Hi Digin, Without actually being in the space, this is what I would do. First, we need to change the hallway effect. It is uncomfortable to most people, makes them walk faster instead of leisurely enjoying the space. I would definitely bring the walkway up to the garage as well as the width of the porch. I probably would turn it towards the drive almost as is but would also have another section going a little down the drive. A walk for you and one for visitors. I would put a small, 4 seasons of interest tree to soften and connect human scale to the hard lines of the tall house. And I would under plant the tree with just one groundcover and carry that groundcover through out the entire area. I can't tell what it looks like under your large window but I do know if it needs hiding, putting 4 round or square shrubs that have to be trimmed is going to look like you are hiding something and does nothing to soften the hard lines of the structure. It is the same feeling that the shrubs along the garage gives. The purpose of foundation planting is to soften the hard lines of a building in an attempt to have it blend in with nature. Why some people plant things that are the same shape as the lines they are trying to soften has always baffled me. That type of designing, of course does have it place but it is dictated by the style of the house and for the most part doesnt work in most situations. I am not sure what exposure you have, nor what the rest of the space is like so again I am winging it. Will you be paving over the porch? If I could do what ever I wanted, I might try to make the step have a much wider tread and try to make it look like an half moon. I might also, not directly in the middle of the garage wall have an arched cutout small enough that it doesnÂt wreck the flow of 2 people walking side by side and possibly espalier or grow something on an interesting trellis with maybe an uplight shining on the wall. All these types of things should be consider in advance for placing PVC pipes under the walk for wires or drip irrigation. There are so many little things that can be done to make great changes. Simple things like, we painted some of our exposed foundation gray because it blended in with the siding better then concrete color. Another simple thing that lots of folks donÂt think about it putting shutters on their windows in the back of the house. It really dresses things up and doesnÂt break the bank. IMO, with your style home it is important to not use a bunch of different types plants, keep it simple and elegant. You want to create a comfortable, not busy approach to your house and that is how your guests will feel when you open the door. The backyard is the living area where you put al the fun, things that are you, like how you decorate the inside of the house. We inherited a builders concrete 2' wide walkway, also have brick and gray siding and pretty much removed all the round and square shrubs that lined poth sides of the walk. It was tough on our clothes when the shrubs were wet. One of my passions is gardening/design, so I plant for me and for what I see, consequently, starting a small bed at the street and adding alittle when ever I could on each side with the plan that the two sides would eventually meet. Good luck, more importantly have fun. My rule is that plants should bring me pleasure and if it is getting on my nerves it then becomes a weed and it is removed. Sorry this post is so long, as I said landscaping is one of my passions and if I can steal a moment to myself, I love to talk design. Ally

Looks like a fun project! This is the type of work we do all the time! Although we don't work in the Northwest, our knowledge of proper paver, patio & structure (pergolas) installation should suffice. The overall design looks great. There are a few SOLID pointers to building anything outside. 1. Solid foundation or footings. This goes for both the pergola & the paver or concrete patio. The pegolas structures usually needs a large footer (at least 18' x 18' wide, and usually 18' to 24' deep). This will ensure the new structure is solide. The pavers & patios should also have a good foundation, which we call the BASE. A well prepared paver base should be 6' of ABC (engineered backfill) - this ABC is usually crushed rock, granite or stone, and contains many sizes of aggreggate (not dirt) - this BASE is compacted firmly, and if done deep enough, should keep ALL your patios from settling over time. Here is some information on how we do our pavers - directly from my company website - Patio Pavers Concrete patios usually don't get this sub-base prep work, but if you are looking for a long term project, or concrete that won't crack - it's worth doing a 4' sub-base preparation for any concrete areas. Sometimes, we actually lay pavers over concrete - this is not the most cost effective way for new paver installation, but it's a great REMODEL tip. I noticed some asphalt areas there - pavers should be able to go directly over the top (with using some sand to get them to drain away from the house) 2. DRAINAGE - you've mentioned french drain, and you are on the right track of thinking. Proper drainage is KEY for a long term patio & landscaping project solution. Getting water away from the foundation of your house & pergola is very important! French drains are a great way to spread water and rid water over a long pipe run, for patios, it's all about getting water out into your grass area - it can dissappate from there... The patio beds up against the house will make a nice 'softening' of the house with some color & plant texture, just be sure you don't create a way for water to enter back under the house. Make sure your roof doesn't drain into these planters, and if it does - you'll need some guttering to push water away from the foundation. OVERALL - you should be able to see some of our pergola & patio cover pictures on my company site. I've found a few issues when building free-standing pergolas. 1. It will need SOME sort of block or foundation around the base of each column. Just having it sit on a footer tends to not help with the 'wobbly-ness' of the new structure. 2. Normal framing SIMPSON brackets are fine. The local home depot can supply many of these T-braces, lag screws, etc.... You should be able to see some of our Pergola construction techniques here. Otherwise, visit our landscape portfolio PERGOLA page on the same site. Lots of individual pics. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns - i may be able to post some construction diagrams of our pergolas, if you'll find that useful? Here is a link that might be useful: UNIQUE LANDSCAPES Homepage

