Yardvaark said "Whatever you do ... whatever lines you make, you must make some simple, clean artistic geometry out of them. If you want more lawn on the west side, you can do it ... but adjust the lines to reflect simplicity, s m o o t h n e s s and the boundaries of nearby objects." I concur. Yard and bed edges that are squiggly remind me of group of people all talking over each other with no one saying anything of importance. It's confusing, distracting, and generally unpleasant. There is also the element of scale, the balance of area size for plants to that allotted for yard. I like to size the plant area to something no less than half the area of the sum of lawn and any hardscape devoted to people. And the plant area should not be more than twice the 'people' area. The size of landscape elements should be compatible with the overall size. For large areas use at least some larger shrubs, trees, walks. and decks. For smaller areas, scale down everything. To begin this discussion I selected a single objective you gave, that of making "the yard look deeper instead of a shallow and wide rectangle". There are an infinite number of desirable arrangements you might choose. In the end you may want to discard this idea in favor of developing some other idea. I admit I had my own motive in selecting that one goal for review. Landscaping is a blend of science and art. Years ago on this forum there were regular participants that made their living doing landscape design along with a host of others that had long studied the academic principles involved. I miss those discussions we had. The implementation of "making the yard look deeper instead of a shallow and wide rectangle" could have led to such a discussion even though it may of had limited benefit to the homeowner.

Interesting to see this thread float back to the top! Another thought or three about CAD: --Every CAD program has a steep learning curve--so a lot of early time is devoted to understanding the user interface; --When/as that curve is mastered, a consumer still doesn't know about building code requirements; doesn't know about minimal and desired shapes and spaces; probably doesn't understand stair design; etc--so many of the owner created spaces are often inadequate and/or unworkable; --Finally, most consumers don't have a spatial sense and don't understand the spatial implications of linking one room to another room in various ways--so the interior spaces and the exterior massing of the design almost always suffer, or are rudimentary at best. Reno's sketches (the old analog approach to design) have all of these issues inherently considered, as with the sketches and studies of all experienced and talented architects. Each of these sketches represents a strategy to address the various issues required for designing and building a house or other structure. These seemingly freehand, random sketches are akin to the thumb-nail sketches that artists do in their sketch books, exploring design, composition and later, as the design progresses, studying options for values and color. Design is an iterative process and in archtiecture the process involves a number of simultaneously considered issues: site conditions, code requirements, life style, budget, climate and energy options, etc. The list of issues is usually extensive. For an architect, those sketches represent thinking on many levels and synthesizing opportunities and constraints from all of those levels into what may look like a simple droodle (but is not). This is one of the primary reasons most architects understand that owner-derived floor plans (working by themselves) may actually do more harm than good, setting pre-conceived but narrowly formed expectations. Just some thoughts.

This info is utterly outdated, even on GW right before it was taken over by Houzz. You can't post photos the way this thread describes anymore. Now, if the photo is on your computer you just click the photo button below the post composition area and navigate to the photo you want to upload, or you can link to a photo on Houzz. You can't like to places like photobucket anymore. ETA To clarify, you actually can link to sites like photobucket, but you will get a text link, not a photo appearing in the post.

I can't believe I've not seen you. You must be on one of the upper decks and I'm stuck down here in the engine room, but, we are definately in the SAME boat. I had to re-make my drawer boxes to get full extension glides. My kitchen is also the one I grew up in, home built early 70's, and re-done once late 80's. Bought the house several years ago, and been DIY remodel ever since trying to get moved in. Makes one wonder if the walls were ever plumb and floors were ever level? (or if houses actually settle THAT much) LOL. Seems the deeper you dig, the more problems you find. Yours is looking good though! Great additions/modifications. Keep up the good work!