SFGate

Justin any suggestions??

Dytecture This is almost a blank slate. The deck looks to be in good condition, I would suggest to having some stone paving to house the fire pit and pergola. Privacy might be a concern as well in your situation.

nana25 If this is a project you are considering tackling yourself or are looking for ideas check out www.blushirt.com

Justin I appreciate your comments. I am thinking of ripping out the deck and replacing it with a paver patio. What do you think? thanks

fife2 EECKS - why not go to the book store, Home Depot and/or Lowes and find some good books on landscape design? Decks can be made to look wonderful with a few touches like adding lighting on the steps, plants in large pots, etc. Broad sweeping LOW steps - with lighting? First of all I would get rid of that tent thing and look up adding a pergola, or other appropriate stucture for shade. Why remove the deck if it is this nice and functional? What about a "SAIL" for shade of you do not want a pergola? You can look these up as well.

PLEASE, PLEASE - run do not walk to find a book on landscaping and decks. I think you will be amazed by what addiing plant materials to your landscape will give to you. If you cannot handle this - then hire a landscape architect? I would put my money someplace else than taking this off - just to put down pavers - if the rest is (landscaping) will still have to be added?

What about some shutters for the back windows on this side of the house? Painting the trim around the windows a deeper shade of your color? One needs to consider the entire structure when doing this type of re-do? Do you have trees? Which direction does the back face? Is this the hot south, or the cooler north? All of this will make a difference when you begin to consider what is desired. I would certainly WAIT before deconstructing this deck - which could be a definite asset to your home. Pavers, are just pavers - and everythng else will still need to be implemented. Besides - weeds grown in the cracks - :-)

3DCGI We though that the addition of a timber pergola and slatted screen over would make a fantastic addition to this property. We think it would add value and be a fantastic place to sit in the afternoon sun.

We also think that this is well within the realms of a DIY person to achieve this on a realistic budget.

We hope that you like it.

Justin Thank you very much! I do very much like the look at practicality of this addition. I am curious as to what program you used to design this? thanks, Justin

Justin Also, 3DCGI, do you have any suggestions for my entrance? Thanks

3DCGI Hi Justin - we use 3DS Max for our renders. With regards to your front, can you post a photograph with more content such as a landscape shot from further back - this will allow us to give you more informed advice. Also is your house a North/South or East/West facing property?
3DCGI

Justin Here are a few pics of the front of my house. Also, the front door faces northwest. Thanks alot

fife2 Justin - I am so glad someone sent you a rendering with a Pergola . . .especially with the screens already on so you can sit outside and still be cool. AND including the deck you already have.

I would also like to suggest that you look at Lowes/Home Depot - they now have fans for outside - in the ceiling fan department all gussied up and looking great - which occilate and you really cannot tell they are just fans - one would attach them on the side wall - or a heavy beam and they work great for outside areas with larger spaces - much better than ceiling fans actually as they will keep all the bugs away. I also looked at the step lighting - at Home Depot - as we are changing ours - this is a DIY - and makes it must safer to walk out into the yard from the deck area - especially if you have children and older family members.

I know you are focused on the back, however, that sure looks like a BIG step into the house, and might be a little unsafe with children, etc. - are you planning on adding a front porch there? I think it might be pretty easy to fix that with some decking materials - and stain them a color to go with your front? I would add something like a little porch all the way across - take out the dirt material next to the house, put down a landscape barrier and cover this with some type of stone base under the little porch? Will cut down on mosquitos and other bugs. It will also keep the front entrance from looking like a hole there. yes?

lastly - have you considered adding MUCH larger lighting fixtures to both the front of the house and the garage area - to balance this out proportionally and add some interest there? Something along the lines of Carriage house lamps? I think your light fixtures are just too small for the front of your home.

Higher end lighting stores ALWAYS have a sale - at least once a year - and you can find some pretty good deals on outdoor lighting, and installed lighting for uplighting trees, landscape materials.

Just some addtional thoughts to make the front pop as well.

Beautiful home - show it off! keep us posted. :-)

3DCGI Hi Justin. Thanks for the photos - can you take a shot from across the road so we can see the context of your house. We have some ideas already, but we just want to ensure that we're proposing something suitable and appropriate for your streetscape.

A Cultivated Art Inc. Before going too far with the backyard plans you should check what your local by laws regarding fires (many municipalities do not allow wood fires within town or city limits). It would probably also be worthwhile o check whether a water feature needs to be fenced the same as a pool would be.

Ute Faber It seems like the perfect place for outdoor entertaining. Check out the Canadian Company - Outdoor Living Today, they manufacuture DIY Kits with and without retractabel canopies.

There are so many DIY pergola kits out there. Just make sure you look for Cedar since it is insect and decay resistant. They can be custom made - attached or freestanding - check out

http://www.outdoorlivingtoday.com/oltss/storefront/products.php?category=pergolas

Aesthetic Tile Imaging For you outdoor living space - have you considered kiln fired art tile. Including weatherproof art is a perfect way to extend your indoor living space outdoors. It is completely fade proof!
http://www.houzz.com/pro/dave-white/__public

Christine You have tons of potential here and in the end it will look amazing. I am not sure what your budget is but suggestion wise I would figure out what the connection is between the slider on the left and the bay window. I would opt to remove the bay window (if it is part of the same room where the slider is) and put in one long set of sliders that fold away in to each other so you can create some indoor to outdoor transition.

Then I would opt to paint the siding portion of the house a creamy yellow. Something leaning towards a warm gold reminiscent of Tuscan yellow.

Then you should put in pavers or upgrade the decking to a nice cocoa brown trex deck would run a full lenght pergola along the entire paved area. Depending on how deep the patio is I would put enough depth in the pergola to generously cover a table and seating area and chaise lounges.

Then depending on which end your kitchen in the house is I would probably bump out a small area of the pavers (towards the grass) and put in a simple but full service outdoor kitchen. Don't put a kitchen or pit area too close to the house because once you light up then the grease, odors, etc. may rise up and in to the house through the open windows.

speaking of the windows upstairs I would add shutters to continue the tuscan look. The pergola should be high enough so you can hang some larger scaled light fixtures and some fans and then think about growing a creeping vine that blooms.

You have a lot of toys and kids play gear so you should think about utilizing that shed and store any toys not in use and just go with tons of annual color in a simple border garden.

Good luck with it. Show photos when you get going.