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.

you need to consider thermal needs, privacy issues, light control, noise control, decorative preferences, size of window, room available around and above window, shape of window, budget...that is why a professional window coverings expert is the best to assist.

you can't beat white, it goes with everything, clean and crisp looking, my choice would be fridge top and freezer bottom, better still two separate side by side, if there's room, keep a thermometer in both to check on temp, as the ones in the appliance are usually not accurate,, and check the lights, mine are always flickering on and off when i open the door, buy one with wheels so that you can pull it out to clean

I think if you want a modern table re-sell this one and start again. The old fashioned style rosewood/mahogany tables which were French polished were very popular in the 80s and 90s and some people who have old homes still love them. I think there is no point trying to completely change it because the leg style etc is still old fashioned.