I'd be more inclined to do gardens , rather than paint . You are near the beach , so go with flaxes and grasses and even cactus as well as a mix of yellow and red and green leaved plants , with a variety of heights , up to say 1.5 mtrs , but most 50cm or less .

The fence I'd probably do in white to tie in with the white on your house .

If you really want to paint , maybe a burnt orange ( browny red ) or similar will look pleasant , but I suspect if you go too modern , too brown , too blue , etc it will over-emphasis that it is a basic design . The yellow and white is old-fashioned , but so is the building , so thats why I'd try and divert eyes by doing the fence , gardens and waterblast the concrete .

Having said all of that , maybe waterblast the fence and see what condition the pailings are in -- if yiou think they'll take a stain , do a reddish cedar stain . And then get some 40mm x 40mm battens , chamfer the corners slightly , stain them the same , and attach them vertically over the windows , with 40mm between each batten . That , combined with the gardens/plants as above , should give a more modern appearance . Then you'll probably want to do a lighter paint , an offwhite or similar , with the cedar look timber adding warmth . It may cut down the light through the windows though . You could even possibly continue the left side so it covers the meter box too .

Thank you, that seems so cost effective also.

You could spend $10's of thousands and do that whole wall in layered schist or similar , and its still going to be a basic 2 bed 'box' , in fact that fibro may have asbestos so that will add to the costs . My advice , either do the minimum , or knock it down , spend $1 million and hope its worth $2 million .

I liken it to cars -- you can buy a 1995 Corolla and drive it for 2 or 3 years with minimum extra costs . But if you need to do 100,000kms a year , it won't last . So you could spend $5000 on the mechanicals , another $5000 on panel and paint , it'll be more reliable but its still only worth basic $$$ . And if you want more power and speed , you'd be mad to put a trick race motor and huge wheels and brakes , for $40,000 or more . Its still going to be a 95 Corolla .

So the logical thing , if you are doing 100.000kms a year , is buy new or near new , and buy what will do the job .

With your house , it gets to the point you either spend the minimum , or you sell and move , or knock down and rebuuild -- if you go in the middle , you'll do most of your $$$ , because the basics are still older .

These houses are sought after these days, especially as close to the beach as you are, putting in a new kitchen and laundry is a great idea, updating the garden, adding an outside shower, these can be added with minimal outlay, coastal planting will look fabulous.

Choosing a colour scheme, keeping it with the beach house look, or go dark , you definitely won’t have any trouble when selling.

Love all of your suggestions Julie

Don’t paint the fence. Stain it dark or leave it. Plant scrappy bushes to grow through it. Look for native shrubs for your local area. Council or plant nursery should have a list.
Keep to bright cheery colours and a contrasting door to your wall colour as feature. Look around the area to see what works well. ‘I found one I like and knocked on door to ask.

I agree,  go for a fun beach colour,  add the new services and update the garden.  Don't worry about trying to tart up the fence.

Light coloured gravel with native grasses and keeping the natural timber fence would look lovely with any of Julies suggestions

Love that siriuskey

Ouch. Needs stepping stones

Can I ask why people are suggesting just to stain the fence instead of paint it. Do you find that stain lasts longer?

Staining may last a little longer, won’t crack or peel from the coastal climate, leaving it natural would certainly have a beach feel, specially with plants and grasses growing through, I would cut the little decorative bits off at the top to produce a straight line fence, would look beautiful.

It does look great.

This link from wattyl has a beach theme https://www.houzz.com.au/magazine/7-timeless-palettes-for-the-best-looking-house-in-the-street-vs~164186710

Keeping it coastal and casual , with your underfoot and planting, don’t forget a fire pit for those balmy evenings, you may just love it so much you may not want to leave.