Seeing the picture, I am wondering what the hell the dome is about ... so the final sentence did the explaining and made me chuckle. As far as "fitting in" goes, I'm a believer in it when what one is fitting in TO, is as desirable as possible. But if there is room for improvement, then there is no reason to shirk from improving and setting the example that will inspire others. Over years, a neighborhood can completely transform for the better on account of trend-setting gentrification. In this case, the street is already and oddball mix of structures. if you improve it, you will be seen as leaders and others will examine what you do and get ideas from it. Trust me, copying is rampant.

Rosie, I find it best to be direct online. I like porches, I just think they serve a different purpose than a deck. Nic, I think you need to step back and start thinking about functions for your overall landscape before you start thinking about design elements and style. Ultimately the purpose of your landscape is to be useful to you and your family. Draw a scaled top view of your property, including house, driveway, walkways, streets, boundaries, etc and figure out where you want things to be. I like having public and private areas. There are some properties I pass by that are right next to public parks. All of them have some sort of fence around them. Usually a 6' tall privacy fence. I can only imagine that they want a clear demarcation so random people don't wander onto their property and grabbing a beer from their cooler thinking the private family barbecue is a park function :) I think there can also be liability issues. If someone happens to come onto your property and gets hurt you can get hit with lots of bills. Even if they thought they were still in the park. Did you hear the phone ringing while you were edging your lawn and ran inside to get it and someone came along thinking your weed whacker would be fun to play with? There's some big event going on in the park and they ran out of parking? No problem, there's plenty of space on your front lawn. :) I would also put a fence to help turn part of the front lawn (usually public) into private space. If it's a 3-4' high fence I might also add some hedges along with it. It's not just to differentiate spaces but I assume past your front lawn is a street and I think a fence has a lot of safety benefits. If you have kids playing that close to the street you want some privacy for them and some peace of mind for yourself knowing they won't be running into the street by mistake. This wasn't meant to sound morbid. I don't know what's behind that window on the right. If it's a bedroom it also helps give it more privacy from the street if there are fences/shrubs. I take it you're making the changes to the front of the house because you want to give it more visual interest so it's not one flat white wall. I think that's a good idea but I also think it's important to add more bulk and dimension through the landscaping. (Or maybe even consider bumping out a wall? But this is a landscape forum.) That's why I liked the perpendicular beds and the courtyard. It helps give your home some more shape. I threw together some more quick mock-ups of what I would do if I were in your shoes. I had to make some assumptions on dimensions. Again this is more to demonstrate ideas. You need to figure out where to put things based on how you live your life. I like a big bulky entry because it ads dimension to your house. An awning over the entry will come in handy when you're fumbling for your keys in the rain or when people visit. You can put a little seating area to hang out. It's a good spot for visitors to wait if they get there before you. I liked the look of the rectangular hedges in the rectangular planters but I think that throwing in some round shapes like lavender and ornamental grasses will work too. Don't know what grows in your area. The japanese maple helps provide some cover for the picture window. Helps prevent headlights shining in depending on neighbor's driveways and street configuration plus you don't have to worry about people driving by catching you walking to grab a glass of water late at night in your underwear. When I'm in my home I like to have some privacy but at the same time be able to keep window treatments open to enjoy the scenery. In the overview shot you get a better sense of how the front yard becomes your "backyard". If you want to have access to the park you might want to put a gate somewhere if that's appropriate. There's a wrap around deck. I'm hoping your kitchen or dining room is somewhere near the north west corner and you can have access to the deck that way. You can put your patio table on the north side if there's room so you don't have the problems with the sunlight. If you have kids try to put their play area someplace where you can see it from inside. First thing's first though. Draw out a plan of your property on graph paper or something like Google Sketchup (that's what I used for these) and start figuring out where things should go before trying to figure out how they should look. upload picture anonymous picture upload

Looking at that street plan, it looks like that 15x47.1 area that extends beyond the rear lot line is likely an addition to your property - maybe you have a bigger backyard than you think! My BIL's lot is like that - land behind them was up for development but the neighbours were offered the chance to buy some of the land immediately abutting their property. BIL did that, so his lot looks a bit like what I'm seeing on that street plan view. Maybe the properhy owner at the time that walking trail was made, bought some of the land.... If you haven't alreadty, check that out first. I think it would be possible to make an attractive front fenced area if the backyard option isn't feasible. I'd start by shaping a lawn area by mirroring the curve of the driveway onto the opposite side, which would produce a sort of oval lawn with pointed ends :-) Then leave a straight line from the porch to the street as a wide entrance walkway; fence along that, follow along the curved propertly line, to the garage. I'd use a 4' black ornamental iron or aluminium fence, with a gate halfway along the entrance walk and another at the garage end (or by a sidedoor if there is one...) I'd plant a mixed border along the fence by the walkway, continuing along the house, with shade-tolerant vines to grow on the fence side. You'd have roughly triangular area between the shaped lawn and the fenced area. I'm not sure where the tree is exactly - hopefully in that triangular area! There would be a small clear area in the center of the fenced area - lawn if it would grow; otherwise a low tough groundcover that would tolerate the dogs. It could be quite interesting - let green and white dominate the colors in the plantings - that's the easiest color combination in shade and always looks cool and restful. I'd draw what I mean except my computer with the scanner died last week and I haven't got a new one yet :-) I do not like those electric dog fences - I think they are cruel, especially for sensitive dogs like shelties! So, IMO any option is better than that.

Here's our deer fence. It's chicken wire on top and buried hardware cloth on the bottom to discourage groundhogs. Metal posts. We researched what would be most cost effective. Hubs built a gate out of scrap lumber. Not sure if you need to terrace it . . . cedar beds are expensive. Perhaps cement blocks? Slight terracing with rocks? We did ours with pressure treated lumber and then lined with plastic to prevent leaching into soil. Not the best but not the worst. Most modern treated lumber doesn't leach that much, and plants other than leafy greens don't pick it up that much either. I researched it. Still, we went with the plastic lining because we had it, inherited from the previous home owners. It's a horrible thing for a garden bed but for lining treated lumber boards is worked good and it was free. But they make all kinds of inexpensive landscape blocks you could use for mild terracing. This is in our front yard. The key is to keep the garden looking good. Or put some shrubs in front of it. Ours has a big norway spruce in front of it. Plus it is small. It's a little jungle like this year but we are slowly making it look more attractive. The white hoops are for the clear plastic cover we put on to extend the season. That was unsightly but only lasted a couple of weeks. We told the neighbors it was only temporary. Next year we will paint those hoops green. Also plan for a set of flowers around the garden to attract pollinators and repel pests. Also a visual aide for the appearance . . . Herbs are fairly floriferous and deer resistant. Took this photo when hubs was putting on cover, the ladder is not part of the plan . . .