I would also suggest a deck at the same level as the house floor. Merbau decking boards are hard wearing and reasonably priced $. Also look at a new sliding doors with insect screen built into the door frame as a second door. This will introduce cross ventilation and keep the mozzies at bay in the night and make your internal floor space appear bigger. I would also build a veranda over the deck and mimic the existing gable end of the roof ( keep the rafters high ) and use all laserlight transparent roofing material to keep natural light flooding in. You could also look at introducing a natural gas point and some outdoor power points for gas BBQ and entertaining. The space will effectively become your new Outdoor room - enjoy :-)

Wow, that looks amazing, what a difference.

Thanks For the inspiration Julie. I’m thinking we might go with a darker colour for the back wall like one of your photos. I’m not sure if we will retain the jasmine creeper or go with another approach to planting. There is only about 1m between the pool edge and the walll The main view is at the end of the pool and that will definitely stay!

We are about to start our new build and have to decide upon decking material. It will be a large covered deck (21m x5m). Have read other discussions on Houszz but haven’t come across anything regarding Duralife composite decking. We are leaning towards composite type decking as for a deck of that size oiling would be a huge maintenance issue. Appreciate any feedback.