I would also consider a 2-level approach or something similar that lets you make the transition to ground seem more gradual. There is also the idea that you may find you want to do a good deal of grilling the food outside, then eat inside, because well, it is just so convenient and you can grill under less ideal circumstances than required for outdoor dining. The utilitarian steps down to patio just to get to the grill will be a barrier to that. The problem with same level is that you have to use decking, then it does tend to force you to a large deck, then a large area underneath it plus lattice or whatever, plus maintenance--though new deck materials as you suggest make that less of an issue. So I do not want to discourage you from thinking about having a "stone" patio that is part of the yard. I think over time that area could be very nice and will feel more permanent--properly landscaped. So the deck idea gives a more immediate sense of its being just an extension of your kitchen and feeling like a "room", but the patio has the ability to feel "in the yard", as noted above. The problem with bi-level structures is you have to design carefully so that neither part is too small to be useful or it breaks up your party in the wrong way. So, for example, if you envision 6 guys or gals yakking around the grill, you want room for that in your design. I think the deck landing as shown in your picture has that dreaded ubiquitous tacked-on landing look that just gets you up and down, and if you do actually make just steps, I would try to put more into their design to make a more graceful descent to the yard--whether that is broader, curved, or something. Of course that might be too expensive, so part of the fun of the forum is that we can brainstorm about how you might spend your $$! Really, just giving you things to think about. Broad steps or more gradual transition type structures can also often be used as seating/dining (for kids) as long as is wide enough. You don't show anything about the exposure of the back of the house, sun patterns, etc, so any design needs to think ahead to whether you will plant trees for shade, use umbrellas, arbor, or what--meaning, leave space in yard, or plan layout of space.

It was a lot of pavement for that setting, I can understand the undesirable effects, especially if tree roots lifted some of the pavers. Except for nutritional analysis, your soil testing will be a snap: 1. For pH, check with the local office of your State Cooperative Extension; they usually do a pH test while you wait, free of charge ... and will tell you what and how much to add to adjust if necessary. Soil for turfgrasses should be in the 6.0 (preferably 6.5) to 7.0 range. 2. For soil composition, use the jar test. If you have children, they'd love to help and watch the results. Take a clean, straight-sided jar (mayonnaise, Mason, etc.) and fill about halfway with your soil. Fill almost to the top with water. Add a drop or two of dish washing liquid. Screw on the top securely. Shake to mix thoroughly, then set it down. You will see the sand begin to settle out immediately. Silt will settle next, and may take an hour or so to settle out. Clay will take the longest to settle out, several hours possibly. Organic matter will float or settle out last. You will clearly see the proportions of each component of your soil. 3. As for nutrient analysis, the test kits available in garden centers will give reasonably good results if used correctly. Sending a soil sample off to your extension service soil lab would give you more accurate results, but that can take several weeks for results and probably not necessary in this case. Clay has minerals, but tends to compact, resulting in poor drainage. Sand makes for good drainage, sometimes too good, taking any fertilizer with it, resulting in a nutrient-poor, dry soil. Turfgrasses are not happy in either situation. Organic matter will lighten clay soil to help with drainage and aeration (plants get oxygen through their roots), and will improve the water and nutrient holding capacity of a sandy soil. Turfgrasses need a minimum of 4" good topsoil, preferably more. 8" would be better. The deeper the topsoil, the deeper the roots can grow and the more resilient your grass plants will be. Check to see if the soil in this area is like the soil in the rest of your yard. It is common practice when laying a walk or patio to dig out some soil and replace with gravel and then sand for a good base. If there is a hardpan of compacted clay beneath the sand and gravel, you could have drainage issues. I have no idea what the dilute clear shampoo solution is supposed to do - would love to know if you ever find out. It looks like you are already well into gardening, so probably know the importance of good soil and a healthy, diverse population of soil organisms. Doing the prep correctly now will save time and effort in the long run.

I installed my own dry-laid 1.5" PA bluestone patio last summer. I ran a vibraplate tamper on the bare soil and then again after the 4" gravel (did not do it half way, like you asked). I did not use landscape fabric or edging. I used about a 4" layer of masonry sand. I don't have a recent pic handy but I posted a midway pic from the summer below. This was my first patio, but I have a stone mason friend who's done tons of them and he said it's really solid and that my foundation is probably more burly than what they normally do. It's not completely finished, as I just have topped off sand in the joints - trying to get sedum/thyme established this spring and may also fill with stone dust. As far as durability, I first tested it with my car and a friends minivan - no problems. I then drove a pickup with a 600 lb tree in the back over it - again, didn't budge. However, I got a little too confident when I tried to get a delivery of a cord of firewood driven over it. Had a few nice big stones shatter, but this was mainly due to a drainage problem I encountered on the car path. I get a lot of water runoff from my front yard into this sloped area and have lost a lot of sand during rain storms, and the stones that cracked had pockets of missing sand. Looking to fix the drainage this spring, but for now I have to lay tarp over the driveway section whenever we expect heavy rains. Other than that, it's rock solid, especially when the ground freezes. Once I fix the drainage, settle on a solution for the joints, and get my plants going, I think this will be good to go. And it already has a weathered look like it's been around for years. Message me if you need any more info and maybe I can find some more pics. Good luck, it will be worth it when it's finished! PS - I should also note that I was really picky with getting the right pitch away from the house. I used to get tons of water in my basement but ever since I put the patio in, it's been practically bone-dry. Here is a link that might be useful:

the biggest advantage to wet laid flag is your daily/weekly maintenance. You can blow it off, hose it down, and even pressure wash it as needed. You need to be more careful with a dry laid patio. The biggest down side is that you need to monitor the mortar joints as a failed joint invites water to get under the flagstone and pop or crack it (especially in z5). Also, you may need to do a full on restoration in about a decade. We did one last year (12 year old patio) where we pressure washed all the stone, ground out all the mortar, fixed a few settling issues, and repointed all the joints. Granted, it was a large patio, but it was a full crew there for 9 days. Wet laid flag also looks more formal. Dry laid flag has (in my opinion) a more relaxed look. It's less expensive than wet laid. In terms of maintenance, yes you have to sweep stone dust in occasionally, and weeds can grow in the joints, but I don't find that particularly onerous. Either type of patio will last decades if built well and maintained. As far as Gator Dust, I'm 50/50 on it. We used it on the stonework we did for a wedding venue and it works pretty well. It hasn't worked as well at my house, mostly because weeds can still settle into polymeric jointing and if you ignore them for a couple weeks *cough* you end up mangling the whole joint. When I redo my stone walkway I'm switching to regular stone dust.