I like the mock-up a lot. You're off to a great start! I also prefer the style of outdoor light that rockybird suggested. That's a great MCM style. You might enjoy poking around at RetroRenovation. It's a website devoted to MCM design. There are tons of great ideas there and links to other good resources and vendors who sell period-accurate items. I bet you'll get more ideas if you do that. Re the carport: Yikes! If a Honda Fit doesn't fit, what would? Maybe an Old Beetle, or a Metropolitan Nash, or the first teeny Honda Civics that came to the US, or an original Mini Cooper (much smaller than the new designs). And I bet even some of those wouldn't fit. Must have been for the kid's bikes? Here's what I'd do with that carport. Even though it's not original, I like the roof line the carport gives your home. It's very in-keeping with MCM style. Remove the side wall. You may have to put in a couple more pillars for support. And then cut out an opening in the roof for more light. You could leave it open or put in a skylight, depending on your budget and the type of weather you have where you live. You might be able to get by with some clear plastic instead of an expensive skylight. Ya know, like the old corrugated fiberglass that they now make in a nice, clear plastic. You could also add some extra light fixtures in there for evenings. This would add so much light to that space and make it more open and friendly and help bring in light if you put in a new window on that side.. Then treat it like a covered front porch. Put some outdoor furniture there, maybe even a porch swing. It could even be a great place for outdoor grilling when it's raining outside. Oh, I would build a wall on the back for more privacy for your side/back yard. It could be a solid wall with a doorway or it could just be some lattice. If you have sufficient outdoor living space on the back of the house and don't believe you'd use it much, you could still do something like that just to make the most of a space that is currently unusable but make it smaller by building a wall where the wall next to the front door is. If you wanted some privacy while using the space, you could build a half-wall across the front. Planting something like Wisteria to grow across the top-front of the roofline would look amazing. Anyway, just some random thoughts. I hope some of them are useful to you. I think it could be quite a charming space with just a few simple changes. Here is a link that might be useful: Retro Renovation

Growth over onto neighbor's side is probably going to be the basis for problems later. Even at the small size the shrubs are at now, who is going to be pruning them on their side? Do they want to be having to bother with this? And what if they move out later and somebody moves in who is less agreeable? Many property owners can be quite territorial, also do not appreciate or understand hobby gardening* - or even know how to tell a garden plant from weedy kinds. (For instance I've now got a climbing rose that has been ruined by a neighbor spraying herbicide on the parts of it that recently poked through the fence maybe a foot or so. This is not the first time they have done this kind of thing, so that even though the side of the fence facing me is right on the property line I will probably have to give up on trying to grow climbing plants against it). If you want screening or separation in that comparatively narrow space you'd be a lot better off installing a wood fence yourself and then planting whatever you want on your side of it, having only of course to keep your plantings from reaching through or past the fence later - as I have to do here. *By far the majority of Americans who find themselves in possession of or involved in the upkeep of garden plants are not gardeners

The area is close enough to grade that concrete seems more appropriate as the solution. I wouldn't let present lack of knowledge keep you from finding out about it. The basics about concrete placement are fairly simple and straightforward. The process of placing a slab there would be simpler than building a deck. Yet it still requires that you do the right things at the right times. You can find about the basics by watching a few YouTube videos. You'll probably need one step down from the door. I'd make is spacious ... at least 24" depth x 5' width, centered with the door. Instead of looking at the 3 rectangles as separate areas, I'd view them as parts of a whole, and try to integrate whatever finish/technique you choose throughout the whole project ... rather than have it look like different pieces were added on at different times. One thing I'd caution you about with stamped concrete is that some patterns have too much texture for comfort. While they look great, they may be irritating to walk on for some people with certain shoes. Some nice, simple effects can be obtained with careful scoring patterns. I've seen slabs with 12" edge bands scored all around their border that looked quite handsome for very little added cost. There's a wide range of cost, depending on what you want. It would be easier to place the concrete, while the fence is not in the way, and then add the fence and gate afterward. Be sure to get the concrete level where the gate will cross it.

I’d rip it all out pronto. Afterwards, if you have soil that’s more than 6” or so higher than the ground level (perhaps at the end toward the white fence that we can’t see well), I’d take a garden hoe and drag some of the dirt into the lawn. Unless it’s really high - like a foot higher. In that case I might substitute some interlocking landscape blocks to hold it for now, just in that space. (In the foreground of the picture, I don’t think you need anything at all.) Then see how it looks next spring after some weathering.