Also what type of cladding would anyone suggest?

VERY creative, useful and sophisticated as well! I like the subtlety of the trunk color against the lighter wall. Have you considered designing these as a PT job???

Without knowing any more info , I'd say its near impossible for anyone but you to know what colour/s to choose -- do you want the house to blend in but have its own style , or do you want it to stand out ? What colours are your main furniture items and even kitchen etc ? For xxample , if keeping the beige walls , how about doing the eves and gutters and garage door in a tangy ( bright , but not glaring ) orange -- this would work with the existing colours and not require a complete repaint . BUT if your kitchen was mainly various shades of , say , green and teal , and your lounge suite and duvet covers were mainly blue hues , that may 'feel' funny , clashing with the exterior ? Of course , blue and beige exterior may not work with the brown aluminium , as youve recognised . Another option ( a bit hard to tell from the pictures ) is that a light grey ( repaint the beige ) with mid-charcoal base boards may work with the brown aluminium , then a bright colour on the gutters and front and rear doors to suit -- anything from sea blue to bright yellow , orange , red , even white or off-white would probably work .

Hi Michelle - It looks like treated pine to me, and looks as though it has been recently built. If you did nothing it would fade to a grey colour within 6 months or so. This would probably blend in with the house quite well, and you wouldn't have to do a thing! Otherwise I would stain it - there are lots of stains on the market - see if there is one you like. A dark one would create a nice contrast with the house and make the fence look more like a feature. Good luck!