Thanks for asking about that project. We generally use pine as the structural pieces wrapped by a 1x cedar on the beam and posts. Posts are blocked out a bit with 2x4s to a more appropriate size for the overall structure. We stained the cedar with a Cabot stain. Anything that is getting direct sun will require maintenance - restraining every couple of years? We try to minimize our use of cedar due to the maintenance aspect, but it is beautiful. Hope this helps.