Thanks everyone for your further comments. No problem about it being an old post, always nice to communicate with people about design solutions/problems. Jilly, I posted some photos on 1st January 2016, they appear further up in the post. Garden Beet Pty Ltd, and Morel Construction Ltd, both of your solutions look great, but our problem still remains the western Queensland sun which is pretty vicious on anything that will either wilt, fade or break down. It was quite a difficult challenge to come up with something that was affordable, workable and durable. I would love to have had plants because I believe they soften large "hard" exterior areas, but we have decided that we will do that with pots around the pool area. Still have that to do, even after all this time. :) Thanks everyone for re-igniting this chat. Jilly, hope you find something that works for you.

Wishbone style chairs look nice with that style table. http://allissiasatticdesign.com.au/products/rodin-cross-leg-dining-table These resin chairs are stackable. Lots of different designs out there in resin chairs. http://www.zizo.com.au/Capri-Arm-Chair-WARW1025.html http://www.zizo.com.au/Ibiza-Arm-Chair-WARW1026.html

You could go wider but it depends on what type of dining furniture would want to use and how many you will be catering for. Bench seating tucks underneath and when it is being used you aren't so worried about the other space. You could always turn it around the other way [ perpendicular to the house] so the width is less of an issue as 10 metres is a decent length deck. I think even an extra 30cm would make a difference and not doing it may cost more in regret than the materials. You could go wider in the dining area only but it is a bit hard to judge without seeing the space. Find some furniture you like online and map out a plan for yourself - use newspaper for life size modelling. Good luck

I did a quick search on Houzz Products for 'Outdoor dining furniture' and got over 10k+ results! Take a look: http://www.houzz.com.au/photos/products/query/outdoor-dining-furniture/nqrwns