Thank you so much for your comment after all this time. The colour you have suggested brightens the front door area beautifully and if the two red pots were painted in a tone to match, we think it would look great. Not sure if you can get Crestview doors in New Zealand but there must be something similar. We like the idea of going away from another cedar door - mainly because it would stand out too much while it was weathering. I don't know whether we would have been that brave but the tangerine works so well with the jade green of the joinery. I have re-laid all the stones and put a new wider front step in. The timber colour will soften down in time. I put a big pot in the garden to draw visitors to the front door and have added some colourful bromeliads to the garden alongside the house to make the area a bit more cheerful. We can't make a decision about what to do with a larger 'overhang' to protect the front porch yet - it is a project in progress. Thanks again for your post.

Hi definitely remove the x bars on the deck balustrade. Landscape close to the house so it grounds the house. Trees will make it look less bare. Chose some that work for your area, that are evergreen, and are not going to grow really big. With a really plain house - dark colors will make it look better. Dark Grey, or black with a warm tone so it doesn't have a blue undertone in it. Make sure it is a warm grey or black. Use green foliage around it. Paint out the pergola in the dark grey too or white if you want a different look. Fill in the balustrade where the x is removed with plants in front of those areas. Grow a vine up the pergola that is nice.

Thanks for the replies! My wife suggested we talk to a local real estate agent, so i think that is a good idea... just that Im not sure how helpful they are likely to be if we arent selling yet :) As for saving for our dream house, I dont disagree, however if doing this up nicely over the next ~5 years or so while we live here nets us some extra in the eventual sale, then that of course will help us as well. Interesting thing happened today actually. I got a knock on the door and one of the older neighbours asked if he could take some lemons from the tree. I of course said yes. Anyway he was telling me he had lived in the street for 40 years. I asked him if the house had always looked like this, and he said no that ~30 years ago the old old owner did a massive renovation and pulled off the timber and put up the bricks and gutted the inside of the house. Interesting stuff!

Create a front porch across 2/3 of the front of the house by extending the existing sloped roof on the right side of the house ( except create a balcony behind and between the existing vertical columns). Alternately, create a balcony and porch just around the two existing vertical columns, extending the porch beyond the two existing columns. Use the balcony rail and the porch columns to create the Mediterranean look you seek (arches) -- the effect would be striking. You'd then need some huge planters or cut some holes in the pavement to create a greenspace in front of the porch and/or use hanging baskets. http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2015/3/7/0/Barron-Custom-Design_Shore-Vista_53.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.853.jpeg http://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/d94192130c498e54_4-8517/mediterranean-porch.jpg http://www.ebby.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/25586526-0.jpg