As the appearance of the garden has a modernist style with the straight lines and concrete furniture how about a Mondrian influence and add a bold strip of blue? It is a pond and with the right shade it could look really relaxed and contemporary. My daughter's suggestion is a chalky lilac!

Tess, I hope I'm not too late with the following advice. Don't ever paint brick. Your house is a simple design, exterior wise. Paint wont fix it. What's missing is a designed garden. Even the simplest brick house can look like an inviting, lived in home when it has a structured garden surrounding it. For less than the price of paint, invest in a landscaper to design a garden that will soften and greatly enhance your homes street appeal ...and add many $ in value. Painted brick detracts from value and has to be repainted periodically, defeating the purpose of brick, which is, no maintenance. Besides, your house, painted white or cream as has been suggested here, would stand out in the street like a proverbial sore thumb. Trust me, landscape, starting at the street boundary and leave the bricks alone. Good luck.

I love the look of Tand G as the real thing or the 'James Hardie' NZ groove panels..........but also want my ensuite to look opulent. I am not having tiling anywhere in this room, which would be the easiest solution. Hence my dilemma..... I already have chosen the white 'tile look' acrylic walls with a feature 'marble' (narrow) panel in the shower alcove enclosure from the 'Atlantis' range. The alcove covers the complete width of the bathroom so is a feature in itself. I wanted to bring the 'marble 'feature' into the room if I could to enhance the opulence. The marbling is minimal veining on a white background so not too dramatic a feature. The obvious area is to use a matching 'marble' vanity top and/or a splash back (especially if have a china vanity top, which is the more likely due to cost). Where should the splashback end at the sides? I thought about taking the 'marble' splashback above the mirror to the ceiling thus creating a similar panel feature to that in the shower albeit wider but don't know how much wider it should be than the vanity. Also What then to do on the rest of the wall(s)? Just painted gib? If I used T& G or groove panelling I would want it to reach the ceiling. So do I put T&G on on all walls? The vanity wall has approx 1000mm 'strips' of full wall either side and the strips below the vanity and above mirror if only a splashback is incorporated. The opposite wall is almost taken up by window, radiator below, btw toilet and towel rail, leaving little wall to 'feature' and then the remaining wall is narrow (only 1100 left after door). These remaining walls could just be left as painted gib of course as really cannot afford to take the 'marble' panelling anywhere else in the room nor think where else it would feature best. 'Marble' Flooring is a possibility but it would need to be vinyl not porcelain tiles. Having written all this down I think I have talked myself out of T&G on any of the walls as the narrow room would become too busy and bitty but am still interested in what others think.

It is a pretty 'basic' look , but unless you spend big dollars , that is going to be the base you are working from . the first 2 things I'd do , is buy a waterblaster , blast everything especially bare timber ; and secondly , do every fence in a charcoal stain . Personally , I wouldn't paint the bricks , and I'd even hold off painting the block too . That brown peak has to change , I suspect I'd go a mid-Orange , to be reasonably 'sunny' . Red or yellow too bright for the cream and the style ; blue or green too old and too cold ; grey too boring ; black or brown too dark . I the short term , I'd leave the terrace panels , but do the top rail in a bright Orange , and the base timber that can be seen , in a charcoal . The stair railings I'd do in white with the same bright Orange top rail , the actual stairs in charcoal ( you may have to add a white bit at the front of each to meet Health and Safety regulations ) . Windows etc are okay IMO , but add a detail or 2 -- 2 matching $100 letterboxes ; your street number in a nice style , painted bright orange or even apricot , made from ply , and screwed or glued so it is 30mm 'out' ( protruding ) from the downstairs wall between the 2 windows ( maybe off-centre by 30cm for impact and interest ? ) OR maybe on the front fence . Then your idea of plants in big bright pots will really add too . There you go -- $2500 and some labour and some fun and it will look quite a bit better .