Hi Charlotte I understand where you are coming from about the brick detail around the windows and sills which are lovely but they are small designer details whereas the porch is a much bigger area of bricks and if it were my home I would certainly render it as the rest of the house.Also although the porch has always been like that, it looks like it has been added on later, I may be wrong and just been left with bricks exposed.You have also got the nice brick paving around the house. Why don't you just print the picture of the house out, put a tracing sheet of paper over it and just colour in the porch the same colour as the render and you will get a better idea of how it will look. Or maybe render the porch and just as you have the brick detail around the windows just do the same around the porch, this would look really good too. Good luck Jean, Art Decor Designs

What colour do you like? what colour will your neighbours like? Start there and work upwards. Me personally I would go for white or ivory and would use a clear dirt repellant on top to make it last and be easier to maintain. It would would also work well against the surrounding properties that have offset areas of similar colour and brick. whenever you spec outdoor - do what you would indoors - Make sure it works alongside other things you have around it. I.E. other properties in your line of sight. Ps. I used to work for Sandtex doing colour specification and it was surprising to see how often people don't consider the neighbourhood when picking an exterior pallette. Don't just go of fashion 'trends'. They are called trends because they come and go. Winning timeless block themes we worked on were always ones that worked with a running theme across the entire block. Also exterior colours are very regional due to regional materials and colours that work well with those materials. Get out and about and have a look at what others are doing. Remember those you like and dislike and make a better judgement from that. 9 times out of 10, the ones you don't like will be fighting the material, not the trend.

You could consider matching the existing white render to whatever is used on your new extension. If you chose timber cladding, I could suggest something lighter, maybe a larch/Douglas fir/oak(/Marley board as suggested - as budget allows) with a protective UV oil coating (most people do not like the weathered timber look). You could then wrap this cladding over the existing area of white render across the corner and wrapping the garage also. This would give a very modern look that ties the house together, and given the area of the garage is actually fairly small (once the garage door is discounted) the cost would be minimal. If you are set of replacing the windows, ensure you pain the garage door the same colour. This is a really cheap change but again will help tie all together. However, for the cheapest option, just using white render on the extension, will also work. This negates the requirement to over-clad perfectly serviceable finishes on the rest of the house. N.B. Any changes to the front of the house may require a re-submission to the council for amendments.

Changes of fenestration such as changing the shape of the arched window will require planning approval so you should probably decide on everything you intend to do and then make an application. Designers, Architects and architectural technicians can all help here- I would expect them to be showing you in CAD how the house could look. How far you go depends on the available budget. In my opinion the house could benefit from swapping the current leaded light windows for something simpler. Your current windows are not very deep and and the fan lights exaggerate that so perhaps replacements without might be better....and these could look great in all the colours you suggested- personally I just like to see a contrast with the brick so would rather see a light colour choice with this brick. I would probably choose sage green. In my opinion the front door looks undersized next to the big arched window but painting the door and side panel the same colour will make it look bigger. Also I wonder if you are thinking about changing the arched window because it is sitting uncomfortably next to the window next door..... perhaps it is the window above the door that is wrong...... in fact if that is a bathroom and you could get away with a skylight instead I think I would rather leave the arched window and block up the one above the door. However for me the 1950s proportions of the windows slightly let down this house and the suggested full height windows of the garage conversion seem out of place too. If you have the money for a full facelift I would be looking for your CAD expert to show you how the house could look with different shaped window apertures- for instance the two windows to the left of the front door in my opinion would have more presence if they were deeper and fanlights would also work better then. The window above the front door seems too wide and too close to the corner and should relate more to the window next to it that is currently arched- perhaps get rid of this door above the front door or perhaps make it narrower. In my opinion continuing the garage roof towards the front door and building forward the ground floor window to the right of the front door would unify the garage extension with the main house and make it easier to choose a window style for the garage conversion as you would then likely choose three matching small windows. I might even consider making the window of the room over the garage a little narrower. However the room over the garage is a later addition and does illustrate that it is possible to match these bricks so using render to cover your changes may not be necessary and I agree that the brick and the climbing plants help make this a pretty and traditional looking house and unsympathetic changes could ruin that feel.