The charring of wood as a method of preservation is nothing new and was known to European and Mediterranean builders as well as Asians. I have for years charred the bases of deck posts and such as a rot preventative. The practice is mentioned in John Fitchen's classic book Building Construction Before Mechanization. Some of the samples of this shown above are a bit crude. The most beautiful finishes of this type are rather labor intensive as some of the char can be brushed back off to some extent to reveal wood grain. The planter shown below has been coated on the interior with linseed oil, blackjack and turpentine and then set alight with a roofer's torch. The finish is cooked into the wood producing a carbonized insect and decay resistant surface. It gets filled with soil and so the char will be seen only at the edges.

Yes, our harsh Australian environment does hammer our external finishes but if exposed timber is coated with a good quality finish initially ( i recommend 4 coats minimum ) then an ongoing maintenance coat every couple of years, your timber can still look great many years down the track. People just need to understand if you want that beautiful natural timber look you have to put time in to maintain it.

The weatherboard look suits so stay with that but maybe a recladd in an FC Weatherboard. Have a look at Scyon Linea. Which is a high performance version of Fibro Cement. Also use some architraves around windows and doors. A repaint will make a big change. I'm not a fan of blue blue I'm more a grey so look at 'Windspray' or 'Timeless Grey'. Paint the new architraves in white or 'Shale Grey'. One other change I would make is landscaping. Have a professional do a design for you this where you'll really make the property your own.

We want something that blends in, but because it's a zinc and colourbond shed home, I want to choose a colour that makes it look more like a house and less like a shed. I was looking at basalt but my husband would prefer a lighter colour for keeping the place cool in summer. My original choice was windspray but I'm a bit concerned it won't contrast enough with the zinc roof...but perhaps better than dune that might look too 'sheddy'...so hard to decide!