A couple of points about pavers versus stamped concrete (I've built 2 pools and am building a third right now in Sedona, Ariz - - the other 2 were in Wash DC and San Diego). I've used stamped concrete and pavers and am going with pavers this time (although, i'll be honest and say i'd be hard pressed to decidedly pick one over the other. Stamped colored-concrete, which i used in Wash DC was perfect for the application we had, near a river, and lots of trees and the contractor applicator sprayed it down with just a bit of black-rustic paint inside the sealer giving it a fair cobble-stoning texture of shadows on the surface. Sure there were cracks that developed here/there and he told me there would be - - but with the light application of black paint in the sealer, cracks seemed to blend into the whole application. As for pavers, i would suggest you be much more picky. Why? The colors they give you to choose from WILL vary from mixing load and groups of pallets to mixing load and groups of pallets. I DON'T CARE WHAT THE MANUFACTURER TELLS YOU - - I've visited the plants in Phoenix (43rd St.) for Pavestone and Belguard (in Atlanta). Trust me and go there and challenge them to give you (in Pavestone's case) a true 2-tone brown paver from an Adirondeck paver model and hold it up to say a 2-tone brown from a Villa paver model (nearly identical paver models - - except Villa is a fraction of an inch thicker). The colors will be different!!! And the brochure colors (they will tell you - - "well that was with a mix formula we were using several years ago."). Lessen? If color means a lot to you (as it did me) - - i drove to the plant (in one case) narrowed down the color and paver model and then told the plant foreman to "freeze" 25 pallets and i'd put my order in for them. Phoenix was a 4 hour drive for me - - but i got what i was looking for and made personal time to visit friends while i was out there. If you're in Raleigh, I suggest you visit the Belguard plant in Atlanta (or if you want the textured surface, find the nearest Pavestone plant (i think there is one in Charlotte and you can freeze your pallets and place an order in from your closest Home Depot who is a Pavestone - - they're all Pavestone dealers. Get someone you like at Home Depot; tell them what you're going to do, and then drive down to Charlotte to decide which product and color you want - - obviously take all the samples home with you that you want. Lastly, you may look at a Riccobene product (similar to a flagstone look a like) made out of New Mex - - but dealers around the country. I think i'm going with that for the Sedona house. One last thought: Do not under-estimate the amount of heat those pavers (if they are even slightly dark - - like a flagstone) will generate on your feet if you're barefoot on a bright sunny day. Lay down your samples in the middle of the day when there is sun and then stand on them (i did this test before choosing my last model). Believe me they get hot - - and i didn't want my kids hopping foot to foot (like i'd seen them do at other folks' homes). Might not be an issue in Raleigh - - but it's an issue out here. White pavers are clearly the best for staying cooler. (Also i saw someone talk about sealers above. I love the "wet" look and it looks great on stamped concrete. My opinion though is that it doesn't get the same effect on pavers. If you happen to be in Sedona, i can give you an address of a house that has a huge amount of pavers down a long driveway. Stop in front of it and you'll be shocked - - he sealed the entire length and it just looks plane ludicrous - - some sort of slip-and-slide from Whammo! Sealer looks great on stamped concrete (and i use it) - - it doesn't carry the same effect on pavers. Maybe with the right model paver - - but every time i've seen some one do it - - well Whammo! Looks cheap and unreal.

This sounds like a project where you are expecting the installer to do the design -- create the layout, grade and details -- and then you just pick the color and end up with a fantastic driveway. If that's the case, I would absolutely be worrying about the layout, grade and details first, as any of those things are capable of bringing as much or more remorse than the wrong color paver. Hopefully, you are improving the layout over the existing one. I would consider heat absorption to be of relatively minor consequence in the big scheme of things. People will probably not walk on the driveway in their bare feet. But what will affect you every day, especially in summer is glare. If the color is too light, you may be barely able to stand it. If I were you, I'd pick a bright, sunny day and walk onto a large area of fresh "white" concrete, without sunglasses, and see what you think. Then find some dark paving and make a comparison. I find paving that is light to be quite annoying, such that I can't wait to get into the shade. (I'm in the Tampa area.) Other than that, I find colors that lean orange, beige, yellow, etc. to be less likable than those leaning red or grey. But there are so many degrees of color that one must choose based on actual details and characteristics, not verbal descriptions. How are you viewing samples? Hopefully, you are laying them out and viewing from a distance with the house in the background so all can be appraised as a single scene. You could even photograph this so we could see it and offer an opinion. If you are looking at samples independent of the house or in artificial light, that is worthless. Keep in mind that there may be several nice colors .... no just one perfect color.