I agree with sneakysmum to lighten the entrance. I quite like the paint colour you have chosen - but it doesn't sit well with the sandstone. I'm thinking it's because the paint colour looks alot like concrete. Again, I agree with sneakysmum, choose a paint colour that works tonally with the sandstone, maybe a couple of shades darker, and the entry done in a qtr strength of the same colour.

I like the timber slats and if the other part of the fence was painted in a "sandstone' colour, the timber would be a great contrast, especially if the sandstone paint colour was light.

The path around the house looks out of proportion - I'd want to add depth - which could be done cheaply with gravel and a timber edge (think railway sleepers stained the same as the timber fence slats), a darker gravel would contrast nicely with the concrete and can be softened with ground covers. Plants like Pennyroyal, Thyme, Oregano, even Mint (though this can get away) would work, as well as adding an aromatherapy effect when stood on or brushed against.

The sandstone rocks on the pool also look kind of disproportionate - is the pool part of a swimming pool or a water feature? If a water feature, water plants, particularly something tall against the rocks could work, whilst having floating plants, like waterlillies or duckweed in the foreground may add the proportion needed.

Whatever you do, I'd love to see some 'after' pics!!

Agree with sandstone paint colours suggested above. Do you absolutely love the large rocks?

Thank you so much for everyone's input.
I much rather like dark colours like almost black. I have taken a photo of a house newly built that has almost black, with wood and also light notes of grey....but there's no sandstone like mine hence the confusion. So colours to go with sandstone? Assuming some browns then? I'm totally clueless. I'm so sorry.
Getting rid of the path completely? I never thought of that, but you know what? It makes sense. It's so bloody boring. I'm still trying to finish the inside with custom made storage so when that's done, we will then focus on outside.

Attached is a photo of the house/colours I'm in love with. Hopefully I can fall in love with my house again.
So much to think about. Hopefully I don't lose this post. You have put some great ideas

The rock water feature is a fish pond. My husband and I were thinking of demolishing it and/or moving it closer to the front and adding a deck in that area with open/close vergola and a adjustable/removable screen of somesort. We entertain at the front of the house a lot as there is more room.

I would try to find a matching colour to the sandstone for the house. I would also look at colour steel small ridged colour steel ironing sheeting (normally used for roofing) for the fence.

I would suggest going one shade lighter than the sandstone. Paint the rest of the
fence the same light color as the house. Once you have painted the house
and fence this will help you decide on the wood panels. You might
decide the wood looks quite good and just replace them as the same. Alternatively you
could use acrylic panels and grow a hedge behind it, in your garden. If you
dont need to fence for a dog, you could remove the panels and just have
the green hedge. A dwarf pittosporum hedge would be low maintainance. "Pittosporum are a favourite for many
Australian gardens. Evergreen and very hardy they are ideal as screening
trees or low hedges." The pond looks weird in proportion. Fill it in and grow plants in it. Your home has good bones and so this will make a big differene. Good luck.

Go dark!!! It will look fabulous against the stone, replace timber with timber on the fence and paint the render dark...maybe monument or Western myall. The window frames will probably need to go dark too!!

Be brave... go with what you love!!

Thank you for your input!
I saw monument on a house on better home and gardens the other day. I'm just not sure I should stick with the greys now and maybe go dark brown? What do you think?
I love the wood and love the sandstone.
Unfortunately the windows are staying white. There's no way my husband will change it. Haha

Is there an program i can use to get more of a visual?

Navy ?

• The white windows would look crisp, fresh and very MCM.

• The sandstone would be a real feature, it's currently clashing against the grey.

  

  Cloud Residence · 詳細

We used a colour call Rattlesnake from Dulux (we used Resene low-VOC paint though). It has a brown tinge to the grey which looks great with timber and rock. You could do half or quarter strength in the entrance which would make it feel more spacious. It is warm and has just the right mix. If this is not your cup of tea, try to go to a specialist paint store and talk to their designer (may need to make an appointment). They have access to a whole range of colours not normally in the colour charts in the store and they have a good eye. If you're set on the white window frames this could dictate your wall colour as the white will look out of place with the dark colours. Dulux also have a program that you can load the visuals on and try out different colours. Haven't used it for a while so not sure if it does exteriors as well. Also, Porters have a range that has more unusual and natural looking colours. You can get sample pots to test.

Romney
I never thought of visiting the browns until you mentioned it. I don't know why I've been so blind to it. As much as I love the charcoal, I think the browns are more suited.
So hmmmm yes a lighter colour in the entrance way as you walk up the stairs. Thinking of an aluminium deck at the base of the stairs (as we need maintenance free as much as we can). My husband is against stepping stones because of the weeding issues, but I much rather like it. I want to add a really dark brown. Would you on the walls say left and right to the entrance? And then a lighter colour on the rest of the house? And the what colour should the fence be?
We have a cream coloured fence at the back. The colours are all over the place since we bought it. Except for the grey on the new room. That's our addition because my husband is a little colour blind which doesn't help the cause..ill attach some more Photos of the back. Just quietly I'm sorry I'm not a good photographer.
I tried the dulux app and it's very frustrating. It doesn't work properly.argh!

I didn't realise I didn't attach a current photo of the front. I've been going through my library photos.more attached for ideas

Tessa_t50, you may be better starting you own thread to get more comments.

Sorry, bigreader, you are right. I am totally new to this site. I have no idea how to start my own thread.

Kind regards Tessa

I know how your feeling just finalised a massive renovation and have experience as a colour consultant/ designer. You have not mentioned the location of your house and the style of the area. Looking at the photos I would sacrifice the sandstone around the door as it appears not to be very well exicuted sometimes you have to take the bull by the horns! It would give you loads more options for a start. Given the size of the house I would be inclined to clad the front elevation and have some nice wood interest around the window frames making them more of a feature. Little houses can wear pretty colours but you could even go dark- blue /black Dulux Trespass for all the walls with lexicon half strength for the wood work eaves window frames etc. Our new house is single story and I've used this colour combo and we have had nothing but complements!

