I took some pictures and uploaded them to Photobucket. I will also upload a sketch with what is currently in our yard and some ideas we have for possible changes. I have a sketch with exact measurements and locations of trees, etc., but it's too big to scan in so I'll have to do a basic sketch on some smaller paper as soon as I get a chance. The dimensions of the backyard are almost exactly 80' wide by 80' deep. It appears to be deeper than it is wide, but maybe that's because the veggie garden (which is 15' wide by 47' deep) takes up a good chunk of the east side of the yard. I really like the idea of going to some favorite nurseries and collecting business cards from designers. I was trying Google searches and met with one company whose work looked nice, but it turns out that they don't do design work without being locked into a contract with them to do the bulk of the landscaping work. We'd have to sign a contract (telling them our budget range) and they would draw up plans within that range and do most of the work, subbing out stuff they don't do themselves, with the design being part of the package deal. I think I'd rather work with someone who has more flexibility in allowing us to do parts of the work ourselves without being penalized for it. lazygardens and butterflygardening: Thanks for the helpful links- I am reading through them! alygal- We love the idea of raising chickens (or ducks!), but unfortunately our city doesn't allow them in residential areas. Some of the towns around us havejust recently started allowing them, so maybe it will be a possibility in the future! Here are some of our current ideas for making our yard more attractive and usable in the ways we'd like to use it. - Possibly ditch the sandbox, although I am torn because the kids do use it when it's nice outside. The problem is that it's so close to the house that they always come in still covered with sand, AND it's location really limits the width of the planting bed around the breakfast nook. If we keep the sandbox, I think I'd at least make the flagstone path along it more narrow to allow for a slightly wider bed there. - Widen pretty much all of the beds to allow more layered planting (to increase attractiveness and privacy in the yard). I would also like to have a nice bed along the patio and around where the sandbox is, so basically be left with an area of the grass in the middle of the yard. - Possibly add a slight berm along the garden fence and plant a variety of shrubs and small trees to make the garden less prominent since it's not much too look at most of the year. - Make the patio more usable by extending it a little deeper (it's now 20' wide by 10' deep). - Add something to get more shade on the patio. It gets shade starting in the mid-afternoon and through the evening from our neighbors house to the west, so I don't really want to add a hard cover (my husband's idea) because I think it would detract from the look of the house. I am thinking a well placed tree would eventually have the right effect (and I'm content to use a patio umbrella as needed until then). - Add a screened in gazebo (about 12' x 12') south of the patio area toward the south side of the yard for dinners and entertaining. My husband is a mosquito magnet so he really wants this for enjoying the yard in the evenings. - Add a structure toward the southeast corner of the yard (about 8' x 10') to be used as a playhouse/garden retreat. I picture it looking like a little cottage style potting shed more than a mini playhouse, so that even after the kids outgrow it, I can still enjoy it as a garden retreat. - Revise current pathways through the yard and add pathways as needed to new structures, to the veggie garden/shed, etc. Would like to maybe use some reddish flagstone in addition to the buff ones we currently have and mix them up a bit as the buff looks so bland to me against our house. - Possibly cover the patio with flagstone to make it more attractive and more cohesive with pathways. Thanks for any advice or suggestions you may have. Here is a link that might be useful: Backyard Pictures

