@norm1977, wow, I hadn’t expected a response or comment anymore at this late stage, but it’s always nice when someone checks in! On the whole, the lawn is holding up great. One of my dogs passed away in 2019, 😢 so it’s only taking abuse from one instead of two now, and there are definitely places along the edges where it has died because those are regular pee spots for my boy. But I expected that, and they’re not big areas. Right now a good portion of the lawn is dormant for winter, especially where it’s more exposed when there’s the occasional frost like we got last week. It is one of the best garden investments I made!

Yes, and some of them look like evergreen trees, notorious for hogging all the sun and water. Pots of shade loving plants do work. I do mulch under my trees and pots of bright colored impatiens mixed with vinca and begonias. Lobelia is good too. As for your deck, I'm thinking you just got the house? I wouldn't rip out the patio if you need more space, you can add on to it. Start using it and figure out your needs. Things to think about: privacy and views, are there views you'd like to block or privacy you'd like to establish. That can be solved with landscaping. Shade can be provided by trees, there are some fast growing ones that are nice for patio areas like autumn blaze maple or shademaster honey locust, for example. Figure out the path of the sun to figure out where the shade will be cast. Are you going to grill and eat on the patio? You can start with patio umbrellas covering those areas and decide if you want a pergola. I would love one, but umbrellas will work and the nice thing about them is you can move them around as your shade needs change. I'd wait a bit before committing to a pergola to figure out how big and where to place it. How about views? What do you want to look out on from your patio? Do you want a play area for lawn games or the like? A fire pit area. A kitchen or vegetable garden. An area for birdwatching? Three season interest. A place to snooze in a hammock? Just some ideas. Start with some thoughts on how you will use your yard, which will develop as you live there for a year. Decide on a plan for the whole yard and work on it in stages. Start with the things that will make the most difference, like hardscaping and trees.

1. Glad you don't want grass in your city lot. Agreed, it is a mosquito magnet, and mosquitos are getting worse and worse because of the warm winters we have been having. 2. I really like your bricks and would not pave over them. You just need a good vision that will tie together a new fence, the bricks and your three large sides of beds. 3. Regarding your bilco doors to the basement, it brings up a question about the whole back of your house. There is a lot of mismatched after though happening. You need to think about the new awning and how you will repair the wall that is the base of your porch. Once the back of your house has more of a "look" to it, you can paint your bilco doors to become part of that scheme. Obviously the setting of the houses below are quite different than yours but they both match the doors to the look of the house and they have planting nearby. Perhaps you want to flank the left side of your basement doors with a planter so there is greenery on one side and steps on the other. I'm obsessed with city back yards and find lots of inspiration just doing a google image search for "Brooklyn backyard ideas". Good luck. It is a wonderful space.

Before you start to spend money, even on a plan, think about how you want to use your space and what works or doesn't work now. A two-level living area (deck above, patio below) might not be your best bet because you lose the flexibility to move things around. Right now I see your outdoor "dining room" on the deck, your outdoor "kitchen" (grill) on the lower patio area, and I don't see a "living room" at all. Where would these outdoor rooms work best in your new plan? I agree with the poster above that is is highly unlikely that you will be able to build a 3 season room on the existing deck. Where are the doors to the outside from your house? Consider enlarging your existing deck instead of adding patio. I have a very large deck and love it. Instead of 2 small outdoor rooms I have one large one. I have lots of flexibility on where to place furniture depending on whether I am entertaining a crowd or just the family. As far as a cover for the patio, because I planted a tree just a few feet from the patio on the west side, I have shade there in the hot late afternoon, and a wonderful feeling of cool shelter. I put a small 10' x 10' metal gazebo on one corner for privacy from the neighbours' upstairs windows, and the gazebo cover keeps the dining table clean. You could do that now on your existing patio. As far as vegetables, consider grow bags that you fill with good soil and can place in the sunniest parts of your yard. https://www.bobvila.com/articles/grow-bags/