I’d go with timber or cork. Cork is great in a kitchen. Easy on your feet and joints and things are much less likely to break if you drop them. Especially as you age, tiles cause fatigue if you are standing in the kitchen for too long. Cork is now available in lots of different colours and styles including charcoals and greys that might compliment your slate. It’s not all 80s orange. Of course timber can look great too. Just make sure it’s ok for kitchen use.

Me me - The screened area was erected by previous owner and it has proved more useful than if there were only a screen on the front door- to keep unknown visitors at a distance from the front door, to sit or dry washing in with some weather protection and without insects, to drop wet things further from the front door, and blowing rain only gets through to a few inches of floor inside the screen but hits the dining room window sill. Dreamer - here is the enclosure from the side. The corner I might fill in is the closest shrubs on the left outside the balustrade.

Just as a matter of interest , which parts have you painted white ? A photo would be good haha . I hate painted driveways -- I think they look artifical and tacky , they can peel and look even worse -- I can't think of a positive personally . I'd waterblast or chemical clean ( DIY or get a pro ) and even if not perfect , it has character ! When that 'character' turns to cracks and weeds growing through and puddles then you dig up and re-do , or resurface in some cases , but I'm not a fan of resurfacing either . In other words , I think the driveway isn't too bad -- I could even live with the existing tiles if all the feature fittings were white . Yes , I know , they are slippery and you say cracked -- the bits I can see they look like they'd last a couple more years ? To me , I'd be more inclined to change the garage doors ( or paint if tidy enough ) before I did those tiles , but you know their condition , and your priorities and budget .

Are your posts made out of timber? If so, wire balustrading is going to be INFINITELY cheaper than glass, and is actually a pretty simple DIY job too (if you're so inclined). As for the tile vs deck debate, both would look fantastic! Decking can be quite expensive though, especially if you're paying to have it installed, so I suppose it would depend on your budget!