Keep the brick, please don't paint or render. Both eat into your budget (rendering in particular is not cheap), and will mean more ongoing upkeep (render still needs to be painted on a regular basis and with a two-storey house, that is a lot more work). Our house is rendered and we would never have it again. Whenever the house moves, the render doesn't, so is prone to cracking or, over time, pieces even falling off. Even subtle movement can cause hairline cracks, which means regular patching and painting. Quite frankly, most people render an older house to make it look modern, but when rendering becomes passe (which I think is already starting to happen), then the house will look dated again (and render is almost impossible to remove once its on). Also, if you're in an area prone to termites, termites can get in between the render and the brickwork and you won't see the telltale signs of "mud" at the access points to let you know they're there. As far as the rest of the house goes, I totally agree with what Timandra Design recommended.

The façade cost will depend upon the materials you pick and site specs (sloping blocks are a bit more challenging) and labour costs ( just make sure that you check your trades licenses, insurances and references for everyone who works on your house) - once you're structurally sound then the rest is straight forward (it's also been my experience with my builders - who are awesome - that they can come up with some amazing ideas that are cost effective and have a real wow factor). If it were me I'd ask around the neighbourhood for builders that can be recommended - they should be able to do it all at the same time and save you some money. On the materials - I'd be tempted to go with natural timber that will weather naturally without needing maintenance - personally I'd lean towards a Japanese technique of charring the timber so that you don't need to do a lot of upkeep - called Shou-sugi-ban - the reason being that the dark colour will tone in with your window frames.

Hi guys.... Thanks for all comments! The colonial windows are timber so difficult to change without huge expense. There is also lace work on the verandah and balcony, And decorative octagonal window difficult to see in the photo. The front doors are traditional with etched glass inserts. We have formal and informal areas in the house - the front rooms have antiques etc. so more traditional formal areas but rear family and kitchens, and outdoors is more contemporary. We kind of like the gracious look of the house so don't want to screw it up with a bad "try hard" render - plenty of these around. What we are trying to achieve is staying true to the original feel but with some freshening up, and making the most of its street presence. The house is really solid - it was the builders own home when built in 1978.

Hmmm I know what you mean about not wanting too many colours going on - but if you could count the roof as a neutral (that kind of ties in with the white), and then do a pale grey as the cement balcony, they may still tie together as one visually. I agree it'd be nice to add some colour and interest, but you've got such great bones to work with, I think it's just about adding to bring out it's style, rather than masking to make it feel like a house built today -it never works very well. So I would: - refresh white paint on the white balustrades & windows - even consider spraying. I've just done my front gate that was 1/50th of that size and THAT took a while. Though if you do decide to paint by brush, I found my son's Ikea kids craft brush (it's real bristle) was so much better than any of the proper paintbrushes I had! http://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/90193320/ - remove the air con unit and even the satellite dish to other locations if you can. - paint the concrete patio and steps a lighter grey such as Studio Backdrop by Berger (remember that colours come out lighter outside) - Plant some bright & lush plants like sweet viburnum (providing it's not too shaded, or if so, some hydrangea) where the dark brown bricks currently are, as well as lots of other plants in the front garden - a pretty maple or crepe myrtle feature or some background plants like small cypress etc will actually add more visually and mean the house doesn't have to shoulder all the prettiness! Or go more Palm Springs style (though it looks cool where you are?) and add succulents, pots of Chalksticks, Crassula Bluebird etc. And all still in keeping with the era. - Then have fun with styling the exterior. Maybe look at some fabulous Slim Aarons photos for inspo! I can see a cool acapulco style chair and (yellow & white!) stripe cushion on the balcony, some succulents in grouped pots - bring back it's heyday when the owners might have had people over for drinks on the balcony! I love this era, the homes can be so light, bright and elegant, but people often try to update (rendering etc!) and lose their original style. Even paint your front door in a matte rich gold yellow or tomato red! - And a small thing, but the curtains inside being blue and green make it look quite busy too (in reference to your concern around too many colours) as well as looking dark. If you wanted to , it would be great to add white sheers - these are in keeping with the era, will make the house look brighter from the outside too, will make the white windows look even better, and are surprisingly good for privacy (coupled with roller blinds for night). - I forgot to mention earlier that I would definitely leave the dark lower brick and introduce some plants along there, then you wouldn't even notice the difference. Brick is a pain to paint, you then will have to clean it, it may well peel, bricks are porous and breathe, I definitely would only paint them if you have to, and I really don't think you do - it's another original element and is inoffensive. - Here's a variety of links/photos for inspiration, but I really think smartening up the house and then adding an interesting garden (there's a few looks you could go for, depending on your climate & taste!) will make it look amazing. http://thedesignfiles.net/2013/02/melbourne-home-ada-leon-kagan/  http://thedesignfiles.net/2016/02/louise-and-graeme-bell/  http://thedesignfiles.net/2015/02/tim-ross-and-michelle-glew-ross/