hey, thanks all for reviving this discussion. i like the gray idea pragmatically, but my house is gray and i think might look funny without a little more contrast. angel, is that picture from when you did the initial coat last year, and on fairly recent pressure treated? do you think it's safe to figure that the translucent is just giving the existing color more depth and brightness, and that on my two-year old pressure treated, already graying some, i would not get the same effect? that's probably tough to answer, but any thoughts? i'm thinking i may need something with more color to get the right effect. i'm also reading that darker stains tend to last longer, so maybe there's a tradeoff between that and peelng being less visible with lighter color. i guess horizontal surfaces are just tough!

deck All wood is pressure treated

I live in a very mild climate ( coastal So California ) but my neighbors’ darker deck gets significantly hotter than our lighter one ( our temperatures rarely exceed 70’s ).

I would look at a 2 level deck and metal and glass railings , I would still have the deck go to the right as it is and leave that doorway as it is but 2 levels will give you a much nicer looking deck with 2 distinct areas . As for deck color I like deck floors to be as close as possible in color to the main house floors.