Hi Ang, I thought I'd follow up my earlier comment with pictures of before and after of pine cupboards I specified to be painted in a budget makeover. My clients tell me people presumed they had purchased brand new cabinetry, so startling was the makeover. Somehow I have put the "after" on the left and "before" image on the right!

My vote is for the wash but not in bright white and after some selective knot primer in the same tone. You are going to want to selectively primer down about 2/3 of the knots (use a dark white tinted primer), and use a dark white / brown toned off white instead of bright white so the beams still give you dark white on bright - that would be my vote. Consider something like bm stingray tinted primer and wash on the beams. You can add glaze for more working time or put down dropcloths and use water to cut it into a wash. Test it on some other raw wood that has had tannins develop for a few years. Then put it against your white wall - your husband will get the contrast and wood grain but you'll get the quiet palette you were hoping for. They both will have architectural depth and interest.

Well that is an interesting picture. I can assure you that hanging wall gardens are all the rage and that is a great idea but they can also be high maintenance if exposed to high winds / sunshine etc. I have seen some lovely fake ones that would do just as well. You could also have a few pots with additional greenery. As you say your view is not "great" maybe you can have a creeper in one of the pots that can weave its way through the railing. I probably wouldn't go for one big chair as it could dominate the entire space. I would consider a table with a couple of fold-able chairs .... something that is comfortable, inviting if you have friends over but can be placed in a corner if you just want to open up the space. I do not think you need a carpet and but maybe some fancy outdoor tiles will look just as nice. You want it to be easy care and weather proof. Do you need or wish to incorporate a washing line? A pull out one from a wall will be perfect that way you can retract it back when you are not using it. If you deck gets too much sun, you may want to consider some shade shutters. I have seen them called 'plantation' shutters. GOOD LUCK

We have a 900x900 shower and it's plenty big enough. Neither of your proposed layouts looks that great, to be perfectly honest, sorry! In the first layout, you could improve it quite a lot by swapping the toilet and vanity (centre the toilet under the window on the bottom right of the picture if possible), and having the shower door on the other wall (beside the door). Then, you could have a towel rail on the wall beside the door (i.e. behind the door when it's open), which would be accessible from the shower but hidden when the door was open. An 800x1200 shower might be a good size for your space. You'd have to choose a toilet that doesn't protrude too far, plus a narrow vanity. With that layout, you could have a long but narrow wall-hung vanity, with a big mirror covering the wall between the windows, which would make the room feel bigger and would give a good amount of storage. Also, you may find this helpful: http://www.houseplanshelper.com/small-bathroom-floor-plans.html?utm_content=buffer4aa20&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer