I agree with ctwalker, if you paint the inside of your front door white it will blend with the inside of your house especially as the door is in your lounge. On the outside a stain will look great and if you keep a path going to your front door people won't have trouble wondering where to go. All the work your doing looks fantastic keep up the good work :)

Can't you just line that part where insulation is and leave rest unlined ie don't need flush ceiling

I wouldn't recommend covering the northern deck with a permanent structure. As oklouise says, along with losing that lovely northern light, you'll miss out on all the heat that winter sunshine would provide (called passive solar heating. This could be very substantial, resulting in decreased comfort & increased heating bills. Read more about passive solar heating here, http://www.yourhome.gov.au/passive-design My parents have a horizonal awning over a small balcony that works well, though may not be suitable for a larger area. They also have a large triangular shade sail upstairs, on their terrace. This must be put up & taken down every day that it's used (due to ocean breezes), which is a nuisance. So it's not used too often. The next door neighbours also have a large triangular shade sail. This one is a permanent fixture, & rolls up. Although it does take two people to roll/unroll it, it is still a much more convenient set up. It's not perfect, as the fabric is quite flimsy (although it roll away behind a guard that would protect it from the weather a bit). But something similar would be worth investigating. This was a custom job, & I'm struggling a bit to find something the same online. I have found an interesting rectangular roll up shade sail (by Soliday I think). I'm struggling to use the website on my phone, but it may be worth looking at. It's a 41 page pdf towards the bottom of the page, after the other images. http://pdf.archiexpo.com/pdf/plaspack-netze-gmbh/roll-up-sun-sails-soliday-2015/93246-245657-_9.html

What about one of these for roof and deck railings? Trial any colour using sample pots before you commit to purchase, as how the colour look can certainly vary. If if you are hiring a painter for the roof, the downspouts could be done at same time. I would not attempt to paint the spouting myself for reason you mentioned. Otherwise, leave them as is - as lush as your garden is, they may not be noticeable. As for your decking, is it painted? If so, I’m pretty sure you cannot oil it, so could either leave it to weather or repaint it.