It looks to me like a lot of your boards [in the first picture] are cracked and need to be replaced. Notice cracks where the nails go through. I say this because my husband has had to replace a lot of boards like that on our deck over the years. After you replace them, sand the deck enough to allow a fresh coat of stain to be absorbed, and it should look new again.

I agree that you should take down the trellis but be aware that you'll probably need to extend your decking rail along that side in order to enclose the deck for building code purposes. If that's more of an expense than you're willing to incur right now, consider at least taking it down to the same height as the rest of your deck and putting a top railing across it. You could then put in some foundation plantings that would climb up and cover the fact that it runs in a different direction than the front of your deck. If I'm looking at it correctly, your gate gives you access to your front door from your drive way. Am I right? In that case, I think your gate should stay where it is. I agree with flair lighting that a new light is in order over your entry. If you like the idea of a motion light, they make decorative outdoor fixtures with motion lights built in. Your fence would definitely look nice painted a lighter color. Right now, as flair said, it's a bit unwelcoming. If you're painting your metal roof, take your house and trim colors from there to coordinate. You could definitely paint your scalloped trim a different color than the house. Matching it to whatever trim color you choose would look great. Do you use the steps from your deck to access your yard? If not, I would consider removing them and closing in that portion of the deck as well. If you do use them, I would add a hand rail for safety purposes. Congratulations on your new house and good luck with your project!

For this project, the clients were interested in creating an open, light and airy space catered for family living. As you can see, the house is a large proportioned villa with an extensive modern extension on the back which opens out and connects to the outdoor living areas, lush back garden and separate studio. The outdoor area has a generous deck that caters for outdoor entertaining with a dining and seating area, and bbq where the whole family can relax. Would love to know what everyone's feeling of the transformation are. Before After

It's not showing in the Ozzie forum. You need to change your country to oz, then start a new thread, with the photos and post it. If you go to the Ozzie forum, you won't be able to find it. So what I think you have done, is just change your setting...but you need to post fresh I am afraid! So you will have two posts, one in NZ forum and one in oz...but the Ozzie peeps will only see your oz one, so don't mention posting previously Keep that between us. :)