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 have an epoxy-coated pebble, aka chattahoochee, pool deck. It comes flush with the brick pool coping. The chatt is in good condition overall, but it is a dated look that I'm looking to update. I have seen applications where people (professional resurfacers) have skim-coated a layer of acrylic cement over the chatt, which is kind of what I am hoping to do. However, I have no idea what product on the market would be able to bond to the epoxy without cracking/coming up later on. Any suggestions on what product to use, or even other suggestions on how to cover the chatt? I am open to removing the chatt, as there is a sound concrete slab underneath. I've attached a photo of what chattahoochee looks like (this is not my patio, though), same colors/style except I have brick coping around the pool.

Look into "draped hypertufa" eg: https://www.thehypertufagardener.com/oh-the-possibilities-draped-hypertufa/ Probably will give you some ideas on how to use cement in your projects. Here are other search terms that may be useful for you: hypertufa, papercrete, shapecrete Shapecrete if off the market but there are recipes out there to sort of replicate it. But it was a wonderful product. It allowed some flexing. You can achive some of that flexing ability by adding "flexbond" thinset used for setting tiles. Still it will not bond to plastic but allows some slippage. You can also borrow some ideas from a product called "bondo" used to fix dents in cars. It uses a combination of mesh (for strength) and fillers/glues similar to epoxy. Drywall mesh tape is also handy material. It will initially stick to plastic. Then using a soldering iron you can hot melt at spots to permanently tack it on to plastic pot. Needs a bit of practice - start with a medium setting on the soldering iron if you go this route. Now you use that surface to apply your next layer of epoxy, cement whatever. Go in thin layers and build it up. It will hold longer. You can even mix in colors and or stain later to give it more natural rock like look. Besides sand, you can use sifted fine perlite, peat or other fine particles or a combination of these. Expands the possibilities of texture and strength. Sand will be the strongest. Perlite will produce the lightest mixture. But you can increase the strength and sticking power by adding concrete fortifier (available in those bog box stores). And wear mask when handling dry cementitious products. Not good for your lungs at all.

Concrete absorbs water. Moisture passes through it. Talking about coming from the ground underneath that causes surface-applied coatings to deteriorate. Always and continually.