As the appearance of the garden has a modernist style with the straight lines and concrete furniture how about a Mondrian influence and add a bold strip of blue? It is a pond and with the right shade it could look really relaxed and contemporary. My daughter's suggestion is a chalky lilac!

Lighting - pendants over the servery bench should be another feature that complements your chosen kitchen surfaces. So whilst I love the copper pendants in picture 1.. They could work depending on the rest of your decor and would be a highlight in a neutral white/timber kitchen = Good! If you choose copper you would complement it with a couple of copper bench top items. These are beautiful! (I collect copper because I love it, my kitchen pendants are silver, I renovated to sell in the next 3-5 years) You will see a picture starting to form in your mind and there is nothing wrong with making a statement with your lighting. I found that when I wasn't sure I would get a very strong sense of what was right and what was wrong for a space, then common sense or passion would determine the outcome! Here are another couple that might work, look her on Houzz under lighting, search pendants, then have fun looking!Timber tones with black or white to complement your cabinets... or Statement white pendants for a bit of quirky fun! Your personality can be reflected in your lighting and accessories creating that point of difference from the predictable white on timber look. Plus don't forget the power of greenery to punctuate the theme!

Black and yellow are both very strong colour choices and I feel you'd be sick of them before it was time to change them. Black also shows marks more than you'd think. Clear is fine, but have you considered a piece of art behind clear?There are several companies that do this, imageglass.co.nz had one with tuis in it which has black and yellow. As for size are you having a range hood? If so this might affect your choice of size.

Hi Joanna, There is a lot of different options to make this work for you. The landscaper is correct that you can have pavers under the spa. Typically in this situation we would pour a reinforced concrete pad to create the foundation and then wet lay the desired paver over the top. As long as the pavers have a solid base underneath them there shouldn't be any issues. Removing the timber retaining will definitely open up more space although correctly planting this could also create a great nestled in area and make it a great feature. As far as choosing the right paver for the space it probably has more to do with the house and the other areas. One option is getting a paver that contrasts with the cladding on your house and is similar to your joinery / roof colour. Have a look at www.urbanpaving.co.nz for some options, depending on budget I would either look at the Sandy textured coloured pavers or a natural stone option. Thanks, Will