Readyami, thank you! We have some "mixed metaphors" going on with the Texas star decorations and the un-tiki gazebo, but I've always been kind of eclectic anyway, LOL! :-) Tim, thanks! When I was putting the skull up I was thinking "This belongs on Tim's pirate ship", haha! The ball is a Japanese glass fishing float (this one is actually a modern replica), a long time favorite decoration in tiki bars and restaurants the world round. It's as required a staple as the traditional hanging puffer fish lamp (I have one of those too) :-) Mostly they were hung indoors in arrangements of different colors and different heights and sometimes were lighted from within. I can't direct-link the photos, but if you look at the thread linked below (photos of vintage tiki bars) you'll see what I mean. They were also popular as A-frame decorations. My A-frame is actually a little teeny version of the real thing, the traditional A-frames built on restaurants and bars were enormous and had gigantic glass fishing float replicas, period light fixtures or even outrigger canoes hanging under them. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.tikiroom.com/tikicentral/bb/viewtopic.php?topic=29982&forum=5&13

It sounds like what you need is not just an idea for one little corner of the back yard, but a comprehensive plan for it that shows you what will occur in every square foot of it. That way, you will know if something is useful for you somewhere else in the yard or if you just need to dispose of it instead. In order to get going on such a plan you need to think about your overall objectives and specific needs. Decide if you want a gazebo or don't want one. Begin to think about what your needs are. Think about desires that are beyond necessity but keep in mind the budget it order to know if they are realistic.

@greenfish1234 Thank you again for your input. I'm attaching a better picture of the back door area. Our door is currently a slider door - not sure if that will be switched in the future to a french door. How far past the door should the steps/landing go? The further we go, the further we cut into that dead space next to our family room wall (to the right of the door). Also, the deeper the total of depth of the steps/landing combined, the deeper the bed gets to the left of the steps/landing, unless we don't make that bed as deep as the steps/landing, but not sure if that will look right. I'm also attaching a pic of landing/steps I found on line. Not that I want curved steps or that material, but was wondering if I could turn that dead space into a raised planter on the landing. That way I can soften that area. If I did this though, not sure how far to bring out the planter - just to the last step, or to the edge of the back of the family room wall. In this pic, their dead space is probably 1/2 that of mine.

I had a cool deck placed over concrete on my previous pool build in central Texas. It definitely was cooler than the concrete and was not slippery but I was not crazy about the aesthetics. The patio was ceramic tile, a very bad choice--it was horribly slippery. My current house in North Texas came with a stamped concrete patio, this was hot and I thought was ugly and looked like stamped concrete. I cannot remember if it was slippery or not. When I had the pool built this time I went with Travertine tile--love, love the look, it is cool in the summer heat and feels so good on bare feet. It is a bit more slippery when wet compared to the cool deck. I had the patio covered with the Travertine as well. My daughter had cool deck placed over their concrete pool surround and loves it. I do not have any experience with Belgrade pavers. I think your decision should be guided by your budget first then aesthetics vs practicality. Only you know which one trumps the other two. Previous pool with cool deck and ceramic tile patio Travertine over the old stamped concrete Current pool with travertine on pool deck and patio