants take time to establish, so get a plan and get them started. You will save money by using less mature plants.

I'm with HU , but I'd also add a 'practical' viewpoint too . If it was 'just' the house , and you didn't mind the extra maintanence , then maybe .

But you've got essentially 2 brick walls to the left , and the garage and carport too . You could spend twice as much , and get it all looking similar . But then you'll have to do the 'insides' of the walls and all 4 walls of the garage etc -- and IMO it would be twice as obvious that it is just pain't , trying to look what it ain't , as the Yanks say !

Yeah, I will take a fair bit of time and some expert opinions before I take that plunge.. it seems to be very divided with people I talk to irl too. I think that the fact that there is so much frontage is actually what made me think it would be impressive. I've always love rendered houses so maybe down the line I'll go down that track... I will live in the house for 6 months before I make any BIG decisions as I was always told to do that first.

Another option would be to change the windows out. I'm not sure of what is out there, cost vs benefit. Also actually removing the sliding door and bricking it up to be a window too + adding a nice front porch area to draw to entranceway..

Facade- Taubmans Moroka is a dyi bagging product that can be tinted = instant update for about $700
Sliding doors - using blue board or similar build a wall about 2 mtrs in front = breaks up front of house, provides privacy to that room, ie a small courtyard feel and still maintains parking
Garden - remove the big shrub, and then water blast concrete steps / paint them with specialty paint

Has anybody asked which way it faces to know where the sun is? If this is north and a lovely place to be, actually even if it is not, you pay lots for the land therefore I would think about a high visual block so the front garden can be a social, play, read area: used by the householders. Somewhere on or back from boundary use star posts, large chicken wire, camellias &/or bushy every green shrubs and then plant out the garden with veggies or what ever you like but add a seat or three as well. A main path to front door, a paint job on fascias, gutters, trim and other elements: it would make a practical private oasis. Cheers Margot

Pretty sure the covenant on the street won't allow that Margot. no fencing from front of house and whatever faces the street has to be same material as house.

But yeah a hedging might be okay...