It's easy to see that after two years you're anxious to get going and "do" something. The house appears to be in a somewhat rural setting. You don't indicate what part of the US you live in. A brick walkway suggests to me a more formal setting, though perhaps you envision working toward a "Williamsburg" look. I would put the digging on hold until you have worked out a more comprehensive plan for the whole property. Not that you have to have every last detail figured out. Make a list of some of the issues. Here, in no particular order, are some that come to mind: 1. Need dry footing from car to house entrance. 2. Actual house entrance (porch) and "visual" entrance (front door) are not the same. 3. House and barn are not related, either architecturally, or spatially. 4. Need to hide childrens' play equipment. 5. Safe place for children to play. 6. Would like some flower beds. And so on. If you have a survey of the property that shows the location of the buildings relative to each other you might find it easiest to work through these things on paper, as a professional would. It could be worthwhile for you to engage the help of a qualified landscape professional, even on an hourly basis, just to help you get started in the right direction.

Just a follow up.... I got our final quote on a stamped and dyed patio of approx. 450 sq ft. $4000.00. That's beyond my budget. We are most likely going with plain old concrete. I like the look of tinker_2006's driveway. We might do something similar to dress it up. I've been looking in to the staining processes but it seems like acid stain is not a DIY job. The process of spraying stain on top might be DIY but I don't think I could make it look very nice.

Your point regarding snowblowers is a good one. We have to overthink these things lest we are just shifting, or worsening the environmental impact, and small gasoline engines are far worse polluters than most modern cars. One thought is, if this system just subtley melts the snow, just above freezing as you say (I wonder if that's hard on concrete, it might have to be formulated specially) I wonder if there'd be more risk of ice forming. My 'snowblower' is a high velocity electric yard blower. I have a very steep driveway and do shovel it, but if I get out there quick enough and the snow's not too wet, the blower does a great job. It will even break up ice quite well if it's not too thick, I think what happens is the high velocity air 'hardens' the ice by cooling through evaporation, and the air gets under and lifts it. I would thoroughly recommend this method for driveway and path clearing, I bought a Toro model that claimed it was the highest air speed of any gas or electric model - something like 120-140 kM/h.

@Beth Thank you! We have had a concrete driveway for many years and there are also no tire marks. But I think it's because it had an aggregate type finish. I would love the more modern smooth finish - that is what we are getting on the walkway (broom finish to ensure its not slippery). When I walk around my neighborhood, there are several houses with this finish and they all have tire marks. Maybe it's because of the finish? Or maybe it's because it's newer and, therefore, in a year or more the marks won't show? Or is it dependent on the skill of the contractor and how it is installed? We are tinting/coloring the walkway concrete to a light gray. So I do hope that will not show marks as easily and also won't be as reflective (in the CA sun). I agree that pebbles in between is not a good idea. But I've come to terms with that! I love the look. I'm going to be careful with the sizing and also won't fill the gap so that the gravel is level. The gravel height will be lower than the concrete height - in the hopes that this will contain the gravel. The second photo you shared is very similar to my plan in that the slabs are right next to the driveway but separated by 6" of gravel. Fake grass is a smart idea (2nd photo) but I'm afraid I don't like fake grass. Sorry!! We did consider doing the look in the 1st and 5th photos. I LOVE that look. But my husband vetoed it as he feels the gravel would be too messy there. We can live with the messy sidewalk but not sure we can live with a messy driveway. But I really do love this look! The driveway in the 7th photo is a different color to the walkway so that gives me hope that pavers might work! Your observation about the white garage door is so accurate. I had not noticed this at all but, now that you point it out, it's completely obvious. My garage door is also white and you are making me realize we need to change the color. Thank you! Thank you so much for all your insights. I so appreciate it!