Thank you so much for your comment after all this time. The colour you have suggested brightens the front door area beautifully and if the two red pots were painted in a tone to match, we think it would look great. Not sure if you can get Crestview doors in New Zealand but there must be something similar. We like the idea of going away from another cedar door - mainly because it would stand out too much while it was weathering. I don't know whether we would have been that brave but the tangerine works so well with the jade green of the joinery. I have re-laid all the stones and put a new wider front step in. The timber colour will soften down in time. I put a big pot in the garden to draw visitors to the front door and have added some colourful bromeliads to the garden alongside the house to make the area a bit more cheerful. We can't make a decision about what to do with a larger 'overhang' to protect the front porch yet - it is a project in progress. Thanks again for your post.

Thanks Orangecamera. It's still a work in progress and mud everywhere Sorry we did look at having the steps' off set' but it didn't seem to go with only three steps and a small area. And about the zen well the cats are doing that for us much to our disappointment (it's still like a litter box to them). We went to the garden supply place still not knowing what kind of stones we were getting. We stood in front of all the bins (there where many). We even looked at mixing some. The grey stones had a bin more the size we wanted but we ended up getting the golden fleck. It was a little smaller, which was a shame, the bigger ones were so mixed in their grading it looked too messy. So this is what we finished up with. It was seagardens that got me thinking away from grey and nwduck mentioning the drainage. So this has really helped. Also everyone seem to think the wooden steps needed to go a lot lower. Next it's figuring out where the large river stones should go

I went to Photos>Outdoor>Decks and searched "barbecue" and found lots of them on wooden decks. Some were freestanding, but most of the built-ins seemed to be surrounded by fireproof material.

@Tribbletrouble44152k7 Trek, no not necessarily.. it fulfills it's purpose if you buy the one that is correct for what you want it for.. a bit of a catch22 and up to the store to point out that the thin stuff may dent.. in fact any of it can... there are many things that will void warranty of laminate floors.. here is a good website dealing with the cleaning and care .. http://www.baneclene.com/articles/laminate-care-consumer.html Remove shoes with spiked or damaged heels before walking on the floor. Spike or stiletto high-heel shoes may cause denting and related damage to wood floors due to the extremely high compressive force they generate. Such footwear can produce dynamic loads in excess of 1,000 pounds per square inch, even when worn by someone of slight or average build. Worth reading the whole thing.. Just worth reminding people that laminate flooring is mdf with a picture of wood printed on the surface with a couple of protective layers of clear coating over the top..it cannot be wet or steamed.. it will swell. Make sure you ask questions.. Wood vinyl planking is very durable and hardy, and bamboo is considered to be one of the strongest timbers.. if you choose to have floors redone with any of the above products please look them up on google and find out the qualities.. I vote for wood vinyl.. looks brilliant, can float or be glued (recommend glue for wet areas such as bathrooms, laundries) is hard wearing and cost is comparable with mid range wood laminate flooring and hardier. Hope that all helps. If you must have wood laminate then go for 10 - 12 mm.. anything less will flex. Must have underlay and be laid on a level floor.. There are self levelling compounds you can use to make this easier... hope all this helps.