I would seriously reconsider the idea of rubber mulch. It can have steel pieces in it from steel belted radials, who knows what is off-gassing from the shredded tires, and if you ever decide to remove it, disposal can be a real issue. If it gets mixed in with the dirt it's difficult to separate the two. Shredded bark mulch or coarse sand are far more kid-friendly and environmentally friendly. If you are going to be digging, be sure to contact your local Dig Safe to be sure you won't be coming in contact with or damaging utilities. If you aren't familiar with using a skid-steer, it might be both faster and therefore less expensive to pay a skilled operator to do the work. Also consider that it may be less expensive and easier to sieve your dirt with an industrial scale sieve to remove the trash rather than remove the volume of soil involved in several inches of dirt over the area of your yard. (I will let you get out your calculator and figure out what that volume might be.) Then add a couple inches of topsoil to the surface before doing your final design. I actually removed trash and debris (including most of the things you listed intergrown with poison ivy) largely by hand from a good-sized field over the course of about 6 months, so it can be done without heavy equipment. I would get a plot plan of your yard (often can be printed off the city's website) and blow it up to a size you can use for planning. Make a list of what you want to have in your yard such as the swing set, an area for playing tag or soccer, a shady sitting area, a storage area for tools or trash cans, and whatever else you want. Think about how you will move around the yard and get into and out of the house to help decide placement of paths, and think about views from inside (what do you want to look at, ability to see the kids' play area, etc) when deciding to place other dedicated areas. Don't forget to consider shade, either from trees or something like a pergola.

Keep in mind that getting help on an Internet forum has its limitations. You can get help, but you're going to need to do some actual design work, or hire it out. Working with hardscape requires that planning be done on drawings. You can't create a project directly from pictures, ideas and words given as advice. But you can create a PLAN view drawing capable of guiding you through the work. And it's a valuable tool for helping you think through different possibilities. Since you'll need the drawing anyway, I suggest you begin by making an accurate, measured base plan (map) of the deck/patio/stairs area, using 1/4" = 1' scale, using graph paper. On it draw all of the structures/hardscape that are to remain (house footprint, patio, deck, deck stairs, nearby major tree trunks, etc.) But don't draw anything on it that will be changed. You could upload this and it would help people to understand your layout. Later, you will add your work-to-be-done to a copy of the plan. The brick patio looks a little rough. Are you going to redo it? I think it would be helpful if you also add pictures taken from the far side looking back toward the deck ... maybe by the round bed & large tree. Capture a scene that goes all the way from the wall surrounding driveway to beyond the deck and out into the yard. Aim the camera at one end of the scenery and pan it toward the other snapping slightly overlapping pictures until you have captured the whole scene. Be sure to keep the camera AT THE SAME POSITION for all pictures of the scene. Only pivot. Post all the pictures, not a panorama made of them.

If you scroll further down in that linked thread, the details are there including pictures from the outside. . I am pasting the text from that thread , below, for a quick read. My box bay was built under a second floor overhang so no roof needed but a small roof would probably not add that much to the total cost. Another bonus of the box bay is that with the half screens, we can remove the banquette pillow and use the window seat for a staging area for food to be passed to the deck from the kitchen when we have a garden party. The half screens move up and allow access to the plates/trays, and then move down to protect the food and house from flies. It beats trying to walk out a closed patio door with both hands carrying a heavy tray. We also have used the box bay to temporarily stage the music speakers for parties. Of course nowadays that is moot due to bluetooth everywhere. I think you have lots of room to get by it on the exterior. You can put a bench of similar depth and width in that area on the outside of the house to gauge how it might affect your walkway. HTH ___________________________________________ form the original thread... It cost slightly less than $5000 all told (including moving electrical and adding foam insulation under the exterior Azek cladding, tempered windows since I have all boys :) ), measures 78 inches wide internally by 18 inches deep. Much cheaper than adding a 40k breakfast room or an 80k large kitchen expansion as I first planned. I have a custom cushion for it now and my teen boys enjoy lounging and napping there. The key is to seat it low enough to the ground to make it comfortable for sitting (16" height). I also specified the weight that it had to be able to carry (600 lb). The style is known as a "box bay" and the brand is Sunrise windows. I purchased their premade "projected frame" window through their authorized contractor and he worked with me on the other details. My good friend and former nanny came by to visit the other day and barely noticed the kitchen renovation, she was so taken with the sitting bay. Exterior of original windows New box bay replacing old windows. Somehow those bay walls bring in a lot more light into the space. We also really like watching all the small wildlife outside that we could not reall see before. In terms of the layout, it gave us enough "breathing space" and sitting area... The light, animal/ibird watching, and perceived airiness is a huge bonus.