Cannot really tell much of anything from the picture you posted. How do you use the deck currently? How do you envision using the deck after?

First trim back those shrubs that are attempting to swallow the deck. Trim them to the floor level.

You say you want ideas - there are lots of ideas in the world, but we need some direction. We don’t know what you want.

Do you want privacy? More room for hosting/entertaining? Space for grilling or eating? Room for kids or pets to play? Sunbathing? A hot tub? Dozing in a hammock? Shelter from mosquitos?

Do you think a different angle might show it better? I was mostly just wanting to show the space available for use. Currently we use it for grilling, sitting out in the evenings, and access to the backyard. Not much will change with that, but ideally we would like a simpler access to the yard (less steps, or steps that make access easier). In a perfect world I would have a patio that we walk out on without steps from the backdoor, but the elevation wouldn't allow for that.

So you don’t want it bigger, you just want better yard access?

😆 Yes, we haven't really touched the shrubs since we'll be knocking down and rebuilding most of the deck, and will update landscaping after.

Great questions. We don't need privacy, no neighbors behind us. Yes, more room for hosting/entertaining and grilling. Likely would not have an outdoor eating area. Kids and pets have a huge yard, so just better access to that from the deck. Since that area doesn't get alot of sun, we would like to extend the sitting area out a bit where the sun will hit just a little longer in the evenings. Since we don't want to put a roof up, screened in wouldn't work for us.

I appreciate your questions to help me think about this more.

If you are removing the existing deck anyway, have you considered rebuilding it a few steps DOWN from your house, and then you would have another few steps down from the deck to the yard?

This picture shows a pretty elaborate setup but maybe you can see what I’m talking about.

It's an option we considered. We really like being able to walk directly out without steps though. We originally thought about doing a platform deck below, breaking up the number of steps in a row. It just seems like so much deck.