Also take a look at Room and Board....they have several tables with different wood finishes or wood/steel/metal bases and a good selection of various tabletop materials. Also if you prefer a wood table, an area rug underneath the table could also help to break up all of the wood too.

I don't know how hot it gets in Auckland in summer (I've only ever been to NZ in winter!) but if it gets hot, then go for a pale colour. Dark roofs should be kept for cold places!

We currently have a deck on the first floor over the garage. It construction is wood with a water proof membrane over, that is now leaking, with carpet that is used on boats over the top. What would be the lightest and best floor covering to use when we re do the deck?

We have had a balustrade on our deck rebuilt, as previously it wasn't consented by Council. Our deck is out the front of the house (and on top of our garage) so we opted to continue the weatherboard up from the sides of the garage. We had advice that we have to have a metal parapet capping put on to confirm to building code, and we have, but it's ugly and doesn't go with the rest of the weatherboard style of the house. Has anyone else had to deal with this before? I have seen lots of similar balustrades on decks (that aren't over other structures) with simple wooden capping that looks nice. Just wondering if anyone has a compliant solution that looks nicer. Ours (we needed a building consent) Other peoples (who didn't need a building consent)