We are planning to redo and enlarge our backyard patio in the SF Bay Area. The backyard and house have generally contemporary rectilinear lines, so our patio design will feature rectangular areas for dining, sitting and socializing. We are partial toward a surface of concrete pavers, for ease of installation and repair. We'd like a surface that is smooth and cut into large rectangular pieces (same size or mixed), so that there is a subtle pattern of joints. We don't mind if it looks like concrete or cut stone. We just don't want the paving to "try too hard" to look like something that it isn't. Unfortunately, the pavers with a "stone-like" surface look rather artificial in their coloring and a bit rugged in texture (see first photo below). Smooth pavers without any stone texture seem to come only in colors that look too variegated and bold (see second photo).

I would welcome your opinions and relevant experiences. Our contractor cautions against "over-thinking" and suspects that we may not care as much about the differences, once our new plantings are in place and drawing all of the attention.