Hi, interestingly I have been grappling with this issue recently! For a contemporary design I have firmly decided that dark bronze or black frames suit much better as they are visually recessive and give the optical illusion of larger glazing and help create an indoor-outdoor connection. White frames tend to focus your eyes on the frames/window rather than the space and form, however you can get these to work if you use very slender frames (which are more expensive) or if you are purposefully using traditional design cues. I know this doesn't help as you already have the DA, so if you can go with the silver pearl that is a good option, and perhaps use the words "dark beige" to darken the render!

I would look at some exterior screens rather than tying to paint powder coated aluminium windows and frames.

We have an even better match now. Took my sample of frame to another paint shop and they were brilliant! Kept working on the mix until it was right. And even better the lady was an interior decorator and advisor and gave me some great advice on colour choosing. Thinking of going quite a bit lighter for the walls and adding some pops of colour in verandah posts and/or fret work. Feeling so much better about the choices now. The samples on the cards are all the colours I originally had, we’ve just pulled in Haymes Overcast as the overall colour rather than Charcoal Grey. Will use the Charcoal in the features. Really excited to get weatherboards on and start painting!! It pays to shop around!!

No worries, Emma. I envy anyone who can picture an outcome from a 5x4cm colour swatch. I can’t. I need a bigger, more realistic visual clue. We’ve been through the same mind changes with selections too, including whether to render or not. We were fearful of creating lifelong work, fixing potential cracks in the render and repainting. In the end, we decided to leave it alone, and have an unassuming (or even deceptive) street look that makes everyone go ‘wow’ when they walk through the door because inside is not what they expected from the outside. We’ll see how the house dates in the years to come and re-visit the idea of rendering at that time. But like you, my main prob is the colour of the window frames. I’ve spray painted some internal frames. They look heaps better. Just gotta get motivated to do some more!