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.

Hi daywednes. You have a wonderful space to start with with mature citrus. All the advice here is great. It can be overwhelming to redesign a yard. I have done quite a few of my own yard designs and remodels, but I know that's really rare. I didn't realize it at first, but each contractor has told me that they have never seen such designs without professional help. I wouldn't have been able to do it without growing up on a ranch and having a base understanding of landscape, as well as a creative side. If you do it yourself, it is helpful if you can draw (for plans), have a really good understanding of measurements and math (physics helps too), can communicate extremely well with others and also have a pretty laid back attitude because things are going to be misunderstood, go wrong, need to be done over, etc. As long as you have all of that... I think it's possible to design yourself but it can still be really time consuming and a bit of a headache. You can also miss important things like drainage, mentioned above. Drainage is extremely important in all yard designs... but especially with pavers. But even so, it's good to have a strong idea of what you want even if you get professional help from a designer. From the photos, what I would do if it was my yard is: 1) Take out the lawn. As others mentioned, I also personally don't like lawns so I have taken them out at each house I have lived in. Either partially or completely. 2) Put a garden in the sunny spot in first the lawn photo - either flowers, veggies or drought tolerant natives depending on how much I wanted to care for it later. Possibly raised beds if the soil isn't great. 3) Cover the rest in mulch with pathways in stepping stones, compacted gravel/stone dust or something similar. 4) Install drip irrigation. Also fix drainage that takes advantage of rain water and directs it away from the house and either to plants/trees at the fence lines (but not into neighbors yards) or to a better place based on your plot. 5) Replace the concrete with pavers, new concrete, stonework or a deck surface. Everyone will sell you on pavers, and they're great... I just had a bunch installed... but unless you're really going to live in the house FOREVER I still am not personally sure they're really worth the extra money, compared to concrete or other stone options. But... it's not my yard. It's your yard! Write down what you love to do outdoors. Look at ideas on HOUZZ and create ideabooks. Walk around your yard and look at where the sun and shadows lie, where the frost settles, where there are puddles, where weeds grow, where nothing grows, etc. Like everyone said, don't rush it. Take time to dream. Good luck!!! Also... if you live in northern CA in the Bay Area I can recommend people to help... as well as people to stay away from. :)

The above is excellent advice!! Too often I have clients that focus in on what is rather than what could be. They have the notion that what is currently in place - a garden shed, an aging patio, a big tree, the AC pump - has to remain and must be worked around. It doesn't - anything can be changed/removed and in doing so, it opens up many more opportunities to create something they really want or will find useful and attractive. It's easy to think about making major changes in the flow or floor plan and remodeling of the interior of the house but many have difficulties grasping those same 'remodeling' visions to the exterior of their property. Or that there is value in doing so and worth the investment. Frankly, that's often why they hire a designer...........or post on this forum :-) Often the completely objective views of an outsider, someone with no personal attachment to the situation, can help them see beyond what is to what could be. There may be a cost associated with the removal of these 'vision impediments' and sometimes that cost can be hefty but I encourage them to try to see the value of the cost investment, just as they did when reworking the interior aspects. Often I will ask new clients to describe to me their "lottery landscape" - what they would want if money was no object. And then we get to the nitty-gritty of budgets and practicalities and attempt to come up with a compromise that will incorporate the best/most important features of the lottery landscape with a real landscape plan that will accommodate the budget. And that often involves the removal of fixtures they had assumed had to be permanent. It is also important to remember that outside of HGTV shows, a revised or recreated landscape is an evolving entity. Rather than looking at it as a fait accompli or an all-at-once finished deal, this is something that can be completed over time as energy and budget allows. Just don't allow what's there now overly influence how you move forward. Anything can be changed :-))

where do you live? will the pool be closed 9 months of the year, for example? while we adore our RI pool, i wish the previous owners had built it further from the house. we have 3 months of pool and 9 months of pool cover. so if you can site yours a bit further from the house, with a patio in between, you'll enjoy your yard more. also, be 100% on top of what your local code requires as far as gates, alarms, etc. most of the 'pretty pools' shown at houzz would get a big frown from the inspector. you'll save a lot of time and a lot of money on discarded designs if you go in knowing whats what. you can not depend on contractors to know the code on pools.