I don't think it should drive your decision.

I like that seamless look if at all possible.

Thank y'all!!! Sure, will send photos as soon as deck structure is up...

SJ, do you have any good recommendations for material for an outdoor material? I am building a new home, and we will have what you are referring to as a luxury look- with the entire great room wall opening up with magic doors that will disappear onto themselves in the wall. Our wraparound porch will turn into the deck on the rear of the house. Covered, of course. With a fireplace, lighting, grill, etc. I had been planning to use trex/timber tech but I’m wondering if there is a better material I could use.

We’d considered Moso Bamboo but I’m nervous about maintaining it.

The Moso Bamboo decking looks promising. It will be comparable to wood decking material when it comes to maintenance. It will require a yearly 'brush scrub' (sounds like water and a stiff bristle brush are the only things needed) and then a yearly application of Messmer's Bamboo Finish Oil.

Without the oil, the deck will turn silver/gray within a few months.

Thanks for responding- I’m really turned off by needing to apply the yearly oil. Do you think having Trex or Timberteck will look that bad?

I prefer the look of stone or concrete on the inside so that it is easy to match the outside. Any time you start working with wood or wood look products outside, like Trex or Timberteck you start having to deal with wood changing colours. Either the OUTSIDE artificial product (Trex) will fade or the INSIDE wood (real stuff) will change. Something somewhere will change.

That's why you will find many of these in-door/outdoor spaces will have some form of tile or stone as their flooring.

Go ahead and google 'composite deck fading'. You will get thousands of hits. Either you accept this concern and PLAN for the fading (the interior wood mimics the faded look and wait for the match) of you ignore it and do the colours that make you feel good today...and try to find a way to live with the change when it happens.

Well dang. You are certainly the most knowledgeable person I’ve encountered thus far.

So our house will have a wraparound covered porch- leading into a covered deck (outdoor living room) space. Which has about 5-7 steps leading to ground floor in the yard. My concern is mostly that parts of it would fade, but parts wouldn’t (if we do any type of wood). But stone certainly isn’t a good option for a full wraparound porch. But also, it’s a covered porch so the fading risk isn’t extreme for the majority of the space- but definitely for the steps and railings....

OK...you have covered decks. This gets a little easier. I would go ahead and get two floors that are close in colour and install them. If you want to work around the fading on the steps then you can work in a contrasting colour to add some 'pop' to the deck while HIDING the fading. You can use this stronger colour on the railing, on the trim of the house or even around the window trim....you can do something to tie-in the extra bit of colour on the stairs.

If you are doing a higher grade of renovation you might want some help from a designer. Their ability to pull together spaces will with the decision fatigue that is sure to come.