I love your place!! It has so many possibilities!! You mentioned that things look better when viewed from one side only. I would suggest forcing the perspective. Design your walkway, patio, etc. so that it runs along the good "one side". Unless the shape of the walkway is ridiculous, people usually prefer to walk on established pathway. Another idea is to use the focal point. If you want people to look "here" but not "there", use plants with brightly colored foliage or interesting form "here". Use plants that catch my attention. In the "there" spot, plant boring things. You mention that June is the big month for your garden. For other months, add bright color artifically with a brightly painted trellis or other small wood structure. For example, in my front yard, I want people to look at my door and porch. I don't want people to look at the 4' tall utility box in the corner by the road. So, I introduced contrasting color, form, and texture by the door. The utility box is surrounded by boring indian hawthorne shrubs. (I thought about not planting anything there, but the utter lack of landscaping actually attracted attention.) I hope this makes sense and helps!

You can run the natural gas line anywhere you want(more or less) I wouldn't rip stuff out for that reason.I would never put in a deck. I've built decks for customers, but I would never have one at my house. Too much maintaince. I put in a bluestone patio. Do it once and your done. In your case it would require a staircase to ground level. Remodeling is a series of compromises. Do what will make you happy. Ron

I think you should consult a contractor.I suggest Total Fence Inc. They can help you with all the designing and construction.

I’m ready to paint and improve the look of this home located in an eclectic, lake community. So far, I have removed the shutters,chain link fence, large tree nd dug up all the nandinas and ligustrum from around the house. I want the front yard to be mainly natives with a walkway thru the garden. I would like some type of screened front porch and a new paint color. I’m leaning toward a grey-brown but open to all suggestions. Thanks