Has anyone tried wattle fencing? Works great for raised beds. That's what I did with these two. Instead of filling the whole thing with dirt I did the whole lasagna deal. Working like a charm. Mine are 1.5 feet high but you can go as high as you can find sturdy uprights for. All you need is bendable branches for the weaving, sturdy "sticks" for the uprights and compostable material for the middle. They look rustic and work beautifully AND I don't have to get rid of my brush from the winter.

In its own suburban way, that's what the PO did to this house, magnaverde. We've been spending a lot of time taking out white colonial Home Depot molding and putting in small simple molding (painted the same color as the room), taking out 6 panel fake wood hollowcore doors and replacing them with solid core slab doors or fir single-lite pocket doors...one eyesore I haven't been able to fix yet is in the double -height foyer where a massive foyer fixture once hung, the PO put a cr*ppy white HD fan with shiny fake brass trim...UGH UGH UGH. I actually found a rather tasteful 70s Fredrick Ramond fixture in LN condition at a Habitat store, which would be much closer to what should show in that tall window above the door, but it's *difficult* to get up there and change the fixture out. We've given away so much colonial molding and use the doors for work surfaces. This is no masterpiece house, but it felt like it was being suffocated in faux-colonial trim and we've resimplified it so it could be itself again. Which will probably go completely unappreciated in this neighborhood, but it passed the time. palimpsest, if you have a feeling that you shouldn't post, I completely respect that. Don't want to jinx anything. We'll just have to wait until you have found something and then settled on it and then we can celebrate with you! I have faith that you can do anything you want and will make whichever house (and cash IS king right now, so I understand the drive to underspend) into a photogenic and soul-nourishing home.

Lived in the Biltmore area for 20+ years. The gabion wall (rocks in basket) and the Fred Flintstone exterior fireplace are not in keeping with the beautiful lines of your home...remove them. A wealth of excellent landscape designers are available in your area. Early Sunday morning drives through the Historic areas will give you inspiration. https://historicphoenixdistricts.com/historic-districts/

@Denise Marchand that's a great story about meeting with the owner of the ugly ac unit and finding a solution. The business next to our neighborhood is a large complex, they won't do anything in that regard, it's really up to us homeowners to find a solution. But those images you shared are quite nice, I looked up some of those laser-cut metal panels with the pretty decorative designs, they look quite nice but are very pricey, I'm seeing prices at 100-200 bucks for even tiny 2x4 pieces, I think now I am going to stick with wood planks/pickets and put them on a standing frame and make pretty DIY wood privacy slat panels that have heavy feet and put them all along the front of this wall and let my bushes grow up onto them, they are climbers and should reach 10-11 feet tall with enough to cling to. Home depot has wood pickets for a few bucks and I think it would be the most cost feasible option, maybe also floyd's idea of using sun shade material. The creative juices are flowing, I think we're getting closer!