Kerrie, I live in Victoria and my pool in completely internal, that is to say it is part of the house and not an addition to the house. I planned to have an external door with the required regulation lock height and seld closing mechanism. Hubby was dead against this door and so I agreed to have a window instead, not long after, we found out that the laws had changed and you are no longer permitted to access to an indoor pool from the outside, so it was just sheer luck that we changed the door to a window. Further, when we purchased the awning windows (2) with regulation restricted 10cm windouts, our building inspector tried to tell us that the windows weren't allowed and that they would have to remain shut and we were also going to have to concrete "bars" into the brickwork on the outside. I argued that regulation pool fences had the same 10cm restriction and after contacting the Victorian Building Commission, I have confirmation in writing, that the windows are deemed to be adequately safe and the inspector has accepted the finding. My access to our pool now, is only from the inside of the home obviously and if that becomes illegal, then we'll just have to sit and look at the pool longingly through the window, as there won't be any access at all ha-ha I'm not advocating that people argue with regulations but if I hadn't investigated my options further, who knows where I would be, having spent $1,500 on these two windows with laminated glass and how beautiful would my brickwork have looked with prisson bars attached. Cheers, Barbara

Breaking up the great solid block of colour a little bit helps to hide it. Next is the choice of what to plant. I'm leaning towards: ficus pumila, climbing fig, which can be pruned to hug the fence tightly, Himalyan blue bamboo, (but might sprout on other side of fence as well, so should have a 60cm deep root guard or be planted in pots) or waterhousia floribunda, weeping lilypilly, which can be pruned to a narrow, non-climbable hedge but 30cm might be about as narrow as possible. I'm just a bit scared the bamboo will move into the neighbours yard too...You also have to be careful to not plant anything with massive roots that could eventually crack your pool, and it has to be tough enough to cope with a bit of chlorine... Then, put in a dip line so you don't have to water such a narrow spot. Good luck, and let us know what you decide.

Great choice with the Travertine, my joey just renovated her pool area with it and it looks amazing. I agree with Jenny Torrisi that glass in the archways would make a huge difference. Synthetic turf would be one idea for the courtyard, but it does have to be properly laid. Otherwise if you could extend the Travertine to that area, it would also look amazing. It would contrast well with the plants you have there, and you could add a cantilevered umbrella and couple of large shiny blue pots would add some colour and extra greenery. My big concern though is with those palm trees - quite frankly I find them useless, they provide very little shade, no greenery at ground level and the fonds drop off them indiscriminately and can cause serious injury if someone is in the wrong place when they drop. Lower growing plants in that area would make a huge difference. There used to be a market for established palm trees, not sure if it still applies. As far as the brickwork goes, dark coloured bricks absorb heat, which would make your pool area very hot and the solid walls would do nothing to allow breezes to circulate. I am really anti painting or rendering bricks as that means ongoing maintenance, but would the budget run to cladding the fence at least in a light coloured timber, I think it would give it a more modern look and appear cooler. There is definitely no room for plants, even in pots, but if you are artistic or know anyone who is, you could also attach a waterproof sheeting to one wall and paint a tropical style mural on it. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=tropical+external+wall+murals&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjns-ih0IHQAhVGjZQKHdBHAnkQsAQIQw&biw=1366&bih=638

The timber railings on the verandah we are replacing didnt stand the tests of time, so I was hoping for aluminium or as mentioned PVC. However this seems really hard to find, unless I settle for a contemporary chrome type number. Can anyone suggest a supplier of PVC or aluminium railings please?