paint-wash the stone of the square part of house to blend w/the color of the rear house; pick up roof color w/the terra cotta awnings and pots of trees (could be 3 different shaped pots) add trailing plants on roof at left to balance...some flagstones to create a little path to entry and create a low step to door (concrete or flagstone) add off white window covering where turquoise is----easy fixes

I was a die hard F&B fan - painted numerous houses solely in F&B for the finish etc. HOWEVER due to budget constraints, a current offer at Homebase on Dulux paint (inc. mix) , and the fact i'm painting an entire 3 storey house i experimented with colour matching F&B colours - specifically Cornforth White, Purebeck Stone, Ammonite and Pink Ground. Opting for the Endurance Matt and Flat Matt finishes by Dulux i was pleasantly surprised by the results. The colour match was pretty much spot on - i would caveat that the Dulux colour match won't produce matching finishes for all colours. For example Dulux couldn't match a flat eggshell in the Cornforth White so we bought Estate Eggshell from F&B and it goes perfectly well with the walls in the matched Dulux Endurance Matt. In the master bedroom we choose to use F&B Cornforth White and Pink Ground and estate emulsion and I felt it was a thinner paint than the Dulux! The added benefit of the Dulux colour match is that they can provide a number of different more durable finishes. If you want colour inspiration have a look at Paint & paper Library too.

Hi rinq. Thanks so much for all the thought you've put into this, it's so helpful. You're right re bedroom...it pretty much isn't needed now (Mum still pretty young and fit), but she does want to future proof it such that one day she can be on ground floor permanently. Re joists, she is starting to get builders in just to talk through the job. But will likely need an architect too I guess re joists and plans? I think the reason we were automatically thinking ground floor extension originally is that we want that expansive kitchen, dining, family room, but also a separate formal sitting room...not sure we have the sitting room capacity even with the reconfiguring that you've shown? I do like the idea of bathroom and laundry at the front where views aren't needed.

IMHO black would be too harsh. Look for a slate/charcoal, perhaps even with some green/brown in it. And as AMURI says, make the roof and woodwork look coherent. So if you're keeping the roof tiles, you might just want to pick a more subtle brown-grey, like the tarred wood look.