do you have a good sense of where the sun, and shade is, during different parts of the day? you'll want space for loungers both places. where the grass does well, where it doesnt? don't kill off your best grass.

when we redid our pool deck we basically changed all of the proportions of what the previous owners had chosen.

i'm going to add, not being able to afford pavers is a good thing. i couldnt find any that didnt look 'overwrought' or else 'commercial' or 'cheap'. i was happy to decide on a good concrete deck again, just in a different configuration.