I was thinking about UK vs US style the other day after reading an article on Trump's decorating of the White House: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/aug/24/trumps-3m-white-house-redesign-is-as-drab-as-a-downmarket-hotel There are points where it is difficult to say US or UK, especially in high end apartments in Manhattan, Georgetown in DC and perhaps some part of San Fran which could easily be in London, Bath or Edinburgh. But overall you could put a slide deck up on interiors and most can easily say if they are in the UK or US. Various UK TV shows have changed what used to be dark small spaces into light homes with many people knocking through rooms to add light, removing curtains and painting with light colours. The US is moving that way but still use a lot of darker woods. The US do tend to go for details - window and ceiling mouldings, solid wood doors and outdoor landscaping.

Hi - we had a similar problem as sloping gardens can be the norm in South Wales! We originally had wooden decking - which as everyone has said has maintenance and slipping issues - but changed to composite decking after about 10 years. This is terrific as it's non slip and so easy to brush down. The only thing you need to be careful with is rust which can mark it. Having said that if you love wood there are non slip solutions that are quite effective. With regard to the sides we have glass and covered metal supports which not only stop small children flying off the edge but also add a decorative finish. The beams underneath the decking raise it to the same level as the patio doors so it's quite seamless moving from house to garden. The beams are protected by the decking so they just needed a top up coat of something that smelled disgusting when we replaced the wood with plastic. There are two steps down to the garden and again we've never had any problems as they are quite wide and deep. Oh! And I have had a number of cats living here and expected to find corpses of the rats someone else mentioned...nothing just the fattest spiders you've ever seen. Yuck! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Thank you one and all for your suggestions, a good few things for us to think about. My apologies, I didn't really do a good job in explaining the style or anything! but the second image Carolina has suggested is the look and feel we would be going for. I really like the idea of using different materials and levels for the garden which we can achieve quite easily (I hope!) I have cleaned and stored all of the bricks from the chimney which was removed in the he house reno, and will be planning to build a flower bed, seat area along the left side (attached). I'm steering toward patio more so than decking especially given I can use the cover for the inspection chamber. Thanks for info on the cover guys! I am looking for low maintenance and have even considered adding (dare I say it) artificial turf. Better for slide tackling the kids! The idea of using diagonals is very clever and I shall give them some thought. Time to start sourcing materials and getting some quotes me thinks!

There's not a lot of difference in price now between good quality sandstone, don't buy cheap, you get what you pay for, and porcelain. As there are now new regulations coming in to force on how paving is laid, there is not a lot of difference in labour between the two. Porcelain is much cleaner and easier to maintain and would give you a nice contemporary finish to match with the house. Most porcelain, but do check, has a slip rating of R11 which is ideal for outside. Have a look at the Marshalls range and London Stone as they have some beautiful finishes which you won't get with natural stone.