'Cedar-look' or real cedar?

There are people who value real cedar so I'm sure there's a market for second-hand.

If all you want is a colour, go maintenance free powder coated and take the opportunity to upgrade glazing too if it's relevant to your climate and orientation.

I have timber stackers.

Aluminium would be a downgrade especially if you’re only doing it for visuals. I wouldn’t change the exterior colours except to make the balcony spindles dark.

Aluminium can still be a quality look but you would need to do some research into different suppliers and think carefully about the style of windows you want. I think your deciding factor should probably be the amount of money you are willing to spend. A good paint job will have your windows the colour you want and protect them for many more years at a much lower cost than new windows but won’t give you stacker doors or double glazing.

thanks all - Im leaning towards just painting the cedar windows (they're real cedar) white, but replacing the french doors in an aluminium stacker....can they exist together like that and not clash with each other if in same colour?

You can definitely make that work. You will just have to do your homework. Make a decision about colour, your paint will need to be a colorbond colour to match the aluminium. I’m not sure about surfmist but white is available in a textured finish which will looks less like aluminium than gloss. Different manufacturers will have different frames and finishes so it pays to really think about the details