Thanks for the advice, have decided to ditch the brown and go for something lighter and brighter...maybe next month I will look at replacing the pathetic prints on the walls and the grubby coffee table...

Get the professional sander guys in to repair the living areas and kitchen but don't go too dark with the stain as it will kill the lovely grain in the matai. I'm thinking a couple of tones richer than the timber knots showing in your photo, definitely no yellow tone at all. In NZ stepping on to carpet especially in a kiwi winter is so much nicer than a cold floor board shock!!! A nice area rug for the lounge and you're done.

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 .

meager light in the kitchen, trying to find paint colors that would brighten it up, I was told whites would not work, I changed the old dark brown flooring to light flooring and now it looks bad big mistake, the kitchen doesn't look anchored, with the light floor, I need some ideas to make it feel anchored again, would dark cupboards work, sorry for lack of photos. Some suggestions would be great