This is what the view FROM the back of the house looks like in the summer. Help us make it this beautiful at the front of the yard - thank you so much!!

(PS. this is three summers ago, concrete walkway continues to degrade)

Crushed stone with pavers make interesting walk ways and borders.

In the corner of the house where the tank is (make sure there is at least 5' of space all around the tank, yours is too close to the house), consider planting tall grasses. You don't mention your zone, but this article will help you choose the best varieties.

https://harmonyinthegarden.com/2021/10/designing-with-ornamental-grasses/

I would pull out all the blacktop and the concrete sidewalk. Will you be adding the deck just in front of the addition or run it around the corner to where the propane tank is now? If you want to have it in the area of the tank, what are your plans for that? You'll want to have your downspout moved so it drains down on the other side of the addition. You might consider having it buried so it's not draining on to your lawn.

Perhaps you could add a small concrete pad just outside the shed door for dropping firewood. Just make the gate opening large enough for a truck to drive through so they can back up to the pad.

You could increase the fence height to 6' for more privacy.

What's your budget for the project?

I would build a large closed-looped curvature surrounding the lawn in concrete as an infinite racetrack for scooters, skateboards and bikes.

In addition to the suggestions for hardscape removal I would recommend that you err on the side of larger for your deck. Patios & decks have a way of filling up quickly once you start furnishing it. Budget? None of this will be cheap, may have to be done in stages.

Which direction does the back of the house face? We once had a southfacing back of the house and the deck was always too hot to the touch.

There are times when professional guidance is best. With a concept of needs/usage, engage a landscape
architect to concept the space for you. They can estimate various costs and present concepts. Then you will be able to build in entirety or phases.

Here is a link to our former patio and lawn. Patio was DIY but landscaping was professionally designed.

https://youtu.be/H5t9G-Gujqw?si=AxCW9Yg9a6aP3dyQ

You have space for a huge deck so do one not some tiny little one not big enought for anything

Some inspro

@everyone Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions! Does anyone have specific thoughts about the blacktop area? If we take it up, what would you lay down in its place? We are in Atlantic Canada, so the freeze / thaw is pretty dramatic. Pavers are beautiful, but would probably be all over the place in a couple years.

Sorry this is your front gate or back? I am confused.

Start by deciding if you need some sort of paving in that area. If the firewood truck can't get back there, how big a problem is that? There have been times when trucks have refused to drive over my yard, and other times when they have left 10 cm ruts. I guess I see the choice between digging up the macadam, and replacing it with grass, or leaving it as is.

Regarding the paving in general, do you need it? Do you need a sidewalk to the shed? It's obvious that there was once a one-car garage where the shed currently is. Are there any plans to put a garage back there? What is stored in the shed? The one time I owned a shed, it contained gardening supplies and little else. So the idea that there wasn't a sidewalk to it, and it was pretty much inaccessible during the winter wasn't a problem.

Do you store firewood all winter in your shed and bring it in as needed? That would require you to have some sort of hardscaping to access the shed from the deck but I'm not sure you need blacktop all the way from the gate to the shed just for a once a year firewood delivery. As I said earlier, perhaps just a hard scape staging area right outside the shed for holding the firewood while you load it in.

Black top ( ashphalt ) has poisined the soiil under it so even more of a reason to do deck which BTW we have had in Calgary for 40 plus years still going strong according to the people who bought our home there . The firewood issue can maybe be handled a different way with a lean to on the shed wall , do you have alley access to the shed ? The firewood is an issue if access year round is a must We built a shed for firewood on our deck accessed by the back door ..

When we redid our backyard after a major renovation we opted to keep the degrading concrete pathways and while it was probably the right decision for our budget it was something I always hated. I wished we had torn them all out and replaced with paving stones. From our deck landing we had a few steps down to a much larger deck that didn’t count as a deck because of how close it was to the ground. It was awesome. If I were in your shoes and didn’t need any of the concrete surfaces i would rip them out. I would extend the deck and make it large and beautiful with an area for a bbq and table and chairs. With some of the new yard space i would make a fire pit. I might also add veggie gardens in raised beds.