Looking for a low-maintenance terrace in a new building with a child

Hello everyone,
we hopefully will soon move into our new semi-detached house, so we can slowly start dealing with the topic of the terrace. It is planned to be 6.00 x 3.20 m facing southwest.
The builder had planned the Fiori in 40x40 from KANN. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really suit our taste, so we need something else.
To be honest, we are somewhat overwhelmed by the sheer endless variety and hope for some practical tips.
In general, we don’t mind concrete at all. However, it should be low-maintenance or not extremely maintenance-intensive and not too sensitive. I have often read about the slabs with “Schutz ab Werk” that although they are easy to clean, they can get scratched quickly. I just imagine kids with sand etc...

Additionally, we prefer the large format. We were thinking about 80x40 and laid offset. But since the terrace is not really huge, I’m unsure about how such large (or even larger) tiles would look. The same applies to the color. Anthracite sometimes looks really great, but it will certainly get very warm in the southwest garden. Would a grayish one be noticeably “cooler”?! I guess it depends more on the material.

Since surely some others before me have come with similar preconditions, I am very curious about your tips.
What can you recommend regarding material, size, color, and maybe also the company?
I already thank you in advance for your help.

Christian

Ceramics / porcelain stoneware is the easiest to maintain. 60x40 in size is already suitable if you prefer larger formats. First, choose material and design. They are usually available in different formats.

We actually found it very good as well, but initially we were advised against gluing or anything similar in a new build. That is why we are currently sticking to loose laying in the gravel bed.

Support bearing

We have also dealt with the same topic in the past few days, so I'll give my two cents. We were at three "exhibitions" or "concrete gardens" last Sunday.

Regarding durability, is certainly right, ceramic or porcelain stoneware is quite durable and easy to clean. Especially in anthracite, you can mostly only see grease stains clearly (so keep the grill somewhere else...). Thin ceramic (1cm) combined with open-pored? lightweight concrete base (composite slabs, no idea what they are called) also do not get much hotter in the sun than light-colored slabs (tested). Thick porcelain stoneware slabs get scorching hot. Dark concrete gets "somewhat" warmer, but if the slabs are quite thick, it takes longer. However, they also radiate heat back longer in the evening.

Larger slabs (from about 40x40 at 8cm thickness) can no longer really be laid by hand and are significantly more expensive than smaller formats (with otherwise the same material).

Never clean concrete slabs with a high-pressure cleaner; once you have done that, you have "lost."

We will probably use dark L-shaped stones with exposed concrete surface matching the house, as well as concrete stones about 20x40. Because we want to pave ourselves. The landscape gardener doesn't have time for a larger scope this year anyway. Paths and parking spaces in the same style then.

Regards B

P.S. I just looked at the KANN from Fiori in 40x40, it really looks rather unattractive :p

Maybe not too dark a color because it heats up strongly.......Children and barefoot......