I've used crushed stone many times for hard surfaces such as barns and parking pads. I have not used it for anything that needed to look nice. I agree with annz, in that you will want to accent in some way if used. Even the crushed stone will turn up if your dog gets into it. It is quite literally as hard a concrete as long as the surface stays intact. Once you break the surface though... ... the important thing to do is moisten it up and tamp it as soon as you see it starting to open up. If I knew how to put pictures in here, I would let you see my situation. There were a couple yards of pea gravel left from construction (drain fill because it won't compact) and I decided to use it as filler in a walk area and expanded drive until paving could be done. Even with the big white pavers on top, I'm constantly sweeping the stuff around and my yard has basically become 50/50 grass/ pea gravel. Even the existing asphault has become completely infected with it. I think long term crushed stone will be best all the way around. Certainly if you can afford to put some stepping stones on it soon. The big bonus is it will be there when you are ready to lay down the paver walk later. I don't know if annz is refering to the same post or not, but within the last couple days there was a big discussion on pea gravel for a patio. Look it up for a lot more opinions. Good Luck!

Lime crush with some gravel traces Lime crush with some soil traces (top section of the picture) Soil with some traces of lime crush (close up with the bottom side of the above picture)

In my experience, decomposed granite is like a coarse sand. In my area it's used for park pathways where people walk, jog and bike. I don't think it is small enough to be blown by wind, but it does get caught in the treads of shoes and spread that way. Crushed rock goes through a crusher, and is then passed over sieves to sort it by size. Various grades range from 2-4" down to dust, and some larger size grades include dust. When tamped down, crushed rock locks together so is less likely to be inadvertently kicked out of place. I think it easier to walk on than gravel which has a more rounded shape. Here are a couple of sites that explain more: Site 1 Site 2

It's hard to tell, but it looks like a "vee" slope between the house and fence, and quite steep for pavers in that skinny width. So if that is the case and you were to follow that "vee" shape, the pavers would need to be smaller/skinnier and the pattern may affect how much lippage you get (depending on orientation). I see the one drain in the middle, but don't know if the grade is slope towards it (front to back direction). I don't understand your description of how you will use plastic vs 'fabric liner" either. Is the house a slab foundation, maybe California? To accomplish a standard interlocking paver install, you would need a depth of 4"+1"+2 3/8" min, and it doesn't look like you can achieve that with the current grade elevation, so digging and hauloff would need to occur.