Render is not a cheap option nor a good one.

House looks great and render will ruin it as its too much of a dramatic change.

The brick looks fine keep as is. Personally I really love this era and in particular these usually well built brick veneers!

If it was mine I would keep brick on upper level and I would use a sandstone cladding on the lower level/patio/garage. Use a genuine sandstone, rock faced and laid in a running bond pattern. Repaint garage door. Then landscape in a style to suit the era of the house, hire a designer well worth the the small investment.

Hi Ash we had the same dilemma, I love our red brick house but many bricks were damaged and the cost of replacing them with newer like coloured bricks and mortar was costly and risky as there was a high chance they wouldnt match the old bricks. We decided to render our house in the end and are happy with the result! We went for an acrylic render in a Resene Triple thorndon cream colour. The colour started off a little green but now one month in its a nice cream greyish colour which works well in our South East facing house. Now we are onto our landscaping and will replace our garage door.

We also cleaned our roof - I suggest doing that first and that will help give you an idea on render colours.

Homes of this period have such a distictive style of window, roofline, eave and articulation so they never look modern when rendered, they just look like rendered 1960's houses that have lost their soul and character. Here is an interesting read:

https://secretdesignstudio.com/render-brick-home-tribute-triple-fronted-blonde-brick-veneer-home/

Best of luck with your considerations,

Dr Retro

of Dr Retro House Calls