I love the 3rd picture that Jen Osborne posted. I'd even add the same feature panelling above the garage door, and remove the letter box wall from the front door to closer to the nature strip/driveway. With landscaping, it will look sensational. I love the clean lines of your house Steve Brown!

this miserable 3D image shows an impression that uses your idea of the horizontal parapet with asymmetrical openings eg from left to right 4m then 5m and then a 5m wide garage door with the forward extension to the garage and a tall "chimney" shape wall to both disguise the stairwell and offsett the lobsided upstairs windowsthe awful colours are just for this demonstration as the various shades of grey shown in your original photos would be much better

You don't mention where in Australia you are or which side of the house faces North this information will mostly determine what you can grow and where. Your block isn't small at all. In landscaping terms it's enormous and will cost a lot of money to put in a nice garden. As a starter..... The facade of your house is imposing, almost out of scale with the neighbours. I believe you will benefit from a medium sized deciduoos tree out the front behind the letterbox to soften the area between your home and your neighbours. Putting it on that side will frame the house nicely and balance the enormous scale of it. Something like a gingko would be lovely. But you need to be in temperate or cold zone for that one. Also the lawned slope is not helping the home sit into the landscape. I would go large boulders and a rockery across this part, not a fence nor retaining wall. Your home is already strongly geometric, a naturalistic strip will work wonders to bed it into the neighbourhood. If you can't stand the look of boulders then gabions are an alternative that look very modern and smart, especially if interspersed with tall ornamental grasses. There are many creeping conifers you can get that will grow in many climates. Once established they need no care but can look amazing. The easiest way to work out a cohesive scheme is to zone the yard into outdoor rooms. This is exactly what landscape designers do. So rather than going well I want a deck here, a bush there and lets just chuck some grasses in here. You end up with well defined area's that each have a purpose and a particular style, rather than random shrubbery dotted about the place. you'll need to cruise the internet a bit to find some landscaping you like. No-one here can guess what modern with character means to you. Does it mean tall strappy things, cacti, grasses? Hedges? It's easier if you can find a general style of garden you like, such as Balinese, Japanese, South Western, tropical etc. Then good old Google can show you every possible version of that from traditional right through to edgy modern versions. Typically anywhere in your yard that is going to get full sun all day will be unbearably hot in summer, you will want some shade there, but probably also want it sunny in winter (depending on where you are). This is where you need to plant deciduous vines or trees rather than evergreens. In terms of your access to the clothesline, the least expensive option will be a gravel path down that side of the house. You can lay it yourself and it only needs some lumber to define the edges and keep the gravel from spreading all over the yard. That won't be any good for dragging wheelie bins over though. You will also need to spend a weekend watching the shadows over the yard and seeing how far they stretch and at what times of the day. Any plant labelled 'full sun' needs a minimum of 6hrs of direct sunlight a day. Part shade plants need 3-4 and usually do better with morning sun and afternoon shade situations. And then there is the tiny group of plants known as 'full shade', don't be fooled. Most of them still need several hours of dappled light. There are really only a handful of plants that can survive full shade proper, so these area's of the yard are better off paved with a container filled with something known to be unkillable like clyvia.

I know my presence has annoyed several designers on here. I apologise.  I am trying so hard to nail my design. I frustrate myself!!  I have revisited all suggestions under previous posts and with them I have made a few revisions to our original floor plan from the designer. Do you think this is a better plan? 1. Flipped ensuite layout so toilet has window 2. Scaled kitchen size back to gain some width in  living and dining. Scullery walkway originally 1200mm, Now 1000mm. Kitchen island originally 1200mm deep, now 1100mm. Behind kitchen bench originally 1200mm, now 1100mm. Gained 400mm in width. 3. Relocated drop zone from left of door to right. 4. Scaled back width of theatre 5. Reconfigured bed 2 and 3 so both are similar size and both with built in robes 6. Eliminated one side of storage cupboards in entrance hallway so to put more room in lounge/dining 7. Opened hallway so easy to get from master to kitchen and guests to toilet 8. Placed a visual divider, possibly recycled brick column housing gasfire in middle of loung/dining that shows both sides. TV to be mounted above on lounge side. What do you think? Do you think the lounge/dining is more usable and increased size makes former kitchen size less dominant? (Huge kitchen in relation to lounge/dining previously) OR shall I just stick with Floor plan original? ὤ8ὤ9ὤA Feedback appreciated! Sorry I am trying so hard to get this floor plan right. It is a renovation so we are restricted in terms of not moving too many internal walls.