Is that a crape myrtle that is on the edge? If so, and if you are severely pruning it each year, stop pruning it and let it grow to be the tree you want.

Apart from your concern about view blockage a significant problem with this solution is that you are talking about waiting maybe something like 20 years for the trees to size up adequately*. Do you really want to wait this long? Probably much better to continue to pursue adding shading features directly to the house. If you do plant trees do not install a matching pair as your house does not have the geometrically symmetric architectural style that calls for formal planting layouts. And such layouts are always to be avoided whenever possible due to the frequency of variation in plant growth and performance. For instance in this case if the two trees do not grow exactly the same as one another - or one of them even dies later, for some reason - then the symmetry is lost. Whereas using the informal balance that suits the design of your house would, in addition to matching the house also avoid the need for each plant to be exactly the same in size and shape. An example of informal balance in this instance might be something like a large shrub and a small tree to the left of the patio and a medium tree on the right, each of them a different species. Otherwise varied combinations like this still produce an appearance of balance because the total volume of plant matter is the same within each set. Also your rather boldly rectilinear house needs to be visually enhanced and softened by the addition of shrubs of some eventual size anyway - the hanging baskets(?) and patio pots there now do not have enough size and weight to produce this effect. *It being, as you say "in the distance" the existing maple is going to need something like several decades to produce a big shadow that shades much of the house, and not "several years"!

With a full across pergola I’m concerned where the posts would go since there are already timber posts that come up from ground level and I don’t want to add a bunch more posts. Or am I thinking about it wrong how it would be set up? I’m guessing it should have been planned from the start with the deck posts rising to pergola height and not just to railing height

the terra cotta isn't meant for freezing, so you may have to find some ceramic look-alikes (wayfarer has ceramic tiles like this) but I do like tiling the stairs like this the true Talavera Mexican tiles are made from terra cotta (like the Saltillo tiles) and aren't meant for freeze/thaw areas. but you could look into substituting the ceramic glazed tiles If you want the prints, look at some that Tilebar has, or other tile stores. Etsy or Ebay carries the mexican tiles. they aren't that expensive. (out here in SoCal I can get them for a buck each) maybe order some these? https://www.etsy.com/listing/565588168/25-assorted-mexican-ceramic-4x4-inch?ref=shop_home_active_3&crt=1 this is a basic patio cover frame so you can see how it starts. Really not that difficult to do. the beam gets attached to steel faster brace to keep the water from wicking up into the beam on concrete. (diff types. ) pergola base setting: On the spanish one I showed you, we built it up on a concrete base so that water won't collect around it