New concrete paver patio (in two weeks, yay) and getting the whole interior upstairs painted in a more updated color (in July):) Just got rid of the dated stripe in the kitchen backsplash today.

This is beautiful, I love the use of the mirrors to give the illusion that the courtyard is bigger than it is. Well done on a really fantastic transformation

I'd like to use bluestone pavers for our pool coping & surrounds, but I'm concerned it will get too hot underfoot, particularly because I have young kids. So now I'm on the hunt for pavers which have a similar uniform grey look but will be cooler. Does anyone have any experience with this or any suggestions?

I would completely concur with the plan to build a raised bed. You can use railway sleepers which are cheap and easy to construct into a bed. If you buy topsoil in bulk (which you will need to do) then it is much cheaper than you might expect compared with potting compost from a garden centre. Make sure you add in a good organic supplement too - something like spent mushroom compost or well rotted horse manure. I would definitely also dig out a depth of the poor soil that you have by the fence at the moment - the greater the depth of soil the better and most medium size shrubs will be happy in 450mm of good soil. Just make sure it does not dry out, especially when the plants are establishing in their first year or two. What you plant is entirely up to your taste and desires, but I would personally be cautious of bamboo. Even the clump forming varieties are generally pretty agressive and spread with strong roots that will take over a raised bed. I would suggest going for a mixture of evergreen shrubs to give you a base structure even in the winter and supplement with some perennials that will give colour and change through the summer. Climbers on the fence will help soften it too - Evergreen Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminiodes) is a great plant giving nice shiny leaves all year with heavily scented little star flowers in mid-summer.