What a fantastic architecture. When you do the brick, if you stain it with masonry /concrete stain you won't have the same issues of maintenance as with paint. They will spray it evenly - through you will have to select a deeper color - either taupe (brown-gray) or a straight charcoal. Love your windows and the classic angled railing. I think a dark gray on the siding will make the orange brick jump even more. What bothers me is the white (railing, fascia, eaves) juxtaposed with the earth toned stuff. So I would recommend camel tones - for the siding - something like http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6108-latte/ and the hopsack next darker tone for the garage door. Use the lighter tan for trim that is now white - http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6107-nomadic-desert/ Use the darkest tone if you are painting concrete steps. If you think you will stain your brick charcoal, then the white eaves and trim are probably right, and you may not want to paint it tan now and then go back. If your brick were charcoal, then I would block out the rest in grays and blue grays - leave the white eaves, but take the railing and posts charcoal too. A blue gray door - like sw smoky blue.

I am planning to add scatter cushions and think if I do a pair of larger ones for each end so they go over the arms to creat height at each end, and a couple of smaller ones, I want to bring some colour in too. I do like the idea of a larger side light at either end to, Switching the sofas is going to be my final fix if all else fails!!

And I would be planting trees – real trees not dwarf versions of trees and no more palms (unless you want to have palm tree themed garden – in which case a lot more palms are needed). I am not advocating planting forest giants but there are trees that will provide shade, shelter and a sense of scale that you won't get from yuccas and buxus and mondo grass and succulents alone. But before you start buying those trees you have a few decisions to make and a bit of analysis to do. 1. Orientation – you need to understand the basics of winter sun and summer sun, how much westerly sun you welcome and how much you need to shelter from it; where your prevailing winds blow from and whether this changes with the season also. So, once you've worked out where you want the sun to penetrate and at what time of the year, how to allow for wind, frost, whatever... you need to 2. Decide if you want a predominantly native garden, a range of deciduous trees or a completely eclectic selection (like the best 'English' gardens – which are planted out with plants from all over the world – Indian subcontinent, Asia, Africa, The Americas etc. Even some from Australia!). 3. Now the tricky bit – what do you love, i.e. which trees and plants make your heart really sing – and hopefully for more than two or three weeks of the year? Once you have that list which of those are likely to be happy in your climate, in your soil and with the amount of gardening attention (watering, feeding, pruning etc) that you're likely to enjoy lavishing on them. Your long list will by now be a much shorter (and more manageable list) but trees are what make a house look bedded in and part of a landscape rather than just sitting out in the open in a way that is both self-conscious and a bit awkward. Although, again I guess you could embrace the suburban awkwardness and go all Howard Arkley in which case keep it all small and suburban... But it is your garden and your house – make it look like what you want your house and garden to look and feel like! Good luck!

For a pass through window to be very useful, it needs a surface to place items that are being passed through, that can be easily reached from both sides, or you would need to coordinate people inside and out to pass things, which isn't feasible. I would consider whether it will be used as a pass through, given the door is immediately beside it. A small breakfast bar that uses the window for a view can also be useful for a pass-through set-down surface. Make sure the window is large enough to give a line of sight from person to person so that it is easy to communicate between the spaces - along the lines of 'Could you grab another beer?' or, 'I forgot the sauce.' I would also make the pass-through window a little wider if you do have a seating area, so it looks big enough to be welcoming, or it will be less likely to be used. At 2.500 deep, the deck is not large enough for a comfortable outdoor dining area of more than a couple of people. You need 600mm for comfortable seating on each side of a table, plus the table width which will be 900-1200, and with this layout, you also need another 900 mm to allow access past this, to the pass through, the seating and to the steps down, and with the deck being above ground level, space for access beyond the seating on both sides of the table is a good idea. If there is a barrier, you can get away without it because chairs won't fall off the edge, but it does make things tight. That adds up to at least 3000-3500 and preferably more. You can make things work with a tighter space, with a compromise to fixed seating along the edge, and a narrow table.