In my attempt not to be "wordy," perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly enough :-) I would be fine with any of the choices, and am more concerned about maintenance. 1)Painting it white --- when rain and dirt splashes in, as it inevitably will do, may look dirty frequently - and ultimately require more routine work. 2)Stain - requires a sealer every couple of years, I think? 3) White stain would give it a more casual look than paint, but might have same problems with dirt after rain, etc. I know that it's ultimately my decision, I'm just looking for experience w/ the different choices. (I found this site after the fact and cringe so often when I see my prior mistakes explained on here and say "if only I'd read this before doing....." so I value the expertise and try to heed it before acting. Thanks for all your help.)

A lot depends on the look you want. We're also doing a screen porch and will use a composite (not sure which yet) but the type that is interlocking and looks like T&G after install. You can't stain a PT deck immediately so it will have to weather as is for a while - how long I believe depends on how much weather/sun exposure it will get but I believe a year is recommended. Will you be screening underneath the PT flooring to keep bugs out? How will it be fastened? Will they do a blind system so you don't have to see nails in the boards?

Hello, Beautiful room! We are looking to do the same thing to our screened in porch. I thought I wanted glass windows, and then I saw your post on another board. I started looking into the Sunspace windows. They look gorgeous, but I was wondering how they are holding up. We also live on the water(bay) and we are worried about the sand/wind making them cloudy. Do they have good clarity? Did you get any color to them for sun protection, or did you go with clear? Thank you!

Too little info to play around with schemes, you could do pretty much anything with a blank slate. I would suggest getting a good landscape design firm (not just a landscape maintenance company or one who just installs patios or french drains). They can integrate both hard and softscape. Outdoor living can, and should, be designed in the same fashion as the inside of the house is done, and as an extension of the inside living. So just initially my thoughts are it looks like you need a backup area of driveway, the long sidewalk can be incorporated more with softscape and the massing of the house, the deck stairs can be designed for circulation and aesthetics to the house (e.g. same width and aligned with the Great Room door), the gazebo blocks your view from the Great Room to the yard, the gazebo (for cooking?) is an island instead of integrated with the deck or backyard, . . . .