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.

Dear Sophia, I have read your post very carefully and become interested to advise you about flooring. I am a professional flooring consultant. I recommend you the following options : 1. Waterproof Laminate for whole house as you mentioned you want same flooring in Laundry area too. There are few waterproof laminate in the market and I am happy to help you with that if you need me to do that. 2. Carpet (Solution Dyed Nylon or Triexta) for living, dining, study and bedrooms and Vinyl planks or waterproof laminate for Kitchen and Laundry areas. If you need any further please do not hesitate to contact us via http://www.carpetshoponline.com.au/online-enquiry/

I lived close to the beach on the Sunshine Coast before I moved here a couple of years ago, so I'd have thought I'd have had my fill of beach. Then misshayley posts a picture of Gerringong and I remember from many years ago how beautiful and unique the mid-south and south coast of NSW is (and I'm not that far from it if I head due east). I just need a dog-friendly house, maybe at Eden... :)

Ellie, I love southern cross tiles. We've just laid the artisan in our bathroom. The infinity is beautiful. Have you looked through some of their other ranges? They are lots of different sizes, one might catch your eye.