I completely agree with yardvaark that something is needed to partly obscure the blank wall of your neighbor's house. But I suggest you consider the grade between the houses going to the rear. The photo indicates you may have a walkout basement in back. Houses with walkout basements always have a grade difference from front of house to rear of around 9 ft. Unless mitigated with hardscape, the result is usually a steep slope that the home owner comes to hate. It can be much cheaper to complete any needed work in the side and back before doing front landscaping because you haven't yet blocked access. Another area I'm looking at is the bed inclosed by the walk and drive. It's sloped and probably lacks subsurface drainage. All excess water will have to flow from the bed over the walk or drive and has the potential of carrying mulch onto the walk or yard as well as light mud stains to the concrete. Now would be the time to install drainage and maybe a curb to level the bed.

Bryan, if the driveway needs to be removed and re-done, you could probably easily spend a large part, in not the bulk of your budget ($10K that you don't want to spend) on that single project and its accessory parts, depending on what you do and how you do it. Like every other service from heart transplants to getting your shoes polished, you either need to know (or learn) how to do it yourself or hire someone who knows how. It's no different with landscape design. (Design is the "thinking through" portion of landscape work that determines what the actual physical work of the project will be. It's an important part because it determines if each dollar spent is worth a dollar, or if it's only worth 25 cents ... or even less ... meaning, will you or someone else actually like and want what is produced? Or will there be ongoing complaints about how it really doesn't work or look good and when it's time to sell to someone else, all they'll think about is how it needs to be ripped out and de-done?) There are landscape designers everywhere. If you don't think you have the talent (or will, and time, to learn and do) then interview some landscape designers and get an idea of how they could help you and how much it would cost. Some $ spent on the "thinking through" portion of landscape work can prevent much wasted $ on the actual work itself.

Hey, what is wrong with a Cheetos bag, especially from the perspective of a high schooler? LOL I think I would move the bed unit to the wall that the door is on. That way when you look into the room it isn't the first thing that you see, so that it overwhelms the space. Also, I think the wall it is on currently could be put to better use. Be sure you mount some kind of shelf up on the wall by the bed, so that he can put an alarm clock up there. You will want to mount a swing-arm lamp up on the wall so that he can read in bed and not have to get down to turn off lights. Have a comforter, not a bedspread, for ease of making the bed. This bedding from Penney's might be perfect: stan comforter I would get a drafting table or something along those lines, and put that in the corner where the windows all meet. That will give him great light for working on schoolwork and puzzles. Then the two seating pieces can be down that wall and into the opposite corner a bit near the closet door. Maybe a inexpensive small plastic or RTA table between the two seating pieces. I would do the orange as a stripe that runs around the room, as wide and at the same level as the space between the bottom of the bunk and the back support brace on the bed unit (about desk height. That should put it just above about 30 inches at the bottom, so just above chair rail height. Behind the desk in that area, instead of just an orange stripe, make it orange-painted corkboard or bulletin boards so that he has a place to hang stuff related to school and other reminders, a calendar, etc. I would look for other ways to bring in the orange, like painting the fam blades, a couple of throw pillows in a wild print that includes the blues and oranges, orange frames on artwork or photos. You could also consider adding orange stitching lines to your denim walls, done every so many inches to mimic the stitching on denim jeans. Oh, and I don't think a 14x14 room is small at all. Our younger son had a similar unit in his room when younger, and that space was 10.5x11 with 8 ft. ceilings. Didn't overwhelm that room at all. More room than two people have in the typical college dorm room, too. Looks like you have had fun and done a great job on the walls!

JoAnn - look up putz houses on the web and you will find a plethora of information, how-tos, pictures, etc. Hope you get interested as it's a fun hobby.