I really like this building, and I love the railing... I would not change the railing. Is the railing the same thing as balustrade? (sorry I am not familiar with that term.... if it is, I think that I agree that I would do my best to maintain the character of it when I am trying to meet building code requirements). I think that it is reflective of the period that this house was built. I think that some nice landscaping of the property would add to its street appeal. I would love some hedging, and perhaps some flowers. I would remove the white railings that are next to the parking area (I am not speaking about the staircase railing, which I like.) The railings that are next to parking area, and entry into parking area are not very appealing... some hedges here would definitely add to the appeal. I would also remove all of the straggly looking plants and opt for something slightly more formal. The parking garage next to the building is unattractive. I think that this is much less appealing than the apartment building itself. The area definitely needs to be paved and I would explore the costs of improving this area. I think that while people like car spaces, this whole area detracts from the apartment complex which is actually quite nice. Also, is the paved area that is outside the stairs for visitor parking? I think that could be improved as well. If you do not need visitor parking, I would put a grass area here, and possibly a gate or formal hedging at the boundary of the property. I might even add something for tenants to use. Perhaps a bench or picnic table. I am not certain what the horizontal bar is that is between the windows on the upper floor. Can you have something more decorative there? (perhaps the street name 32 Hill Street (or whatever the street number is) ... written out in a decorative font that is in keeping with the time period of the building. I have seen this on some buildings in Sydney, and it actually looks nice. I think that I might change the red color on the end of the stairs. Is the seemingly paved area outside of the stairs a parking area? In one of the pictures I see a set of blue curtains in the upper window. I would replace this with something like a roman blind, so that all window treatments are the same. (I think that it has more appeal from the outside.) Good Luck!

good night..I'd better sleep or else can't get up tomorrow ..Tuesdays are a killer lol plus driving back to Melb after work ..hubby is due back he just texted to say his plane is two hours delayed

HI @bigreader, The best way to respond to a Houzzer individually is via their account on Houzz, using your inbox - http://www.houzz.com.au/messages If they provide you their email address, you can then use that to respond to them directly instead. If a user has blocked their account from receiving messages, the only way to contact them is via a discussion where they are also a commenter (or if they posted the thread). I hope this helps, Luke

I think the task of transforming homes like these is an exciting challenge! If your budget is not huge then timber trimmings and paint can make a huge difference here. You could paint the brick, or better still clad it with weatherboard to soften the house, but if the budget does not allow the whole house to be clad just do the front and go around the corners by about a meter and then paint the bricks at the sides and back to match. You definitely need a verandah across the front, with the steps centred and going straight down to meet the gate - this will transform the facade and is worth spending the money on. If you dont want to change the windows consider framing them with timber to make them look larger and replace the front door with something nicer, luckily your door is centred with same size windows either side. Id suggest replacing the fence with a picket fence and matching gates to hide the concrete driveway and then screen off the long side driveway and camouflage the overhang with a picket gate to match. Paint choices here are really important, it looks like your neighbours homes are beige or grey? Consider painting the house a classic colour such as dusky blue or sage combined with light trimmings to make yours stand out from the surrounding neutral homes (ive done a couple of quick mock-ups below as examples) You need some plants but your front yard is not large so a single, low height feature tree with mulch or pebbles instead of lawn would look wonderful plus a couple of strategically placed pots. Good luck!