I’ve had dreadful experiences with NetGear over the years, and I won’t put any of their gear into production anymore, except possibly a dumb network switch.

TP-Link, TrendNet, Zyxel, Cisco, Unifi. . . all acceptable alternatives, IMO.

If you want a nice solid network switch, try the Zyxel GS1200-8.

They are really, really easy to configure, especially VLANs if you use them.

Surface mount may be the way to go.

You can get surface mount boxes with keystone jacks that point out the side. These will be reasonably low-profile.

You could probably “rough up” the cover a bit with some sandpaper, and paint the cover of the box so that it blends in with the color of your bricks.

If you install the surface mount so that the jack(s) themselves point towards the floor, it would naturally direct the cables downwards, while hiding the unpainted faces of the keystone jack from direct view.

Additionally, you could choose dark-colored RJ45 keystone jacks, such as black, dark red, or grey, rather than using the more stark white or almond colors.

Cat6 will get you 10Gb up to about 175 linear feet, which is usually enough for your average 2-story home. It’s still mainstream/readily available, and is a bit easier to work with than 6a. Definitely 6a for distances beyond 175 feet though. Agreed though on fiber backbones for high speeds.