First, find out what setback limits you have. There is a minimum distance from the street/property line for the exterior of the house. However, fences can usually extend to the utility easement, so you might have lots of space you could enclose with a privacy fence. Your condo board might want to preserve the openness of lawn, but they might allow you to fence in the area with the multi-trunked tree. If this is the case, is there a way to add a door on that side?

Adding a door on the end wall seems easiest. However, you can't see what is inside of a wall. In this case, you may have electric lines that have to be rerouted. In another area there could be plumbing in the way. You won't know until you start to tear into the wall. There are headers above the windows and that probably means changing out the upper windows as well. I would look into removing the wall between the windows to put in a single door. Ideally you would be allowed to add a privacy fence to enclose the yard on this entire side of the lot.

If adding a door and privacy fence is approved, you will need to make sure the roof runoff doesn't pool along the new doorway. Change the direction of the downspout or make sure the runoff goes around the house to the front yard via an underground pipe. Then put in a patio with a retaining wall against the hill to the street. Retaining walls 4' or higher may require an engineer's approval, but walls lower than that can be done by the homeowner. There is lots of online advice for building patios and Retaining Walls. Even if you don't intend to do the work yourself, these instructionals will help you understand what's being done.

Your home sits low to the ground so you do not want to build up any beds next to the foundation. I'm not saying you can't have flowers there, just that the ground should not be raised. The easiest plant choices are dwarf shrubs. Remember, though, that dwarf only means smaller than the species, so check tags for the expected mature height and spread of plants. If a plant will eventually get 4' tall you may not want it in front of a window. If a plant will get 4' wide don't plant it closer than 2' from a wall, fence or pathway. Below, taller shrubs are used in front of the rock wall and fence with lower shrubs in front of the windows.

Thank you so much! all very helpful. I dont have an HOA which will make this work a bit easier. I may bring the fence out and around the front so i can have more yard space but I haven't decided where to stop it. THank you for your time :)

What do you mean its a condo?

I think the exterior of your home is quite nice. Just needs the right landscaping to enhance the MCM vibe. What is your zone for planting?

zone 8b :) and we have loooots of deer in the neighborhood. I'm limited to plant options, but honestly i love the options (roses, salvia, mexican feather grass, etc). I just am lost on how to design the beds, how far out to pull the beds. I'd love to have pathways and maybe a couple garden beds. :)

How about painting the siding and the front door a deep dusty teal?

Include a variety of evergreen and flowering bushes, perennials, and ornamental trees. Annuals add color for a long season. Layer foundation plants, but allow for growth. Keep the plants about one foot from the side of the house when they are mature size. Select major plants in odd numbers.

I'm not sure you know what a condo is. Most often it is a multistory building where each "apartment" is owned by individuals who control the interior design of their "apartment". There is always a board that oversees maintenance of exterior and common features and can restrict some usage/changes. Single family homes are not condos, but I thought maybe you were in a fourplex managed like a condo. Explain please?

Two things keep deer away from plantings—very tall (8+ foot) fences, and fences that cannot be seen through or over. Deer won't jump over a barrier if they can't see what they are jumping into. Even when deer don't eat the leaves of certain plants they often eat the flowers. Roses are often browsed by deer. Grasses, though, are mostly immune to deer browse. However, the lack of food, either due to drought or overpopulation, will cause deer to eat previously immune plants with the exception of toxic species. Here are lists for several states: North Carolina, Texas, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon.

The stone siding is very charming. I would hire a good landscaper to help you design a woodlawn type garden that surrounds the property for maximum privacy, and also to block views of the cars and the neigborhood. It would be a sizable investment, but since it is not your forever home, it makes sense to start plantings now to ramp up the curb appeal for eventual sale. If I were the eventual buyer, I would want to do my own thing with the interior, so I agree with you that it dosn’t make sense to spend $100K on the structure.

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@mindshift i'm pretty certain i do know what i purchased 7 years ago. yes, it IS condo. i'll let you do the research. It once was a duplex, owners legally changed to condo. Later, each of the two owners agreed to dissolve the HOA.

Thanks. Since it is no longer a condo, referring to it as such confuses the issue of what permissions you might have to get. Now you should only be subject to setback rules.