What, specifically are you looking for help with? Deck design? Landscaping? Need a few more pics that show the yard from other views...

I'm looking for a deck design

I would not deck the whole back yard. I would either make separate areas with a water feature and a fire place or fire pit. If a pool is in the budget you can do that too. You have such a nice area to really design something out of this world. Here are a few designs that we did that you may like. The one has a pool and a similar style like your yard already. The second one is almost like a roof design.

Oh my goodness. That's some intimidating looking dirt, so I get why he may want to deck over it. I think an extension off the house of a linear deck might be a nice entertaining option, with a barbeque station in one area. For the remaining yard, even a smaller grassy bit would give some cooling and visual relief. Decking isn't inexpensive, so maybe doing a small lawn irrigation system would convince him to add a little green to the outdoor space.

Before decking the whole back yard, check with your city first. Some cities require that a minimum percentage of each home yard remains green (or dirt). P.S. We have the same back yard, so i understand your husbands viewpoint

I like the in ground pool idea. But have the pool come right up to the bottom step and increase all steps so same width as the patio area. So cool to be able to sit on steps with feet in water

I don't want to seem too noisy, are you related to Daphne Donofrio? She was my supervisor at Westinghouse Learning Corp. in NYC?

@Rivkah : Nope. Notice that my last name begins with a capitol 'D', an aposothene, then a capitol 'O'...rest of name is in lowercase. That's how it is listed on my birth certificate. I don't believe we met before. HI

No, we haven't met. We humans, are all in the same world. True we never met but I am sure some where along the line we have. Good luck in all your work for your palace. In Hebrew, a home is called " A Mikdash Miat", a small temple!

I'm not sure if you mean deck or patio? Many of my clients would be jealous of how well your back yard lends itself to a patio (pavers, flagstone, bluestone). Look locally for a landscaper or landscape designer for some free advice on layout and plantings!!

GTG, you do realize landscape designers get paid for what we do? Do you work for free?

Hey David! Thanks for the feedback. My Landscape Architects(as well as my Residential Architects and Myself, landscapers, kitchen designers, etc) meet with my potential clients all the time and provide feedback and ideas on options. That is our favorite way of earning clients business. Anytime I can spend some time helping a potential client and build a relationship, my chances of earning their business is greatly improved. Best of luck!!

I agree, the initial consult is all about discussing broad concepts and building the relationship for future work. But when you say "look locally for a landscaper or landscape designer for some free advice on layout and plantings", there are plenty of people who will call a pro, pick their brain for an hour, and either do it themselves or grab a couple guys at Home Depot. Your advice could be construed as suggesting that's acceptable. Just want to keep everyone on the same page!

David..as a professional I am sure you know how to deal with that type of person. I am also confident that you offer enough value that can't be duplicated by HD staff. Thanks for keeping me clear though.

True enough. Thanks!

Anyhow, to the question at hand - I've dealt with the (usually male) desire to just pave or deck the whole thing and be done with it, up to and including one gentleman who so enjoyed his US Navy days that he wanted the whole backyard battleship gray.

The issue with a pave-paradise-and-put-up-a-parking-lot approach is that when you're having 200 of your closest friends over for a party, it's awesome. The other 364 days a year, it feels like you're sitting all alone in the Mall of America after a zombie apocalypse. That much hard surface just feels really cold and empty and wasted.

One of my projects (I'll be photographing it and putting it on my Houzz page in a few weeks) last year involved removing half of a deck that covered an entire backyard. The homeowners hated it because it was a ton of wasted space, it was a lot of deck to maintain, and it just didn't feel "special".

If you do engage a local landscape designer, here's what they'll likely ask you and your husband:
- WHY do you want to deck the whole thing?
- how many people do you typically entertain?
- how many people is the most you've ever entertained? Would you be open to using designated overflow areas for that?
- what will you use the space for when it's just the family?
- how much maintenance are you willing to do?
- are you worried about resale?

One of my favorite properties in my portfolio is a small (probably quarter acre) lot in which we did a pool, patio, and a LOT of plantings. Tens of thousands of dollars worth. The clients do their own mowing, they have a guy come in every spring to mulch, and I do all the plant maintenance. I spend 2-5 hours per quarter (not per month) doing maintenance, because: right plant, right place.

Good luck!

He wants to deck the whole thing because he doesn't want to cut grass lol and no we aren't putting a pool in there isn't enough room and he doesn't want one. Thank you for the feed back

ok Lori I *hate* putting up pics that aren't ready for prime time, but this is the job I'll be photographing in a couple of weeks. From where I'm standing with the camera, over to the steps on the left, and over to the steps along the stone wall, that was all deck. So we added ~150 sq ft of grass, and that could just as easily have been groundcover or stone.

I'm just saying, y'all keep an open mind - I think he can get what he wants and still have an inviting space :)

thank you

I would use pavers, flagstone etc. Maybe an outdoor kitchen, fire pit with seating.....plants and color!

your welcome!

I have had a 900 redwood square foot deck for 20 years, and the cost of maintaining it is a serious consideration, as is the toxicity of having it re-stained every two years or so. The cost of redwood and the stain have increased. Even keeping leaves and tree seeds out from between the boards where they cause rot is a serious maintenance matter, unless you LIKE using a noisy blower. I have been taking boards from the lower part (the deck covers a hill) and cutting off their ends to re-use them on the top part. I've covered the lower part with treated plywood (painted red) and have used that section for kiddie pools and now, a plastic storage building. The biggest single cost was replacing all the top railings, so I recommend investing in prefab metal ones.

I can feel for him not wanting to cut grass all the time, but think you would enjoy it more if you had a moderate sized deck, with the rest of the yard gravel or paved paths and low maintenance plantings, in beds or containers. If you like to garden, you could have a few raised beds for vegetables. You could have a nice fire pit and seating area, a gazebo or screen house.

Screen the porch and low profile deck using gorilla decking

Hi Lori, not sure exactly how big your space is, or what ratio of patio to fire pit, etc., you're looking for... that said, we also like the look presented earlier in the feed by @VizX Design Studios, LLC... definitely recommend a pavilion/pergola/gazebo along with the fire pit to optimize the space!