If you're working on a tight budget, how about some little things now so it looks cheery to come home to while you decide what to spend your money on? You could get some colour out there with some pots, or hanging baskets maybe, without breaking the bank. What about some climbers? I lived in a house very like this as a kid, and my mum always had pots and baskets and honeysuckle on a trellis by the door (painted bright coral...), so it was always a riot of colour and really cheerful. Then take your time choosing a door and a colour you love, or planning a porch.

I've finally had it done, all, painted and downlights fitted! The difference is amazing, obviously it looks far better but also the additional lighting which I have now included with warm white bulbs makes a huge difference - all surfaces look brighter and larger and the whole house looks much more modern. £1630 very well spent. I had 4 rooms done in total. Pics before and after are not that exciting as it's hard to make a ceiling look interesting, but here they are anyway!

It was the best thing to do for this stage in our lives. Each home we had fitted our circumstances at the time; no children to a growing busy family back to occasional family. We left our 5 bedroom Victorian town house with the typical large rooms which we had lived in for 20 years and the location we had been in for over 30 years We had created a small but beautiful walled garden and I had to travel by car to my allotment. Having decided to move we spent time sorting the house to make the best of marketing it. We went through all the boxes of photographs, (my three boys having a good giggle), threw the unnecessary or duplicate ones away, then sent them off to be put on CD. We kept the shoe box full of photos as well just in case..... I put all my boys school stuff into separate boxes and they had to decide what to do with it. One did not even look at it, one looked and then dumped and one selected a few bits he wanted. As a joint exercise it was a wonderful family time and trip down memory lane. We had several sweeps through our belongings. Each time it was obvious what was not needed. Items given away, sold donated or dumped. It also became easier each time to let go of the things we previously thought we wanted. Finally storage for some bits then we moved into a rented flat whilst we looked for our next property. By the time we found it, and with the process of moving most of what was in storage was not needed emotionally or physically either. We are now 300 miles away in a two bedroom cottage in the middle of a forest. We are renovating it and adapting it (not enlarging) as we go, in fact turning it into a one bedroom property but with flexible other rooms. We do have the advantage of a mezzanine bedroom holiday conversion attached which we are using whilst the work is happening. This small space living is focusing us even further. Financially we are much better off, I am creating the home of my dreams, we have entered a new welcoming community and a totally new way of life. Our boys love visiting. We have been here for 18 months and so glad we have done it. Cathartic, most definitely, happier certainly, the right thing for this stage of our lives yes.

As someone else has already suggested, i'd opt for a nice gravel laid within a plastic honeycomb grid system to stablise it and keep it uniform. The whole construction should be subbase to avoid the need for planning permission and you can add a stone threshold detail across the width of the entrance from the road to provide an attractive approach and demark the driveway. I think your house is too rustic in appearance to suit tarmac and needs a softer more rural choice of materials to compliment the house, plus you have a large area so planting is crucial to maintain the balance between hard and soft landscaping.