Love domino, but the proportions here are creating an uncomfortable blocky-ness to it. Definitely paint your fascias and barge boards in the eave colour. I think by highlighting this overshadowed proportion will help draw your eye to the architectural outline, rather than the infill colour. Don't paint your window trims light, as they will only highlight the contrast and make the domini look darker and less complimentary. White windows with dark boards for example are better suited to wider trims, like architraves or timber framed windows, yours are a slim aluminium? And they should blend seamlessly into the cladding. I would however, repaint the protruding section,right in front of your entry, perhaps the stairwell, both on ground floor, and top level, so the entire elevation that sticks out is perhaps a lighter grey, mid range colour like urban grey. It will refocus the attention to the entry, drawing your eyes upward and the domino will simply help to minimise the heaviness upstairs, by almost. Disappearing. Domino is a strong architectural colour, it works to define or delete areas of elevation quite well. go with your gut instinct, just re- paint your front focus, and the domino will do its job. But it shouldn't be the element that steals the show, in this case, it doing so is causing doubt.

I love this house - it's got so much potential for "wow" with a small budget, depending on the materials you use and if you're prepared to do all/part of the work yourselves. A trip to your local hardware store will help you get costings and work out what you feel able to do yourself and where you're going to employ experts. If the pergola is council approved, I'd keep it, extend a deck (eco wood is easy to use for a beginner handyperson) where the pergola is. I'd add a louvered roof over it so that you have a living space (I'd use specialists for this), and a way of keeping hot summer sun off the front of the house. As it looks like you've got a metal roof, I'd think about painting it, the house trim and the garage doors the same colour to give your home a sense of cohesiveness and keep the exterior walls white as it looks fresh, doesn't date and is in keeping with the style and period of your home. Refreshing the front garden beds will make a huge difference too.

I have painted houses light grey, white (twice) and black. Each time I have used semi-gloss vivid white for my window and door trim. The semi gloss does draw ones eye more and makes it a feature (so good if thats what you like - looks fabulous when the house is matt white) but what I enjoy the most is that it is much easier to keep clean.. Hope this helps

the easiest way to light any space is look at which way the globes point, and you can see it in the picture you posted. When that fitting is turned on the light hits the ceiling first and washes down from there. What you need is functional lighting whether you make a statement of the light or let the kitchen do the talking is up to you, the best form of task lighting for you in there would be a 3 circuit track system, allowing you to place and point the light where you want it. And being 3 circuit the same track could have 3 different functional light fittings suspended from the 1 power source.