While white fencing isn't for me in a back garden, I have seen loads of pics here on Houzz with white fences and, although they mostly seem to be over in the USA (let's face it - they tend to have better daylight in parts of North America than we do in the UK) I do like the look of it, though. I especially like the whitewash appearance if you're going for a Cottage Garden as it adds a weathered appeal. I went for black in my garden which looks pretty stylish, especially with the greens and whites in front of it. I used to live in a house with a roof terrace and we were advised at the time to not use white on the inside of the parapet walls as it would glare too much. The chosen option for the wall was pale grey (before it was fashionable) and it worked really well. For this reason, I wouldn't have gone for white fence or white furniture.

Gates and Fences UK thank you so much for your advice, in the end I've taken it and today I've ordered Red Cedar Cladding and I'm going to treat it with cedar oil as you suggested. I think having to coat it yearly will be well worth the effort to have the beauty of Cedar as opposed to the practicality of UPVC Cladding.

Thanks again @rinq, great information and I suspect you have more light in Holland than we do here in Northern Ireland. Hello again @Jonathan and thanks for the tips on the texture. You are right, I just need to make a decision regarding the colour! Yes getting very excited. Absolutely delighted with how the build has progressed. The end is almost in sight, hopefully moving in early April. Great time to be moving in. Thanks @colourhappy (your name is what I'm trying to be!!). Funny you should ask about the paving because that another area I cannot make a decision on. We are laying Tobermore Mayfair graphite paving out the back but they don't go very well against the Liscannor stonework on the front so we need to find something that does - any suggestions would be very welcome.

You could try Pleached trees or black bamboo plants (with the latter, you might have to get the professionals in, or seek advice on how to go about planting them so that they don't spread. Depends on your style and taste really.