That is a big blank slate! The deck is really nice! Some of the designers here will come up with some cool plans for you. A big shade tree to shade the house is important. Whatever shade tree you pick, do your research. Be sure it doesn't drop flowers and pods all year in addition to the autumn leaves. One of the previous owners of our home, in his wisdom, planted 3 pines and 2 palms near our pool. They are evergreen, but they still have little gifts to drop into our pool constantly! Currently all the pollen from the cones is going in the pool. Needles shed constantly. Then the palms start dropping seeds and pollen and random fronds. I don't think you can escape a mess in your pool. It's the nature of trees to reproduce, but some are much kinder to you than others. I think raised beds would be nice and also some walking paths to small areas of interest here and there would break up the expanse. Maybe some curves and circles? Have fun! Suzi

There is often a request to make suggestions for what to do with a blank slate or a blank canvas. We expect nothing from a blank canvas until it is framed, then it becomes a non picture or a potential picture. It is the desire to make something within the frame that is the real question. So as not to be too obscure, I wonder how we can frame a space so as to raise the expectation of ÂgardenÂ? Once we have achieved this focus we can move on to the details. The Âframe I think is "what is the garden for?" what do you want to do there and what do you want it to do for you? It is not enough to expect Âgarden to have a generic meaning that you stamp onto your Âblank canvas or arrives on its own unless you want the three white horses running through foamy water over the sofa look. There is probably nothing wrong with having a garden that has no personal meaning and is there just to fill the space I just think it should be a conscious choice. The implication of a blank slate is, "I can do whatever I want here" which is not strictly true if it is a garden we are talking about because those rules regarding soil, sun and zone will restrict your choices whether you are a princess or a panel beater. So it is a blank space with some preconditions and in need of maintenance, even more maintenance after you have installed your masterpiece. A long time ago when I worked in a restaurant kitchen the chef would stall the menu naming of the soup until after it was done, the name depending on how it turned out. The stock would vary and some bones would go in along with a bit of this and a bit of that, ÂBrown Windsor was a common soup of the day! I suggest naming a garden in advance to avoid such a muddy result. Lifted from my blog

One of the problems of the area that jumps out at me is all the blank wall space on your neighbor's house. It's a primary view that a tree would take care of. On your own house facing the street is some of the same, so another tree is in order. Insofar as giving a sense of privacy while not enclosing, I would suggest a spaced series of small, multi-trunk trees -- like crape myrtle -- that insulate from view anyone who is a distance away on the street while it allows you to see what's close. If you spend some time developing a good trunk arrangement, you'll get more screening (like a visual filter) out of the trees as the trunks develop. To develop the privacy even more and get a sense of protection, place a bed of groundcover below the multi-trunk trees. It should a height that allow your view to easily continue above them. You'll be viewing below the tree canopy and in order to do that, it should start at about 9' or 10' off of the ground. (I pollard crapes to 10' every year.)

OH! Have you seen Carrie B's kitchen? It reminds me of yours. If you like minimal and efficient, maybe a layout like her's will work for you. Regarding laundry... I had a stacked washer and dryer in a bathroom at my first house, and I wouldn't want it again. I encourage you to put the machines side by side with a counter on top. You'll at least have a place to put a laundry basket and keep it off the kitchen floor. Storage above is perfect for costco stock of non food stuff. We have a laundry closet with side by side machines right now and three full width elfa shelves (8.5' ceiling) for storage. Keep in mind you need to allow room to run the dryer exhaust across the back or the side of the dryer unless there's a way to exhaust directly from machine through the floor?) For best dryer exhaust and to hide the laundry area next to the fridge, I'd put it in the back corner. Unless you think you might store dirty clothes with the machines, I'd be tempted to just keep the machines exposed european style. Maybe you could hang a cute curtain from the countertop to hide them. It would save a lot of space. I know you see walls of cabinets/ovens/fridges in photos, but you really need a counter next to an oven or the fridge to act as a landing zone. Idon't think you're gaining a lot by installing cabinet corners and I think one straight run might be best for a functional work space, storage and making the most of a french door on the back wall. I didn't take the time to add upper cabs