Build your deck, patio, gazebo, fire pit, etc. LARGER than you think you need. HERE is a houzz article that talks about minimum sizes for outdoor areas. For instance, a round table for six can fit on a 10.5' x 10.5' patio, while a rectangular table for 6 requires 10' x 12.5' minimum. Remember that you also have to allow for traffic flow; that is, you need a minimum of 36" for walking through an area. A Fire pit requires a minimum 15' circle, and there should be no overhanging trees or utility lines. And, don't set a fire pit close to a neighbor's house, or where the smoke will blow across their outdoor seating area.

The back of your house faces north, so think twice about covering a deck or patio with a roof. The base of a north-facing wall gets the equivalent of medium shade, but covering the area will give deep shade and make rooms on that side darker. It will be much better to have a separate gazebo that's easy to walk to from the house.

Decks are much easier to build than patios, and they can be set just a step up from the lawn. If you plan on outdoor grilling, make a note of prevailing winds. You may want to separate the grill from the seating area if there's any smoke.

@mindshift thank you so much for your input and advice. Very good point on the shade factor as we have lived in a house that had a great back porch but was SO DARK, which I do not want. The placement of the door is tricky to us because I think we would want the grill placed near the door but not sure how to begin the patio/deck there. We were also throwing around the idea of having a deck leading into a patio.

I agree that it's better to have the grill close to the back door for ease of food movement. There's no reason you can't have a deck (or series of decks) that leads to a patio. You could replace the current back door deck and stairs with a larger one that steps down to a lower deck as it wraps around the shed-roofed bump-out on its way to a patio.

Here is a look at our patio and adjacent gardens. A hot tub once occupied the space where the bistro table is placed. Patio is 26 x 24 plus the 8 x 12 private area and 9 x 5 for grilling. Pergola is 8 x 12 on-center.

You’re looking at roughly 25 years of landscape maturity. We recently sold the property but retained some video memories

https://youtube.com/watch?v=H5t9G-Gujqw&feature=shareb

@mindshift love that series of decks, especially a larger one out that back door to somehow place the grill!

@fnmroberts that back yard space is beautiful! I know it's going to take a long time to get that maturity in landscape but it will be fun watching!

@Dana Jokovich - Thank you. The best advice I can provide is to involve a professional landscspe designer then purchase the plan and follow the plan. They can recommend appropriate plants for your climate/soil/lighting. Buy small and let them mature - smaller ones suffer less transplant shock and therefore will grow quickly.

Historical timeline on ours - Maple adjacent to the patio 1996. Patio was DIY in 1998. Serpentine garden and Birch tree DIY 1999. Pergola DIY 2007. Perimeter gardens 2011. Hopefully will give you some concepts. Good luck.

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I love your house color :). May I ask what it is?