Looks much better!

New pool, patio, and deck

Landscaping completed

Deck

Lovely! I especially like the lattice and your choice of plants to soften the hardscape. It's perfect!

Wow! Amazing all that you were able to fit in your yard. So many nice hang out areas!

Love your yard! Where did you find the square lattice?

Great job! The pool shape is interesting.

Thank you everyone for your warm comments. We're thrilled at how it all turned out. It's our resort getaway in the burbs. Forget getting on a plane, we just have to walk out our back door (in the summer at least). The pool, deck, and patio really changed the yard into a space we love to use where before we were hardly out there at all. As much of a change as the hardscape made, we couldn't believe the transformation in the yard once the plantings were complete. My hat goes off to our landscapers BCH Landscaping. We had our grand unveiling yesterday with a family BBQ to celebrate a number of family events to great success. All the different spaces were used to great effect. The Tiki bar was a particular hit.

dicocblair - the square lattice is plastic (no upkeep or painting required) and is available at home improvement stores like Home Depot.

Wyland Interiors - the pool shape is a hunchback kidney. I like the organic shape of it. It softens the edges of our otherwise rigid yard. To be honest though from a purely logistical perspective, a rectangular pool would have maximized the space more effectively, but that would have resulted in a much more formal look to the yard. I really wanted to have a resort feel, though I love the look of traditional formal gardens as well. I get a bit of that with my boxwood hedges flanking the eating area and the built in planter in front of the deck. I think we managed a good balance of the two sytles with the upper deck and patio areas being more Mediterranean and the lower pool deck more tropical (as much as we can be with our climate). The only disadvantage to the pool shape is that the decking around the pool is quite tight and limits where I can place pool side seating/lounging.

Outdoor living space for family living and entertaining! Voila! PERFECTION!