What an incredible space! You seem to have an unusual mix of design elements here. I see a mix of contemporary and Spanish styles fighting for dominance. You could easily go either way and the house would be stunning. It depends on you style taste. My choice would be to go with the Spanish influences to soften the facade. Here are some ideas I had: (see photos at end) The harshest feature are the windows. To ease the strong lines I'd opt for placing dark hand hewn wooden beams over the 3X window bay and the 4X window bays, along with the widow way at the top over the porch area. Under these windows I would add fabricated mouldings that are in the pictures below. For the entry way you need to draw more attention in that location. To do this the door needs some attention. Try either stipping the present door and staining it a stain with orange tones (see photo) or paint the present door in this color tone. In addition, placing wrought iron grills in the door windows would work to soften the entry as well. (you can find faux inserts or use wrought iron) To call more attention to the front door, and softening the harsh line above the porch I'd put in place a pergola extending outward to the front of the 4window bay that matches the wooden beams over the windows. Now the eye travels to one location instead of drifting back and forth. I see you have wonderful downspouts. I would bring attention to those as well and paint them an aged copper tone. To give the house a "Top" I suggest painting the moulding along the roofline a brown color to match the wooden beams. This way the house won't float. It will be grounded. To keep the garage area from looking like an after thought encorporate it by changing out the doors with wooden doors that have a line of square windows in the top frames only. Try matching the beams to the garage. I too would suggest changing out the light fixtures to better fit the size and style of the home. I have a photo of a Spansh style home attached that has a nice choice. (The long lights) Finally, I would use planting to soften the house a bit. Perhaps removing the popsicle bushes and placing in some Italian cypress. I see them placed one on either side of the 3window bay and one of the far right of the 4 window bay.

If this was my place, I'd definitely install a skylight (even just a DIY solatube which someone suggested), then depending on budget I'd make these changes:- - replace floors with light colour timber floorboards since they never date - replace furniture with light colour furniture in both lounge and kitchen - paint kitchen and hutch white - add some plants in white pots - go for large light coloured wall art - replace curtains with roller blinds to maximise light I love the bluestone - it will look amazing when you've added some lighter colours to the room!

As a real estate agent I have seen plenty of kitchens, of all the kitchen bench tops essa stone benches seem to be the best they don't stain, very hard wearing almost don't scratch and if they do it is easy to repair. Ceaserstone seems to be more pouris and requires more care.

The Marble Man - would like to share information for your consideration - Manmade, engineered stone is also known as agglomerate, manufactured stones or reconstituted stones. They are made from a combination of approximately 7% resins, cement, and coloured pigments and upwards of 93% natural stone chips such as quartz or marble. These materials are bound together to make a slab. Engineered stones are designed to emulate natural stones such as marble and granite and are an extremely popular alternative to natural stone in building today. Some of the engineered stone brands include Caesarstone, Essastone, Quantum Quartz, Silestone, Technistone, Smarstone and HanStone. These stones are similar in composition, varying only by a few percent in total quartz used. Their differences lie in the colours, patterns and applications offered. Some engineered stones are just made for benchtops whereas, others can be used for tiles. For you the home renovator, builder or owner the preference to choose engineered stone over natural stone is purely a personal one. Natural stone is attractive because of it’s unique inconsistencies in colour, texture and patterns. The Marble Man enjoys the qualities of all natural and manmade stone. When you view engineered stone for consideration for your home, you will see a more consistent colour and patterning in the stone. Take the time to view the full sheet of stone and consider the overall look and effect of the colour you choose for your interior. There are many reasons why engineered stones are being chosen over natural stone: Engineered stones are durable, scratch, stain and heat resistant * They come in a variety of colours and patterns Natural marble is susceptible to etching and staining, however a marble look can be created with the etch and stain resistant properties of granite, making it a good choice for high stress areas such as kitchen benchtops and bathroom vanities The quartz used in the engineered stones is a similar hardness to granite and rates a 7 on the Mohs Scale of Hardness It is easy to clean and will require less long-term maintenance like granite if cared for according to manufacturers instructions. Please be sure to speak with the sales team about your uses of the benchtop, stone, surface and address how you plan to use the surface before finalising your choice. Manmade, reconstituted stone is only ‘resistant’ to scratching, staining and heat and therefore hot pots must not be left on for extended periods, cutting boards should still be used under hot pots, pans or dishes. Spills must be cleaned up immediately as in the case of any natural stone to prevent stains. It comes with a manufacturers seal therefore additional sealing is not usually necessary. * In our experience engineered stone kitchen benchtops and bathroom vanities do chip and scorch, however we have developed processes to repair even large chips making them virtually undetectable, and to restore the factory finish to surfaces damaged by heat. Enjoy your home, enjoy the stone you choose for the benchtops in your home. The Marble Man is happy to assist with stone information, repairs, polishing and sealing all stone surfaces. We service Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Northern NSW, Sydney and Canberra for all stone repairs, polishing and sealing Stone surfaces - simply call 1300 627 626. Learn more on The Marble Man website - www.themarbleman.com.au