Thank you. I am very, very happy with how the steps came out. Like you, the decking and patio was an area I chose to save money on. I figured the money would be better spent elsewhere. There are many aspects of the design that I am very proud of and feel like I had a key role in designing. But I have to admit the steps weren't one of them. I worked with several PB's and some had a step down from the patio and some had the deck level with the patio. I just so happens that the PB I chose had the step down. Someone did tell me that levels, or changes in elevation, are usually very pleasing. And the stone guy that built the steps did a fantastic job. I would have been happy with just ordinary steps, with the stones cut inn straight lines. But the stone guy cut everything at an angle and really made it look good.
The pool decking isn't quite complete. They are going to apply a paint like material called spray deck. So the pool decking will be colored a light beige, lighter than the coping, but darker than the regular concrete. I'll post pictures after they do it. And then once the coffers are filled back up a little, my plan is to eventually apply the same spray deck or some kind of stain to the concrete patio.
As for the railing, I had logistic reasons. There is a dog door in the door on the patio. So I didn't want my dogs to be able to get into the pool whenever they wanted, but I didn't want to have to open/close a gate every time I wanted to get to the pool area. So I came up with the patio railing with one section hanging on a track. So the entire section above the steps slides out of the way when we are enjoying the pool area, and the closes back up to keep the dogs out when we're not. The dogs can exit the side of the patio into the side yard. Here are some pics.