Thanks everyone for your further comments. No problem about it being an old post, always nice to communicate with people about design solutions/problems. Jilly, I posted some photos on 1st January 2016, they appear further up in the post. Garden Beet Pty Ltd, and Morel Construction Ltd, both of your solutions look great, but our problem still remains the western Queensland sun which is pretty vicious on anything that will either wilt, fade or break down. It was quite a difficult challenge to come up with something that was affordable, workable and durable. I would love to have had plants because I believe they soften large "hard" exterior areas, but we have decided that we will do that with pots around the pool area. Still have that to do, even after all this time. :) Thanks everyone for re-igniting this chat. Jilly, hope you find something that works for you.

Hi Jenny, I'd suggest popping into your local nursery (not big box store). Often they will offer a consultation service where they can come out and help suggest plants that suit your aspect, climate and situation. The other option is to have a consultation with a local landscape designer or horticulturalist who specialises in planting. Check your local landscape association or AILDM for listings in your area. An outlay now could save you $$$'s in the longer term, as well as making sure that what you do spend your money on is going to give you the most bang for your buck. They'll also have local knowledge as to what can potentially become weeds. Just remember you can't plant anything against the fence that can be considered climbable - this can include hedges. Have a look at the link I included above as to what the definition of climbable is. Look for lush and green to link in with the background. Some pops of colour; maybe foliage (eg alternanthera) or flower (bougainvillea or mandevilla) will also help to lift it and make the green more green. Small growing varieties of lomandra may be better than the large one you have there - this could easily be moved, divided and used elsewhere.

Hi Helen - I see no-one has answered yet! Are you able to post a photo? That will give us more of an idea about what surface the background colour is for, what is around the pool, the texture of the surface etc. Then we can help!

I was going to suggest that the shower and hanging for togs and towels be placed in the red zone using the pool house plumbing. It looks great where you have it but it should have somewhere for the togs and towels as kids will use them several times a day in hot weather. If the Pool House was a POOL house and open to the pool would that mean you could just fence it and the pool together, but I guess by being multi function that changes the rules