It will take a long time for a tree to grow tall enough to hide that house . IMO 2.5K will not go far with huge trees to buy. How are the trees going to be delivered to the site. I assume the fence is not yours I would have just put up a trellis and grow a vine on and stop trying to hide the house . Do plantings in front of the fence that take your eye away from the house concentrate on making your space awesome IMO trees tall enough to hide that house will also affect the light you get in your yard and they will be too tall for a small yard.

Maybe something like a grouping of 3 columnar hornbeams would work. I use these frequently in designs for privacy screening as they are available in a decent size already for a modest cost, grow pretty rapidly, do not take up much real estate and are less oppressive than a planting of coniferous evergreens.

I favor Carpinus betulus 'Frans Fontaine', which comes highly recommended for this area by Great Plant Picks. Readily available at 10-12' to begin with, should hit 20' within 5 years. And stays quite tight and narrow...the crown seldom wider than 10'.

And while they are deciduous, the have such a dense, upward growing branch structure they provide decent screening even when leafless in winter (and when privacy concerns are less pressing). Bright gold fall color and virtually NO pest or disease issues.

btw, I used 3 of these for fenceline screening in a back garden one quarter the size of yours!! On their second year, they have already put on about 18" of growth and the client loves them!

the GGs will fill up way to much of your small yard .. imo ...

but duuuude .... look into de groots spire ... its like a sign from god ... lol

if maintained at single leader.. they are barely 4 feet wide after 20 years .. grow relatively fast for the thuja family ... even in my MI ..

in my experience.. it might be a lifetime before smargard .. emerald green ... get the height you want ... subject to what i would presume is a faster growth rate in the PNW ... compared to my half seson growth in MI ...

again .. its a sign from GOD ..lol...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Thuja+occidentalis+%27Degroot%27s+Spire%27&iax=images&ia=images

American Pillar Arborvitae

From the angle the photo was taken one deciduous tree planted in the lawn between the patio and the offending house would have taken care of it.

Went with American Pillars.

Some involved aspects, for the purposes of anyone reading and considering a similar planting (as is often the case): you now have a row of pointy things aimed at the unwanted view and thereby directing attention to it until they grow taller than it is and fill in enough to hide it many years from now. Also because you planted as closely as possible to the unwanted view it is now going to take the longest possible time for the trees to get big enough to hide it. And if they are planted close enough to the fence to come right up to it with their sideways growth at some point then any maintenance or repairs the wooden fence may need on your side after that has occurred will have to be accomplished with this foliage barrier being present.

I disagree. You walk out there and it's what you see whether the trees were there or not. So I don't think it draws attention more so. At least not for me.

Waiting a few years is not a concern for me. I'm not looking for perfection tomorrow.

The trees are 3ft from the fence. If repairs need to happen and it's a nuisance so be it, Id rather have a nuisance years down the road than lose more of the yard.

Limitations and compromises? Yes. But I must say, I'm happy and feel I made the best choice for my situation. I thought about it for a year so I considered pros and cons of many different scenarios.

I'll enjoy watching them grow. Thanks to everyone for contributing.