Hello! I can speak from experience on this
We have a large corner lot CYV. Had all the grass removed, and put in 31 yards of rock (over 3,100 sq ft). We switched to rock in our last CYV and we found that we love it and love the look. First some responses to some comments I have seen:
1. Your back yard will be considerably hotter. No, it will not - I have not experienced this in either of our CYV's. I would like to see some data from those that claim this.
2. You will still get weeds. Yes, you will. I spray once every 3 months, and have to pull a couple of stragglers here and there. Overall much easier and less expensive than maintaining a lawn, I don't have to water much (I still have many plants but most require little water), and it always looks good (assuming you like the look of rocks and cactus).
For a recommendation - I can't recommend the folks that did ours. They did a good job in the end, but took forever and were extremely frustrating to deal with. Would show up when called multiple times, do an hour of work, then leave. A job that was promised in 2 weeks took over 3 months.
I would recommend the company we didn't go with - Artistascapes. They had the lowest bid, but I didn't go with them - thought the price was too low. While I waited for mine to get done, they did dozens of other jobs in my neighborhood. Always showed up, put in a long day of work, finished the job, and went on to the next.