Since you're wanting something that is cooler, I would first look at coatings made for pool decks. One brand is Kool Deck. A relative had this installed around her patio and pool and apparently it's supposed to be much cooler than bare concrete. Personally, I'd call some companies that specialize in coatings and review all your options. Here's one company I found that's in the East Bay.... their photos will give you some ideas. http://www.liquidcoatingdesigns.com/concrete-resurfacing-company-portfolio/porch-concrete-resurfacing-bay-area. Another option is stamp overlay, such as this . Also thought you might like seeing a nice photo of travertine. I had flagstone along the walkway of my previous home and you're correct about the surface being uneven. We had to be careful about the type flagstone we chose since we wanted as smooth a surface as possible. I can't say I found it any cooler than concrete with a SW exposure. I would have concerns about covering the edge of your stucco with a concrete step. Check the link below for info on stucco and the importance of drainage. Here is an excerpt from page 7: "Rain will soak into any stucco coating; the water will head downwards, and it must escape at the bottom. Weep screed lets water out through its perforations, and it stops the stucco from bonding to the cement foundation and creating a dam where water might pool. The screed should span between the wood framing or sheathing and the concrete foundation, and it should terminate at least 8 inches above grade". Here is a link that might be useful: Stucco

I am trying ti figure out how you would watch TV witha sectional in the window space. Sectional are actually the worst possible seating for comfort since only 2 people get an arm and everyone is lined up like a kids botrhday party. I would leave the space in front of the windoes as clear as possible. As for heat get some solar shades on those windows now, they will help with heat and damaging UV rays and let you keep the view.The TV is mounted a bit high and the black cabinet really doesn’t work with the rest of the pieces.

If you extend the deck and it's built correctly you shouldn't have settling. That's because the deck post footers should be dug down to undisturbed soil. On a new home, that may likely mean digging down to the house footer, which if you have a full basement is a big honkin' hole. Anything less is asking for trouble. You'll have a similar issue with a raised patio, since it's a new home. Because of the way they build foundations, you have a zone of disturbed soil all around your house, 5-10 feet out. This WILL continue to settle for up to a decade (depending on your local soil). In 20+ years doing this I have come across exactly one (1) builder who compacts his backfill properly. Everyone else chucks it in the hole, runs the machine back and forth a couple times, and calls it good. So to build a raised patio we would do one of two things: 1) excavate for the full patio all the way down to disturbed soil and build back up again with gravel, and then the patio. Or 2) if you're doing a concrete patio (or stone laid over concrete) we can dig for piers or wing walls to support the patio, which is way less excavation, labor, and spoils. Anything else will settle. It's why we don't build patios next to new homes. If you do your third option, I'd be prepared to re-lay the patio at least once more after that. If you're already having settling issues the base isn't appropriate for the conditions. As for gas line location, assume it's the shortest distance between two points.

@WestCoast Hopeful The pictures above were when we had had to move the furniture... So already sort of the new layout although you can still see one chair in the bay window. Both chairs were there for 9 years so this is actually a change from where it started... I wish I had a better picture handy: you can't see fully below but this gives you an idea...