It's easy to see that after two years you're anxious to get going and "do" something. The house appears to be in a somewhat rural setting. You don't indicate what part of the US you live in. A brick walkway suggests to me a more formal setting, though perhaps you envision working toward a "Williamsburg" look. I would put the digging on hold until you have worked out a more comprehensive plan for the whole property. Not that you have to have every last detail figured out. Make a list of some of the issues. Here, in no particular order, are some that come to mind: 1. Need dry footing from car to house entrance. 2. Actual house entrance (porch) and "visual" entrance (front door) are not the same. 3. House and barn are not related, either architecturally, or spatially. 4. Need to hide childrens' play equipment. 5. Safe place for children to play. 6. Would like some flower beds. And so on. If you have a survey of the property that shows the location of the buildings relative to each other you might find it easiest to work through these things on paper, as a professional would. It could be worthwhile for you to engage the help of a qualified landscape professional, even on an hourly basis, just to help you get started in the right direction.

Sorry Henrik, but I can't figure out how to incorporate your deck into a plan. I have seen photos of japanese homes where they extended the living room flooring to the outside and have a koi pond that goes alongside and slightly under the "deck". Then they put a fence around the pond area to enclose it so it is only visible from the house's sliding shoji screens. But you appear to want to keep the yard open. Also, I'm a Californian and am clueless as to what would survive in your climate. Sue

While I do agree you have to be very careful with mixing materials, I still feel you can combine to get a very nice look. Similar to using trim in a house around windows/doors to highlight certain architectural features. It all depends on your style and the look you wish to achieve. The pavers I had selected did not have a bullnose paver (some lines do) and so we ended up using bricks to define borders and for steps and our seat wall. I am very happy how it turned out. We were in a similar situation where we had poured foundation for our front porch and everything else was dirt. I always knew I wanted a slate porch, but didn't want to put it on a sloping walkway nor did we feel it was the best choice. I've seen slate edging and I hate the look as it's hard to get a smooth edge. I also wanted to cut on the diagonal so that it flowed from my interior travertine entry. The results I think turned out better than I imagined. We get numerous compliments on our front yard from neighbors walking by. In the backyard, we had a retaining wall. We extended the patio to meet the wall and designed a circular area which I call my outdoor dining room. I plan to put a wrought iron patio set there this spring. The material is fullrange Connecticut Bluestone. In addition, my contracor put a concrete mowing edge where the grass meets the retaining wall. He colored the concrete when it was poured to match with the grout. In the past, I've put color on a concrete front porch. Overtime the color would wear off so keep in mind it is different if you mix the color when you set the concrete vs. color after the fact. Another material which I *love* is the Connecticut Blue Stone tiles--purchased in about 4 different sizes and arranged in a pattern. However, I don't see the Bluestone working so well with your pavers so perhaps slate is a better choice. I found most contractors tend to recommend materials they have experience working with--though some, like mine, have experience with all. I would choose what matierals you want to use and interview contractors which have experience in the mediums you wish to use. Going to a good matierals yard can me very educational about all of your options.

I would center the garden area with chicken coop on the backside of the pool. Make a wider grand entrance and transition possibly using an arbor. The way you show it to the side does not balance. If possible I would put the shed along a wall on the back of the house convenient for the pool suppplies. I would place all gardening tools in an area back with the chickens as this will be closer for gardening as well. Best wishes!