While I do agree you have to be very careful with mixing materials, I still feel you can combine to get a very nice look. Similar to using trim in a house around windows/doors to highlight certain architectural features. It all depends on your style and the look you wish to achieve. The pavers I had selected did not have a bullnose paver (some lines do) and so we ended up using bricks to define borders and for steps and our seat wall. I am very happy how it turned out. We were in a similar situation where we had poured foundation for our front porch and everything else was dirt. I always knew I wanted a slate porch, but didn't want to put it on a sloping walkway nor did we feel it was the best choice. I've seen slate edging and I hate the look as it's hard to get a smooth edge. I also wanted to cut on the diagonal so that it flowed from my interior travertine entry. The results I think turned out better than I imagined. We get numerous compliments on our front yard from neighbors walking by. In the backyard, we had a retaining wall. We extended the patio to meet the wall and designed a circular area which I call my outdoor dining room. I plan to put a wrought iron patio set there this spring. The material is fullrange Connecticut Bluestone. In addition, my contracor put a concrete mowing edge where the grass meets the retaining wall. He colored the concrete when it was poured to match with the grout. In the past, I've put color on a concrete front porch. Overtime the color would wear off so keep in mind it is different if you mix the color when you set the concrete vs. color after the fact. Another material which I *love* is the Connecticut Blue Stone tiles--purchased in about 4 different sizes and arranged in a pattern. However, I don't see the Bluestone working so well with your pavers so perhaps slate is a better choice. I found most contractors tend to recommend materials they have experience working with--though some, like mine, have experience with all. I would choose what matierals you want to use and interview contractors which have experience in the mediums you wish to use. Going to a good matierals yard can me very educational about all of your options.

Yeah, I have to squint but I think I see what you're talking about. The problem with putting the dining area behind the kitchen is that the kitchen will be totally closed off from the outside with little natural light, which would be a problem for me. Also, I'm not sure about your concern re conversation; either people are in the kitchen during food prep, or they're at the table eating, not usually both at the same time. The only proximity issue is carrying food from one to the other. I'd leave it as is.

Your location has a bit of a slope behind it. You could use that to your advantage by moving the back right corner of your patio to the "high" point and create a short "L" shaped retaining wall just high enough to be usable as extra seating. On the left edge of your patio and the edge that will be in the foreground, outline your patio with pavers (or bricks or patio blocks or cap blocks) so that the top of the paver is level with the ground to make mowing around it a whole lot easier. If moving the corner of your patiio back and to the right results in your tree stump not being in the center of your patio, that could be a good thing, especially as it inevitably rots. There are different ways to incorporate your stump into your patio rather than cutting it the rest of the way down or having it the center of attention.

I think I need a bit more info. From what I see you need a larger patio I am not sure what you mean by cutting into the garage. IMO all itmes for outdoors should be able to be either put away or made from materials that can stay out all year. What is the round thing at the end of your patio. How many sets do you want? Is there going to be dining outside? I don’t love patios I much prefer decks but in your case the basement windows need to be considered. Your pics are a bit hard to get a feel for the space one makes it look small the other much larger. I think a to scale plan of the yard with all measurements might be helpful. As for the bar do you really need a bar ? Think about how you plan to use the space . We have tons of deck so an outdoor kitchen a huge space to be able to seat 20 for outdoor dining and large space for outdoor LR type seating and then another whole area for the pool. So IMO you need to really think about how to use the space,