I don't know how big your yard is, but I would start small, with the gravel, meaning, just big enough for the seating at first--the point being, you can always expand, but you will never remove the gravel once you've got it in (I'm making assumptions about what you will or won't do in the future based on human nature, the nature of gravel removal, and your post!). Also, will be an issue for the next (owner?)--if you will be responsible for future sale of the property, then that is one reason to avoid some forms of home improvement that may be seen as drawbacks. If you are the least bit inclined to "gardening" and to enjoy a bit of greenery, you might be able to plan and install some pockets of groundcover for the same price as covering everything with gravel--it is possible to build up soil areas without a lot of digging and leveling, particularly for planting one of the tough groundcovers (not for growing tea roses right away!). There would be some upkeep to establish the plantings but again, you could start small-- an area 3x3 or 4x4. You might approach your yard by mapping out quadrants or areas and tackle one or 2 , but leave the rest bare until you phase in the whole plan. The return would be that you would not be trying to establish a lawn from scratch under poor conditions but you would have some green space. You haven't said whether you have any trees in your yard or overhanging your yard--leaves, cones, acorns, maple seeds-- but that is an issue for pea gravel--you don't want a lot of gravel if there is going to be a lot of organic debris falling on it, requiring constant raking and upkeep.

I have absolutely no shortage of pavers or flagstone etc. My husband collects them. What happens is in this Texas full sun, they "glare" out between any plants. But, I think I am OCD about this. It may not look good now, but these plants are going to grow and pretty soon, they will cover up the majority of any flagstone pieces that I have put down. My husband says and everyone else seems to think it is obsessive. I seem to notice every little flaw. And the fact is: Plants grow. And it doesn't seem to register in my brain. I have a very hard time imagining them full grown. For instance, skullcap will get to be 3 feet (1 foot in height) in diameter in 2-3 years. Right now, my skullcaps are about 6 inches in diameter. My son is able to visualize the mature size of a plant within a bed. I can't do that. All I can see are these little bitty 6 inch things. Anyway, thanks for pointing out the OC component. If it comes across in a post, it must really be there in real life!!!!

Consider a hard rain-- hard enough that the water would flow, to some degree, along the top of the soil before it has time to soak in. When such a hard rain hits gravel it will flow off the gravel and onto the sand or soil beneath rather quickly, then flow across the sand or soil. If it then runs into the side of a brick paver, will it pool up enough to create a "bowl" of water in the gravel area? The fact that the gravel area is next to the house is what has me concerned about this. I don't want the soil next to the foundation to be oversaturated. I know this depends on soil drainage and a host of other factors but what I want to know is if you can envision conditions where the choice of gravel->brick alone could cause a drainage/moisture problem where a brick patio all the way to the house would not.

Thanks concretenprimroses and dian57. I couldn't believe myself that I forgot this thread. I'm so sorry. My wife and I have been searching the internet for stones with no luck. Someone told me to use "stone suppliers" as my search criteria. About #4, I'm laughing about what I mentioned. I should have mentioned flat irregular shaped flagstones or fau flagstones rather than rocks. Is there any online calculator for crushed stones/sand if we have the given? 300 sqft 4 inch high Is it called crushed stones or just gravel? Or are they the same?