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.

Don't know your budget but if it was me I would get some big pots or long - thin flower beds and plant some golden cane or bamboo. The golden cane gives you a nice green screen and looks nice with low maintenance. You can break up the pots with beds of colourful small plants e.g. agapanthus, bush lily etc . For lighting you can light up the beds or pots with outdoor spot lights that can also be solar. Wrap underneath the top wooden hand rail or along one of wires below it some warm light rope light. It's led so little energy consumption. My issue with a outdoor rug is that if left uncared for, water can stagnant and start to smell especially between the rug and the boards. The last thing I would do is get or build a new outdoor set. Styles and designs you can go through pictures in houzz and how to make stuff on YouTube and Pintrest.

Millboard has the durable flexible surface meaning that is absorbs impact rather than marking the surface. Dogs/chairs seem to have no issue marking. It is the most expensive because it is not a wood/plastic composite, it is a Polyurethane blend and has no timber. The Millboard does not let off any odour and is very similar in heat on the surface as a timber deck however it does cool down quicker. See below Millboard Smoked Oak used at London Zoo in Lion cage.

I've coated many decks and the best advise I've been given is "leave it natural". Most timbers go grey after a few months and don't look too bad. If you want a bi-annual maintenance job the other bit of good advise I've had directly from the manufacturer is put down four coats minimum. The third and fourth coats won't use so much oil because they don't soak in. A very light sand between coats keeping in the direction of the grain is a good idea to retain a finish without wood grain or dust spoiling the final appearance. Two coats, no matter which brand or type of oil will last about a year in our sun.