Paint that back wall a really nice creamy slightly dark french green and the wall of the shed could be the same colour. The bricks of the patio don't work for me at all. i would cover with timber cladding.

Both suggestions above are good. One house we did had an outdoor deck area which led to a pool and we put timber decking on the deck with a perpendicular timber-decked walkway leading to the pool. We then put lights in the walkway which created a 'catwalk', continuing along the deck. It looked great at night lit up with the pool lights on too! Love the stepping stones and gravel idea too.

Yes we possibly could have, however then the Entertaining, Living areas of the home would have been on the First Floor which would have meant incorporating a larger Patio on this level. You also must remember over 80% of owners of Two Storey homes prefer bedrooms on the First Floor, so you we need to take this into consideration for our clients potential resale of their home.

Concrete could go over but it needs to be thick enough and reinforced so it won't crack. Check levels and thickness required. Existing concrete may even need removing to allow new concrete. Depends what you mean by resurfacing? I'd price up all options first. It can be surprising what is expensive and what ends up cheap. Hardiedeck needs to go over a floor structure of bearers/joists/etc so not a cheap option for example. Have any pictures of the area?