The colonial style in your bottom picture looks nice , but I don't think it would suit your house style . I gather you are older , but the existing colours are from different eras IMO . The burgundy/red colour I like , and although the downstairs windows look quite old , I would paint them the same colour , and the seat too . Upstairs I'd definitely change the window -- the louvres are so dated ! Go a bit bigger if you can , but that may get into structural problems . Have top-hinged opening windows eaither side , and a larger piece of fixed glass in the middle . Either no surround , or a surround to match the downstairs windows and door frame , painted to match . All the roof and side ribbed steel panels I would repaint in a gunmetal grey , and get away from that dark green . The roof on the room to the left I would also do , to 'tie it' in . I'd leave that small roof above the door , and add a roofed gazebbo out the front , with stained or varnished solid wood uprights , and a roof painted in that burgundy red . I would build it to fit onto the lower deck level -- way easier and cheaper to do it that way , as opposed to raising and enlarging the deck . Add a couple of natural timber planters , even a half barrel or two , a shint stainless barbeque , and some charcoal coated aluminium outdoor chairs and a matching glass top table . Personally , I can't imagine a roof / portico attached to the existing house that would suit the style and not make the downstairs ( inside ) too dark . A stand alone roofed timber gazebo would offer the best of both , at a reasonable price . One last idea -- the latticework on the 'fence' -- repaint it an English Off-White , while keeping the rails and posts that burgundy red -- it would add interest and lift it IMO . If you are younger , then go crazy -- bright orange window surrounds , blue/grey render and charcoal roof -- a big round upstairs window , and 6 outdoor chairs , each in a different bright colour !

I have just been reading everyones comments about kitchens , butlers kitchens , laundries , bedrooms , bedroom floors , Walk In Robes and the like . I have been thinking , and I think we need to look forward , and really think about how we design our houses and our lives . This is my solution -- -- Bedrooms and dining rooms should have 'pits' built into the floor -- a bedroom 'pit' will be the size of a bed , the dining room will have one the size of your dining table , and either benches or individual stool sizings . Laundries will be sunk around 1 metre into the floor . -- Somewhere in your house will be a switch , or maybe it will be controlled by an app . You hit 'cleanup' mode , a hyraulic pump whirs , and your bed and table ( lounge suite and coffee table will be extra-price options ) drop to floor level . -- You get your broom , and sweep everything on the floor to your laundry . Clothes on the floor -- yes . Rugs -- tick . Sheets and duvets -- yeah . Table cloth -- yep . Last nights dishes -- certainly . Seep them all into the laundry , where there may be a small shute -- into the washer . Another app will turn it on . -- Fire up the app again , and the beds and tables ( swept clean , no lint , no crumbs ) all rise to the correct height . With a bit of practice , 10 minutes every couple of days should be all you need for a super clean house , including clothes and ( plastic ) dishes . Now , any ideas for self-washing pots and roasting dishes , or should we just stick to the microwave ?

I didn't see this either , and how long is a piece of string ? Wellington ( a bit like parts of Queenstown ) is known for steep slopes and high winds , so the actual design will affect things a lot -- my sister once 'conned' me into moving her to Wellington when she got a Government job . We loaded one of my small trucks and drove several hours , when we got to her new place on the side of Mt Victoria with lovely harbour views , it seems she had forgotten to mention that the new house was the one up there -- yes , a 1920's build 130 steps up from the street . Hard enough moving a glass fronted china cabinet and solid Kauri 1880s dining table -- imagine carting every bit of timber , tile , window , kitchen appliance up there !

Without looking it up , the new Credit Regulations came in on 1 Dec , and there is a fine of up to $200,000 for every instance of 'irresponsible lending' . The problem seems to be that it isn't defined . So a couple who have been together for 5 years , saved $100k , both on $100k plus , have $50k of cars that they are prepared to sell and drive $5k ones , plus 1 lot of parents has $50k to lend them . A house that is $1million they can afford . But what if the female gets pregnant ? What if he loses his job and takes 2 months to get a $50k job ? What if the parent dies and the lawyer wants the $50k back ( or $37.5k of it to distribute to other siblings ) ? Those clothes trucks that go around the lower income suburbs sell a pair of 'knock-off' designer jeans to a solo mum for her 14 year old daughter . They charge $5 a week for 20 weeks , mum and daughter are happy because it fits their budget . You and I can probably find them on-line for $40 , they might be able to too , but to get $40 might mean missing a couple of meals or not prepaying the power , so they don't . I am a director of more than 40 companies . Probably half of them I own 99% of shares , others I own 33% or 40% or 50% . Pre-Covid , combined turnover was well over $250k a day , my property holdings are well into 8 figures . In June/July when I bought the Lincoln Street property , the mortgage was almost a formality -- I've dealt with the same bank for 35 or more years , have good cashflow and own a reasonable whack of my properties . Almost all have mortgages , and the more valuable ones also have floating charges , but I doubt I am classed as a risky borrower . Tenders close on this place in just under a month , but as it is technically not livable ( a couple of walls have been taken out and additions started -- they have closed it in with building paper and ply and wrap ) , I cannot get a mortgage , even though my intention is make it better , spend up to $1.5mil , and live there for at least 15 years ( I will have turned 70 by then haha ) . So if I do get it , rather than a approx 3.5% mortgage , I will have to get it via Bridging Finance ( at 11% ) , then after a year or 18 months , when everything is complete and Lake Crescent ( my current place ) is hopefully sold , and hopefully the rules have been clarified , I then go the through process of getting registered valuations and applying for a mortgage etc . Assuming Lake Cres sells for around what everything thinks , even after spending $1.5M on alterations , the mortgage should be under $2M and valuation likely to be around $7.5M ( land and stables etc will make up about half that ) , but right now its harder to get that than it was to get funding for Lincoln Street , which depending on exactly how it all pans out , will be $15M plus when complete . Interesting couple of months . This is a picture taken from a spot towards the rear of the property -- a bit clearer than the other ones .