A fast-growing tree 20 feet from a sunken pool? Sounds like a recipe for large repair bills to me. Dan

Slope frequently does not convey accurately through photographs. It's hard for us to tell exactly how much you're dealing with. To me, it looks like you're going to need some retaining walls and cannot convert it back to slope. Keep in mind that slopes are like slow moving glaciers. A slope could stay in place for awhile. But over time they move, working their way downhill. After a bit, if just slope, I would imagine you'd be constantly cleaning soil off of the patio. There would likely be erosion problems coming, too. To replace what is there, I would recommend you use a concrete or masonry material due to its being longer lasting and its potential to be simpler. The existing wood walls look very busy and poorly constructed. I would recommend that you get someone on site to design something simpler, within your budget. It would be nice to make the slope toward the patio, including the stairs, less steep. I would use plants that didn't get too tall flanking the patio. Right now there are large bushes at each front corner of the patio. To me, they encroach too much in the view and would be better placed closer to the house, but not in front of windows. Directly out in the yard are a couple or three trees that will eventually be smack in front of the main view. I'd consider doing away with these in favor of trees pushed more to the side of the view.

Yes thank you, we will be working with one but for now seeking input as we think through the way we want our space to function. We are looking for advice on houzz to see if anyone has suggestions that would address our design dilemma of the huge raised door in the centre of the building and incorporating a hot tub.

Fori I a m definitely interested in a portico. I hate that mid level roof across the front of the house. I don't know if there is enough room as is but we are open to putting some money into that. Christopher I appreciate the issue with the 2 types of hardscape... when we moved in there was a blue slate type path to no where. It went from the old concrete steps and meandered across the front yard to the sidewalk. The only person who used it was the mailman! Then, when we stepped out of our car we were immediately on the grass, or on rainy days, puddles. There was a weird garden you had to step over to get to the door. The maple next door has been considerably trimmed since this pic too, and we have a new roof and new windows downstairs. There are other homes in our neighborhood who have done something similar with the pavers. There isn't a ton of room and because the driveway cuts off a third of the front of the house it is challenging...