Hi everyone!

I've never posted before, but love looking at the beautiful things on houzz.

I'm looking for some advice on deck staining, if anyone has any experience or ideas. Thanks!

I can't stand the choices I made in floor colouring. I had originally chosen a browner floor for inside, but then at the last minute stupidly swapped to a lighter one to suit the kitchen cabinetry. Then we ended up choosing merbau for our new rear deck, to match the existing front deck. Our living dining area flows onto both of these decks, and as far as I'm concerned the clash is horrible. It's like "greeny-yellow meets reddish-brown". I've stopped cringing about lots of our mistakes, but this will continue jump out at me.

Our inside space is really small, so I wanted to the deck and inside to feel integrated - we have nice triple stackers opening out, but the colour is so wrong. I can't stain our flooring inside, it's laminate. So how do I correct it? Any ideas?

I would seriously consider painting the deck a nice neutral colour to match fencing and retaining walls etc, although my husband would die, painting over fresh new hard wood!

I think it would look better if the deck timber was a lighter more greyish tone. All the stains I've seen in the shops, and the one we used when the deck was completed make the merbau look even darker and more reddish orange. I know you can get a product that simply waterproofs the timber, but allows it to age and lose some of the tannins. Has anyone tried a product like this? I'm worried that it won't preserve the deck well enough, as, while I do want the colour to fade, I don't want the timbers to get all rough and porous and splintered. What about a stain that has a grey tint? Would that work on merbau?

A giant outdoor rug!? :)

Would love to hear any ideas and suggestions! Thanks!!