Your deck will be amazing. It has fantastic form and plenty of architectural interest, it will add enormous benefit to the front facade and street appeal. I love your palette, it is simple and still has point sof interest. MY suggestion would be to use a combination of your exterior colours applied where best to highlight the deck structure and either tie in, or accent against it. Ding all of these things by painting the lower retaining section in the base grey the charcoal colour to continue and blend into the lower floor brickwork, also do this charcoal on the upper deck frame which is also the roof of that entry way. I am trying to say that thick timber which trims the deck. And the slatted section of the stair wall which acts as a breezeway in the light grey- why? Because the open sections of the slats will always appear black as you can see through them to under the satirs, and the light grey slats will stand out and feature that shadow line, perhaps even use liting to further enhance this detail. Lastly, the stair treads themselves left natural, like an architectural contemporRy stAtement, the natural timber tones will be rich and sophisticated and act as art inviting you to the home. These stairs would really pop and be commentedon at street level, also consider lights in each tread, perhaps the slatted wall side to highlight both this and the stirs for night practicality. What a stunning entrance. The natural character in rich timber tones will warm the grey, keep it contemporary and not introduce personalized colour, which can take away from street appeal. This on the other hand, appeals to everyone. And greenery, landscaping will only take this to the next level. Literally!

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!

This made me laugh: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/09/seagull-turns-orange-after-falling-into-vat-of-chicken-tikka-masala I couldn't copy the picture, but it's hilarious.

With any post war house built in the 50's the connection from in to out is non existent. Depending on where living rooms are located i would take some of the fantastic windows out and replace them with French doors, or bi folding doors and connect the house to the site. The colour scheme from Karen is perfect to lift the kerb appeal and give it a modern twist. With land costing more than houses these days and the fact that you seem to have quite a big block, after looking at paint colours, opening up the living dining kitchen areas to the outside with a roofed area. Even combining a flat roofed carport which will widen the house to the street making it seem a bigger house, can carry the new look with say an enclosed section for garden equipment, to the opposite side to the house, and if you are lucky enough to have that near the living area it can be used as both car cover and outdoor living. I always think a good landscape architect is worth their weight in gold, to give you a landscape plan, to suit the soil type, your skills level and your preference in planting. Divide up the exterior space to provide outdoor rooms under a tree, paths that lead to some special spot for kids, maybe even a veggie patch with a chock run, and make sure that you use the entire yard, front and back by enclosing part of the front yard in fencing which suits the style of the house, while providing some planting to the street. If allowed a gate structure to blend in with the house, a dedicated pathway with planting each side to the front door, fantastic fencing and consider natural materials like a hand laid stone fence with timber or powder-coated aluminium inserts, to give this house an entry, not sure where the front door is now, so that is not a good look. Gardens always enhance a house, they are never a wasted effort, and if you are not gardeners, make sure the landscape architect knows that and he will be able to select low maintenance plants. All the paint in the world will not give the desired effort that the garden will do to that paint work.