Heres what i was thinking of doing - change the roof and gutter to a dark grey or charcoal ... render the facade and paint a cream colour..changes the windows to a french style ( small squares) .. change the railing to a black traditional one..and put a darker cream trim around the windows and garage door.. Any other suggestions or comments ??

I don't know how hot it gets in Auckland in summer (I've only ever been to NZ in winter!) but if it gets hot, then go for a pale colour. Dark roofs should be kept for cold places!

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.

Hi, The other night we noticed the lower of two pipes extruding from the exterior wall was leaking. It is funny as it seems to do it mainly at night. i attached an image to this but it doesn't seem to load so here is an external link: https://ibb.co/Sx5JXB4 Does any one know what this pipe is and what might be causing it? We had a mains hot water pressure cylinder installed about 2 months ago in the bottom part of the house but not sure if it is related. Thank you for your time.