Thanks for all the great ideas everyone and sorry I didn't explain the polycarbonate a bit better :) This is along the lines of what we'll be using... http://www.psp.co.nz/building-brands/corrugated-sheeting/suntuf-polycarbonate The area is an absolute sun trap and we're hoping to use it as an extension to our living space, especially on rainy days! I've just sent my husband out to get a few pots of different stains for is to try - darkest brown (cedar) and a lighter brown (rustic oak) both by Cabots + the black we already have. Hopefully we can decide between one of those! I probably should have mentioned we will have black aluminium pool fencing running along the top of the second retaining wall - so the real question is do we keep everything black (pool fencing, horizontal fence, retaining walls and pergola) or do we go with a dark (or even light) brown for the pergola and retaining walls.... We just keep going around in circles at the moment. Decisions, decisions! Thanks again :)

Love blue tiles. Depending on how much sun and how hot your pool gets in the summer should dictate what color it is. We live in Arizona, so cool blues work best. Our neighbor has brown tile and a dark pebble tech pool. Looks like a swimming hole and gets really hot - 94% water in the summer. They obviously didn't think it through.

Did you stick it outside? That's what I would've done.

We had a landscaper come in and draw a plan. Re-used the whole bricks into a grid pattern, and filled the squares with concrete. This summer's job is to build the bench seats around the outside for a seating area. The flat surface has been great for our children - they learned to ride their bikes out here, and love decorating it :-)