Many thanks gerogiegirl123, LouieT & oskuee. I really appreciate your thoughts. We have delayed a bit due to some indoor renovations but I have started painting out the brown rafters & uprights with Ricochet (fairly light grey with hint of earthy green) and the brown sliding doors with vanilla quake (pale grey) & that has lightened things up without heading too far away from the earthy 1970's vibe. Thanks for the photo ideas. I am keen for a united floor that looks great & is durable but that isn't just one boring expanse of the same material. Perhaps some lighting and a raised planter box in one section that could double as seating would help? Also interesting was the comment on the almost Japanese feel. I stumbled across a Japanese plant in a nursery (cephalotaxus harringtonia fastigiata) that may work as a replacement for the tree ferns which are driving me mad with the spores that settle on everything. We have plenty of indoor projects to entertain us and the ideas for the courtyard are slowly evolving. Thanks again.

Well, it has been a long (and sometimes painful) process but we are nearly at the end of the extension/renovation. We ended up going with a building designer (Dalecki Design) who made a few changes we really hadn't considered (including moving the existing bathroom) which may have cost slightly more but completely changed and improved the master bedroom space. Without the pool it will be close to the upper end of our original budget but still within what we were hoping for so fairly happy with that. Overall the new living area is amazing and filled with light compared to the old design. Will throw in some photo updates once we have finally converted the front yard from a sand pit and finished off the driveway, garage door and fencing.

I love the drama of the brick wall and it is a major design feature of the house... however, there is a LOT of exposed brick with the fireplace surround also being exposed and you have mentioned you dont like the colour. Have you thought about covering up the other walls rather than this one, to tone down the brick work? I just wonder if you hate the amount of brick and you are taking it out on this wall because that's where it is concentrated while overlooking the rest of the house? Just food for thought... more food for thought. BTW I love the idea of hanging plants (though watering them might be a pain), I love the idea of a dramatic feature pendant and I also love the idea of the rug, all will soften or harmonise the drama. www.billyhoostudio.com

once you identify any structural issues and considered advice from an engineer but i suggest that the bricks were probably never meant to be exposed and the render was part of the structure...,is it a single or double brick wall, is there an internal framed wall, what about insulation? depending on the look you prefer it might be better to add external cladding eg corrugated steel or Scyon weatherboards to allow for an air space to improve insulation as well as weather proof the building after the wall is made structurally sound