Just another opinion...I like the suggestion that others posted to remove the bush and if possible, to put entry door in it's place, to remove the post and replace it with a support beam and brackets, replace garage door, add low wall to separate your driveway from the neighbor's, plant a dwarf tree in the front yard along with some edging plants... But with so many possibilities to choose from, perhaps you could accomplish your desire to make your home stand out from the others inexpensively by...painting over the white part of the house, the downspout directly above the canopy and the garage door to match the lightest brick color. Choose the darkest brick color for all of the other trim and windows. Patch and seal the driveway to freshen it (until you know if you will be permitted to do anything more permanent), definitely taking out the bush and doing some low cost planting just to add some color. It takes time to settle on your needs, style, budget, etc. But it's worthwhile to spend a little cash and effort to get a bit of satisfaction that things are looking better!

Hi Allison Oz, assuming UK tax law applies to your situation I would say it is definitely worth looking into. It's not a situation I've come across before where you are retrospectively claiming back the VAT. However it may be that you first accumulate the evidence it was vacant for 2 years and then write to the builder requesting that he reissue the invoices and a refund. Your builder will need to adjust his VAT returns and possibly make a disclosure to HMRC. I would speak to the builder and ask him to speak to his accountant. You might find the following document useful. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-70045-how-to-correct-vat-errors-and-make-adjustments-or-claims/vat-notice-70045-how-to-correct-vat-errors-and-make-adjustments-or-claims

Hi Stacy. I think weatherboarding will work for the look you're after. Would you paint it all one colour? My only worry was whether it would all be a bit one dimensional and whether the boarding would make the ground floor look lower ( I've drawn it out though and it doesn't seem to make any difference but that could be my lack of drawing skills!) I wonder if you could add a porch with weatherboard like this with either side of the front rendered and painted? The porch doesn't have to be as complex/expensive as this with the steps etc. I've had a similar size ŵall rendered and it was about £150 from memory so the cost would really be for the porch. Can you or your husband draw? It may be an idea to sketch out various options (with colour!) to see what you like then get quotes on the various options http://linleydevelopments.co.uk/portfolio/bungalow-to-a-chalet-style-conversion/#prettyPhoto[portfolio]/1/

I am in process of buying this house, and wanted to get cavity wall insulation done as one of 1st things we do.The house front has quite the 1970s vibe,with off white cladding on top half of the house, stone brick on bottom half and some funky wood panel at bottom of the front window. All the rest of the walls have cream pebble dash.Not overly keen on the external look, and may want to do something down the line, but I definitely want cavity insulation to make the house more efficient, but my question, what's normally behind the cladding in these 70s homes, will there even be a cavity to fill?If there isn't, is external wall insulation the only option for that part of the wall, or could you brick up to make a cavity, or would that be more costly than the external insulation?