I would be inclined to replace the front door and side panel with some thing which has glass or a grooved plain door which would lighten up the whole feel and make it more fun. I think I would be enclined to have one large door- it will make the house more open and welcoming. Paint the inside of the pouch the same lexicon as windows etc you could even run the cladding into the porch it's going to match the eaves that you already have- it will be a total face lift.

I wouldn't for a metal fence but replace with a couple of arris rails between the posts and plant a beautiful hedge to soften the total look you would save a lot of expense. Paint the rendered fence a natural buff colour and let the hedge be the hero. Forget the drive for now and power hose it -it's amazing how much better it will look when cleaned and it could always be sealed at a later date.

Like the stones but used with the water in that location it looks out of scale and out of place I would reuse the stone say make a Palm Springs style garden which is low maintenance with succulents which are great for increasingly hot summers- very little watering! Have some nice planting around the door either side to emphasise the entry which is very important.

l hope this helps if I had the house location I might have been able to offer more advice. Good luck with your project!

Regards Jane

Great advise Jane!

I am totally new to Houzz. I have so many questions as I just bought a house that screams for a make over.

Can someone please explain to me how to start my own thread?

I notice you have an aluminium screen door. Are the window frames aluminium as well? If so, you can re-paint them using a bonding substance called ESP. This is a link to Bunnings spray version but it also comes in a liquid you can wipe on and off: https://www.bunnings.com.au/flood-300g-esp-surface-prep-spray_p1560212

It's pretty easy once you get used to removing the screen and re-installing it (makes overpainting go away). It means that the paint won't chip off if someone knocks it which usually happens with aluminium and some other surfaces.

Answering your questions, if you make the entrance lighter you may not need to make the walls either side lighter. I like dark - it is very dramatic and not as common. If you start with the entrance you can stand back and look at how it goes with the other walls. Also remember they don't all have to be the same. Variation in colour and texture adds interest, just make sure it doesn't look too busy and all the surfaces blend (not necessarily match).

Your back wall is plain and straight, so regardless of the colour you end up choosing it will need to be augmented with something. You could try a large mirror on the blank space between windows. Something with a chunky frame in a contrasting colour and you will have a reflection of the greenery opposite. You could also try a reclaimed timber feature or something rusty or possibly a small timber pergola over the back door (similar colour to the window frames) that will give some depth.

It's only paint, so try using patches with sample pots before you put too much effort into painting all the walls.

Good luck.

Hi Ellen Have you tried this yet ?

http://alcoil.com.au/inspiration/colour-visualisation-tool/?roof-type=tile

Hi Tessa

Click on Menu,

select Advise

choose topic &

click on Ask a Question.

Good luck :)

So we drove to a home world and checked out some houses. With two kids it was difficult trying to finish the first street.
Needless to say, I think I have the design I want for the house. As much as we can do over the next few years.
For starters it needs a fresh coat of paint which is why I'm here. The rest will happen when we can afford it.
So I like browns but I looove the greys.

What do you think of these colours?
I had taken this photo for my husband so he can see the comparison with the Malay grey we already have on one of the walls.
I went to Bunnings (our local hardware) and bought three sample pots of the colours i think I'm going to settle. I hope I don't offend anyone who's colours I didn't chose.
Wayward Grey
Monk and
Pelaco

So I was thinking, wayward grey to be the feature wall, monk to be the house colour as well as guttering, and pelaco to be the entrance walls up the stairs are and the triangular panel ontop of the carport and the other triangular panel on the side wall.
Now, the question I have is, is the feature wall for the wayward grey the two walls where the sandstone tiles are with the lights? Should we paint the return the same colour or just the front?

Hi Ellen, of course you are not offending anyone! Your house, do what you love x

Dulux have colour consultants, for a very reasonable fee (sometimes redeemable for paint after) they will come out to you and set your colour pallet with you.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my post. I wish I knew a way to personally respond to everyone but I will add my thanks to the bottom of the post when I get the chance to go through all the ideas thoroughly. Had some medical issues in the family so my time online has been limited lately. It's better to see someone with a pencil and paper in their hand than a phone these days.

I had no idea there were such people as colour consultants haha. Little miss ignorant me!
Dulux have a March special, save $50 which is cool too as well as the $1 off per litre capped at 100L. But now I can't convince my husband to pay it. I dont know how you receive the discount though, I have to look into that one.

Your ideas have been amazing. And I've put together a rough sketch. Which also helped me select colours and quickly turn me off the browns I was looking at. (I used to draw in school but I'm in no way an architect

Hi Ellen, hop on the colorbond website. It is great for external ideas. They know what works they have been doing it for years. Don't forget you can choose colours then adjust the colours to half and quarter strengths to high light different areas and tones. Also it is worth checking out some brand name paint places, sometimes you can pickup cheap misstint paint suitable for undercoating at a great price. A while back we repainted an investment property, picked up external paint misstint for $3 a litre, gotta love that :)

Oh wow! That's cheap Debbie thanks for the tips!

Hi Ellen - colour is a very personal thing and you must use the colours that make you feel good! My son-in-law recently painted the house I live in as follows:

Main colour: Dune
Doors, Gutters & Fascias: Wayward Grey
Eaves: White.

The combination is very pleasing to the eye and the Wayward grey adds a classic touch without screaming "Look at me!"

I think the Dune would work very well with the sandstone of your place, too.

Good luck - I'd love to see progress pics when you get to doing the job!

Julie
PS: I agree with you about demolishing the pond - maybe the rocks could be reused in a garden area?