I have miles of decking at two houses. All timber when put in the Australian sun will suffer. When building our beach house we decided to go for Spotted Gum and let it grey. Why fight it? We applied Cutek, and will on a regular basis. At our main house we have lots of Merabu or Quilla. Will not grey the same, and leaches lots of red stain. Cheap, but would not use again. What ever you use, use a good quality oil that seeps deep into the wood not a traditional stain/or top finishing product.

thank you everyone for the suggestions. changing the colour may be an option in the future but for now i am happy with the orange. the kitchen is actually very tiny as it overlooks into this room. beleive it or not the bench is actually purple lol so its very different. i really dont like it but we bought the house as is and there isnt much i can do with it yet. ive added a pic of the kitchen and layout. as for furniture i will keep shopping around and take in the ideas of looking for a more wood type design. with kids its certainly hard because everything seems a cream or white colour which scares me haha :)

Hi siriuskey So the large coir mat from Bunnings is much cheaper than the Chilewich. I'm confused now. Do you recommend the coir mat or the Chilewich? I'm not sure if I can even find a Chilewich in Adelaide to bring home for a look ....

Is this a new build or is there an existing fireplace? Do you want the fire for heating or aesthetics? If it’s for hearing is this your primary source of heating? Do you want an open fireplace or one that is enclosed like a wood heater? If it is to be used for heating then consider a wood heater, especially if it is your primary source of heating. They are much more efficient than an open fireplace. They can be freestanding or inserts installed into a fireplace. If you want an open fire and are more interested in the fire because of the aesthetics then consider a cast iron insert such as a jetmaster, which can be used in a fireplace of your choosen material, as long as it complies with building codes and fireplace regulations. They are much more efficient than a plain brick or concrete fireplace but less efficient than a wood heater. If you decide on an open fireplace, ensure that your chimney can be closed off when not in use or you’ll lose lots of heat up the chimney. Best of luck