You're always best to hire a contractor for a project because they will have the know-how and the tools to do it. With a budget of $2000 dollars, you can not afford to hire someone. Your budget may cover the materials involved in what you are hoping for.

I would definitely put some stone on the patio there. I wouldn't recommend covering your whole yard with steppingstones like in the photos. Maybe just some 2x2 steppingstones to the sideyards for access. You should definitely replace the lawn because it looks pretty weedy. Then add trees where needed, and plant shrubs underneath them. Best of luck!

Thank you for your comment, Arbordale Landscaping. so we should replace the lawn with grass since that's the least expensive, right? Will bark chips/dust work in this case? Thank you.

Yes, I would replace with new sod. I would not use mulch because of aesthetics and harder to do anything with later on.

Agree w/ Arbordale that your budget will not allow for someone else to do the work, but will be decent if you are doing your own work. While the stepping stones all over the yard looks nice in the picture, such a thing does add maintenance considering that they have to be edged periodically. Considering that the yard is small, you might be better off using groundcover instead of turf. In general, hardscape is expensive and planting is inexpensive. I'd put most of the money into patio improvements. Considering that you must step down immediately upon exiting the door, it would be good to build a landing that nearly matches the inside floor level, then build spacious steps down that. Then expand the size of the patio.

Okay got it.Thank you so much for your help, Arbordale and yardvaark ;)