It seem like you have western sun on the back of the house due to the blinds in you patio photo. To combat this the new roof could be angled low on the west and high over the house as in a fly over roof. Maybe shade sail over the spa attached to the patio roof and lots of tropical plants. It is hard to guess from the photos but if you link the two areas with decking & add gardens surrounding it for shelter. Do you need a fence around the spa? Others have said that the composite decking is good and it won't rot like timber or at least is low maintenance for a wet area.

Hello everybody, I have lived in Europe and also built several houses for which I have used blue stone. It is particularly in Belgium and Holland the most preferred natural stone for architects and home owners. You can of course for the cheaper ceramic tiles with a concrete or blue stone look but it will never be the same. The blue stone quarries have traditionally been in Belgium so you will see there lots of homes, streets and public buildings that are built with this stunning stone. You find it in different varieties (honed, polished, rough, etc..) and you can use it indoors as well as outdoors. We are going to build a hew house close to Sydney and will definitely go for blue stone both inside and outside, including the area around the swimming pool. In Australia, I have been told that blue stone is mainly quarried in Victoria. I am presently considering either to buy it there or to i port it from Belgium (which quality is slightly better and available in more varieties). Another very nice alternative is blue lime stone which in Australia is presently being imported from mainly Turkey. I have built with blue stone before and the result has always been much nicer than with granite, marble, travertin and of course also than the cheaper ceramic tiles that you find everywhere. We will probably combine the blue stone inside the house with underfloor (hydronic, not electric !) heating. Nice and cool in summer and pleasantly warm in winter.

the fence screens out the view of the garden and makes the area feel enclosed... i'm wondering if there's an option to divide the 1.5 m drop into a two level deck so that the edge of the upper deck become a seat for the lower deck with less steps between and the lower level wide enough to satisfy the safety issues without some of the fence... but all ideas subject to exact dimensions and safety issues...hard to tell from the photos but is there a driveway down the side of the house to a garage?? please post a rough site plan showing the house with doors and windows from the house to the entertainment area and other buildings including distance between house and fences

Hi mluh You've obviously done your research on these products, so it's most likely going to come down to personal preference. As you've mentioned, a natural stone is going to come with an amount of maintenance but the beauty of Travertine is within its variation. Once sealed with a good quality sealer (I recommend Guard Industry), the maintenance is really quite low and most spills are lost within those natural variations. 99% of spills can be cleaned up without too much trouble. Porcelain, on the other hand, can be quite difficult to clean once it's been marked. That said, the external porcelains have a great non-slip texture and are very hardy when used as paving/tiles. I'm personally not a fan of using them as pool coping, but many people love it. Again, both have their advantages and disadvantages so I would recommend using the product that you're happy looking at for the next 10-20 years. - Jordan