Timber all the way!!! The look and feel of real timber under your feet cannot be matched. Depending on the size of the deck, paying a professional every few years to refinish the deck is not that costly and worth it in my opinion. I recently had to refinish a hardwood deck for a client and it was a huge area. It only cost $1200 for labour and materials and took only one day to do. the benefit of timber is that if you like the idea of changing the colour at some point, you can! This is not possible with composites. Just make sure you do your research as to the best type of timber for your needs.

If you can put doors on the whole back area and deck or pave out to a functional size for entertaining - be sure to have as close to same height as inside and the whole width of the house if possible. You could do the pergola which looks gorgeous and makes a cozy feel. On top of the pergola you may be able to do a weatherproof retractable awning if you do not want a permanent covered area. That would make a whole area for indoor outdoor entertaining in all types of weather. You can still have a step down area to grass and plants at the rear. Travetine is great and easy to hose down. You do not have to concrete them down use pavers on a good road base. You would have to speak to the experts about how to get the right height - also be sure to have a slight fall away from the house.

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.

I actually quite like the landscaper's option, and I imagine that the house is higher up than the lawn, so the three decks terrace down to the lawn level providing a good connection between the house and lawn. A good landscape design is much about the third dimension of height as a well designed home, and these plans don't show this dimension. In addition the terracing allows planting around each deck level which softens the transitions even more. Each change in level also provides an opportunity for seating. A single level deck that is at the house level may need a balustrade which divides your outdoor space in half. I would ask your landscape designer to explain the thinking behind the smaller decks in terms of change of height, which you can't read on this plan. If you wanted a bog-standard deck that any carpenter can throw together why did you engage a landscape designer to come up with a creative and interesting solution? Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls