I love that you moved the front door, it gives you a nice welcoming space to come home to and to greet visitors. Another few thoughts for consideration. The front of the main section of the house looks a little out of scale now because it's volume is so large and unbroken. What if you either painted the siding at the height of the garage door on down the color of the foundation under the porch, or removed that section of siding and replaced it with a stone facing? If the garage door was the color of this section or close to it, it would recede and allow the front entrance to stand out more. The face of the white part of the house would be in scale then. If you want to replace the garage door, you could go with a carriage door type, which would suit the style of your house. Your orange chairs on the porch are so much fun! Consider a fun color for the front too, maybe yellow? Some landscaping from the driveway along the steps would also draw the visitors eye to the front door. Your home is beautiful and you must be enjoying it very much!

wow stunning house and great transformation

thanks everyone for taking the time to comment. I think you've helped clarify for me that a major overhaul isn't necessary but some superficial updates would be ok. for more context, these are some (terrible) pics of our rear deck extension you can see we have used colorbond Dune to paint the render. i am hoping to get the shutter re sprayed maybe a white colour. hence why I was thinking Dune render all around and respraying existing white windows out front OR replacing with chunkier wioden sash windows....

Hi interiorqueen and congrats on your new purchase and mortgage-free status wooppee!! I agree with other comments about preserving the shared appearance with the joined on neighbour and focusing on the garden. I don't find your house unattractive and in fact I really like the tiles! I think removing the sliding door and improving the entrance will make a big difference. I really like the mock-up with the trees. I think having a couple of smallish trees in the front along the drive (make sure they're not going to grow into whoppers!) would add interest at ground floor level and give the eye something else to focus on rather than the current rather stark facade. With some lovely planting I think the house will look great.