Thanks for all the comments. The LA is DC based. I am near Harrisburg, outside of his normal service area (CL ad ran in Baltimore and was picked up as a "nearby" area to us). He has a guy who is Baltimore based who might be interested in the work, but his interest will be higher if we do more of the project at once rather than phased since that would be a ride for him too. That doesn't perfectly match my fund from cash reserves approach, but the HELOC rate is real low and my employment is stable. The LA would help administer the project, but I believe only if we contract him to do the construction documents vs the concept doc's. Which is a % for the construction docs, plus hourly for the administration (where he might not be local to supervise easily). We re-did the basement in the old house and we juggled contractors which wasn't a ton of fun. I guess I did it for cost savings, but it was certainly work. We (my wife in particular) are organized and capable, but there is always the knowledge gap to deal with. I don't think we'd do it for a neighbor though. The cash benefit is nice, but we'd need the future dividends of the work done right and the improvements being ours, at least for our period of ownership. I prefer the materials LA is proposing. A part of me wonders if it over improves the property to the neighborhood, if the neighbors are all using pavers or blocks. We hope to be in the house ten more years, but it won't be our last place. I expect to take a financial loss on these improvements. But I do expect the improvements to make our place sell faster. The people my wife knows in the expensive neighborhood would definitely let us see their yards. I just don't if the people she knows have done anything. I can find out. I'll ask the LA if he cares if I post the design concept on the net if anyone wants to see what we are working towards.

Nice to see someone resourceful and thrifty challenging themselves with such a fun project! Definitely for a small space it's a good idea to keep materials consistent to avoid a busy look and hence make it look smaller. THose smaller penny pavers (1'x1') are about a dollar each and with a maximum of 168 sq. ft. it only takes up half your budget if you covered the entire yard! With only two small areas to pave, you could build a simple 2 x 2 frame to hold the pavers inside at each location and another line leading to and from them. If HD doesn't deliver use that $40 to have someone delivery it for you. Cedar mulch is ok, cheap, lightweight and smells great! Use the natural colour or have fun with the colours (red, green, yellow, brown and even black). If cash is real tight I believe Japanese gardens often use pine needles for paths. You could collect that for free if there are pine trees in your neighbourhood. Another edging idea is using the cut ends of small logs. People are throwing out recently chopped trees and leaving cut up pieces on the curb. Bury a bunch of those leaving just a few inches and they would lend an Asian feel to it as well. Bigger pieces could be used to make coffee table legs if you throw an old door on top. You can make hanging tea lights with wire and jam jars. Use screws to fix your chairs instead of nails that is if you have a drill otherwise nails will do fine too. Have you thought about painting the chairs a bright colour if they're too far gone? How about hanging an old mirror on the fence for depth and interest? Maybe frame it with an old window? Anyway that's my 2 cents worth.

Designing is like investing in the stock market in that doesn't matter what happened yesterday but only matters what happens tomorrow and in the future. An investment mistake doesn't get better by being preserved. The questions is always, "What's the best way forward from here?" Sometimes mistakes can be too costly to fix and one might opt to live with them. But if there is a fix and it is reasonable and it makes life better, then it should be considered. Sometimes there are cheaper ways to fix things than one realizes so they should not shut down options until all are exhausted. I would not worry that seemingly a mistake might have been made with driveway placement. I'd just look at options from here on out and maybe a future brainstorm will result in a palatable solution. What matters is that the site planning and hardscaping are arranged and organized such that they function smoothly and look good and whatever those solutions turn out to be, planting will adapt. Planting is a bit like upholstering. It's going to conform to what underlies and precedes it as fabric will conform to the structure and cushions of a couch. Therefore, I wouldn't be too concerned at this point about the size of the lawn. I think you'll have opportunities to make it as you wish so long as you arrange buildings and drive in a way that is efficient and sensible. "Do you see any problem doing this but bringing it all in closer from the road like shown?" In a word, yes. It looks neither sensible or efficient. If there was going to be a drive paralleling the road and close to it, it's redundant and not efficient. The drive is getting far enough away from the entrance that it's beginning to warrant its own separate entrance and skipping the connecting drive. It would be helpful for you to justify the outbuilding positioning in that last pic so I could understand what's driving the decision. Also, answer about whether the barn/garage can be a single building or must be two ... or if the garage already is part of the house. I'm confused about that. Also, justify the seemingly huge parking lot. Why must there be such a large area for parking near the home?

There doesn't seem to be a paving connection/landing at the left side of the deck, or to the spa, or around the spa. The patio is generous toward the storage shed, but skimpy between the deck and the spa. (Existing steps "above" spa seem nearly aligned with house wall, but show in plan as nearly perpendicular. Is their location on plan accurate? The more a grill is used, the more one wants it near the house. Usually, there is some back and forth to the kitchen, when grilling. Seems like it could be closer. Is it gas or charcoal? Where will the dining table be located?