We are building a house and having trouble deciding if we should build a deck or do a patio with a staircase down to it. Our house is on a wetland and has a great view. We are leaning toward doing the patio in order to not block the view in our great room, since the door to the outside is on the left side of the nook, in front of the great room window. However, if we do the patio, we are going to have to block some of the windows in the basement. Also, should we do the patio on the left or right side of the house? The left side of the house has a bigger area for a deck and is more private, although we would block two windows. The right side is smaller and has less privacy, however we could plant some trees to give us more privacy and than we would only block one window. On the other hand, decks are really nice, but would we want to block the view in the great room with a railing and furniture on the deck? What should we do?