Some of your photos are a little too close-up which makes it hard to grasp the context. What's certain is that the excavation needs to be somewhat larger than the finished product and then backfilled. I wouldn't label this overzealous grading. It requires a little extra room to perform the construction. So you see the maximum extent of space you have to build a patio. But there's nothing to stop you from shrinking it if you desire. However, thinking that putting dirt back around a tree is somehow equivalent to putting roots back is just not accurate. An amputation cannot be undone. Putting dirt back will make no difference. In spite of that, the tree will re-grow some roots as that's what they do. The ultimate patio size is a factor of desire and space available, but as patios go, it certainly doesn't look too large. Neither does it look like the ret. wall will be abnormally tall. Its curved shape will add strength. It will be stepping or sloped down in some way to generally follow the earth so it's highest section will not extend for great width. Its height is a balancing act between the patio elevation and the surrounding soil levels. Calculate these out and adjust them as you see fit. Raise the patio too much and you will be filling the bottom end or shrinking the patio size. Lower it and you'll be creating a taller retaining wall. Balance and moderation are the key. As I look at the pictures, I don't see anything that can't be worked out to a decent conclusion... if the right design decisions are made along the way. If this were my yard, I'd prefer the appearance of a nicely detailed mortared stone wall, but that requires more skill and higher cost material than the kind of block you're proposing. Therefore, it would be more expensive. But it would look better, too. What you decide on is a factor of cost vs. benefits as you see it. At the end of it all, it will be imperative that you establish groundcover capable of holding soil in place. This is a key to preventing erosion.

My opinion on pot fillers. If the pot is too heavy to carry to the stove when the water is cold, I sure don't want to carry it to the sink when the water is boiling. For the effort/cost I don't need one. YMMV, though. I wish I had run my layout by gardenweb members for feedback. I wish I would have thought about a pull out cutting board. I haven't had one for about 30 years and had adapted. Would really like to have one again. The matt white Formica shows every speck of everything! Good, because I can wipe it off right away. Bad because if I haven't wiped it off right away everyone can see it. I live on a gravel road. I rarely use my a/c. Windows are open all the time. The FX stuff I originally planned might have been a better choice. Maybe next time. I do like the look of the white, though. I really hate my upper diagonals but I also hate the blind corner cabs. The more complicated pull down/out doesn't appeal to me. Problem still not solved. I don't like what I have but I don't like the other choices. I thought and thought about this and only came up with the three "I wishes", so all in all, my kitchen turned out pretty good. I am more than delighted to have the peninsula gone and every time I think about my new kitchen I suspect my face has the orgasm expression.

Okay - I didn't see that Sweese is also on Tamara's website -- when I wrote this. I would delete my comment, but I don't know how. Better you are all on your own, evidently, if I can make that mistake then we still all have to do our own research. I wound up with Fiestaware - not my first choice but at least I know it's safe. And I call Crate and Barrel/Pottery Barn/William Sonoma to check every time I see something that looks good. BUT I DID DISCOVER SOMETHING INTERESTING. If you put a california zip code in your login (until checking out) - you will get the Prop 65 warning which will tip you off as to what products are not safe, according to California legislation. That is a handy tool to use but you need to pretend if you don't live in Cali until it's time to pay and ship.

Hey, Houzzers, From a basement remodeler who is sadder but wiser, my advice to those who live in wet climates and who are thinking of finishing their basements is: Get to know and understand your home’s water drainage system. I learned by trial and error two drainage issues (and I am sure there is more to learn. I am just a hapless homeowner who is just learning about all this the hard way) so check with your professional for your own drainage situation and needs. Before you even think about doing your basement remodel: 1) Check your gutters and downspouts to make sure they are all using the advantages of gravity and that they are not sagging and that they are connected to drain pipes and draining properly and away from the house. Much of your home’s roof drainage system is likely unseen and underground. Make sure the ‘daylight’ end of the drain piping (piping that is likely connected to your downspouts underground and which runs out in the yard and that drains by gravity) is in tact and clear of debris. I didn’t even realize we had such drains out in our yard and we paid dearly for our ignorance when the drain pipes were blocked by leaves and soil And by the yard guys collapsing them by running over them with their trucks. We had to have “The Underground Detective” come in and help us find our drain lines—a very helpful guy, btw. 2) Be sure your sump pump system is in order, including a back up pump or battery or generator for storm outages or other failures. Additionally, if you don’t have a sump pump consider if you might want/need one (for our house we need two—one on each end of the basement). Secondly, find your exit drain pipe for your “footer drains” and/or sump pump (if you have a sump pump). I don’t know much about sump pump drainage because we don’t have one yet (we are getting them installed after 20 years of living here) but I am sure they have an exit drain, either separate or connected to your “footer drain” set up. These footer drains (which if you, like me, may not realize you have) are situated eight or so feet just underneath your foundation. They have at least one exit drain for overflow water that typically works by gravity or a pump and goes out in to the yard or maybe to your sewer system. This footer drain pipe should be separate from your roof gutter system drain pipes which I wrote about above, so that in the case one exit pipe gets clogged the other is not affected. Depending on the quality of materials used in your footer drains they may have corroded or be on the verge of corroding if your house is older (ours was built in 1991) as ours did. 3). If you are on a septic system, as we are, be sure to get your tanks pumped out regularly if you have tanks. I am sure there are different kinds of septic systems—ours uses tanks. My neighbor has lived in her house for ten years and never had her tanks pumped (ignorance again) and had her basement ruined by a horrible back up. (At least we knew enough to get ours pumped.) As I said, we are learning the hard way about our home’s drainage system. After twenty years of living here and having not so much as one drop of water come in to our basement, in 2018 during a winter of heavy rain we totally remodeled our basement, and after eight months of work, on the day the contractors were leaving, our basement flooded! We sustained major damage. The cause was poor gutter drain connections and blocked up exit drains for the roof system and footer drains around the house. A very very expensive mistake made out of ignorance. (Sob). Please don’t be ignorant and pay such a price like we are paying—pls inspect your drain systems and understand how they work.