Do a search for "free landscape design software" to see what comes up. HERE is one site. I don't know anything about it, but since you have provided no photo or diagram of your home and yard I can't give any useful suggestions.

Without anything else to go on, sometimes just doing an image search will provide some ideas for inspiration. Courtyard Landscape Design

I don't have photos yet, so I'll try a software and take some photos and come back. Thanks!

Since the learning curve on design software can be steep, you may just want to use 1/4” graph paper to draw a measured plan and then make copies to try out different ideas on.

When you add photos, let us know where you are in the world as well since different considerations may come into play depending on location. For instance, snow would be more of a consideration than a need for irrigation where I am, but also need for shade, precipitation amounts, etc.

sorry about the zone -- it used to be on my user name and I hadn't realized it was no longer there!

I'm in CA, zone 9/14. The house is a typical 1960s ranch; It's on a corner lot, which offers an exposed feeling. The area we were thinking to enclose is outside the kitchen/laundry -- there's basically a second entrance to the house and it's next to the driveway.

I like the pavers suggestion, especially since there are already established trees and we are eventually going to re-do the driveway potentially with interlocking pavers as well.

Melle, I think some folks can see location and some can’t, so I just added my info as part of my name so it always shows.