Lindy, Why dont you do a computer image of the outside of your home like you can do with digital decorator and play with some schemes. You would instantly know if you like it or not!! Otherwise as Luke suggested, you need to decide if you want to contrast or blend?? I would certainly start off with a blend, as changing it to a deeper colour later would be far easier than trying to go back to a lighter colour if you decide you don't like it. Deep Ocean can look stunning with Jarrah but now that you have Monument I think you really need to stick to Windspray if your window frames are that colour otherwise I feel you will be introducing too many colours and you will spoil the elegant look of the home. Cheers, Barbara

You must have quite a wide frontage to build this design so I would suggest the facades and garage door to have a striking contemporary colour to really stand out. I don't think it would look too busy at all because of the wide frontage you must have on your block of land. My only suggestion would be to work with your architect to change the facades a little more to differentiate the two. In my experience, the value of duplexes where the facades are differentiated to make it looks more like two homes increases. Also out of curiosity how many bedrooms has the architect included in the design?

When you render the bricks I would consider leaving some of them exposed here and there - that reminds me of old Tuscan buildings! I would include some large terracotta pots with olive trees or lemon trees, also as others have suggested some brightly coloured geraniums in hanging baskets against the wall or in terra cotta pots. Here are a couple of shots of my back deck (which isn't looking its absolute best) but to give you an idea of the large pots and colour. You have a beautiful spot to work with good luck! Sue

I'm quite happy for my home to have 'wow' factor if it's me thinking 'wow, I love that!'. If 'wow factor' is wanting others to be 'wowed' when they walk through your door then you're probably getting caught up in the wrong factor. What we go 'wow' about in our own homes is likely to vary from person to person - for me, its about the beautiful natural light in my home, for someone else it might be the pebble shower recess they laid by hand, or their garden in spring. There are probably also home features which tend to generate approval across the board, things like soaring ceilings or bespoke features, a beautiful fireplace or amazing view come to mind here.