Hi Zara! I love the idea of adding a vertical garden to your outdoor space.. and making it more convenient so you can take full advantage of your garden! This article show the different types of vertical gardens there are to choose from: http://www.countryliving.com/outdoor/how-to-plant-a-vertical-garden#slide-1 Here are a couple vertical planter options for sale that could work well with your space: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/307991/?catalogId=8&sku=307991&bnrid=3120901&cm_ven=Google_PLA&cm_cat=Agrarian&cm_pla=Vertical_Gardening&cm_ite=Free_Standing_Vertical_Garden_%7C_Williams-Sonoma&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=27-280278456-2 http://www.monticelloshop.org/040342.html?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CMClmPOxwrwCFUhgMgodcRYA6Q

Try this. Hang the television to the right of the wood stove on the wall opposite the french doors. Use the wall with the high windows for a looong sofa and add two chairs across / angled slightly - low back so you can look over one to television. use console / sofa table on entry /bed door wall just past where entry door opens so you have a lay down surface. Forget glass, it isn't for this era and won't make it feel bigger. Paint ALL french doors inside and out and small windows and entry door same color and trim same color too. Try a charcoal rather than a black - something in the blue-green-gray shades like new providence navy. do all the walls in kitchen and living in a warm white - this tone has the wood as an undertone - http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/woodash then, for the cabinets . . do a bungalow thing and go deeper on the cabinets to a classic drabware tone - with the wood walls and floors / try bm bracken biscuit http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/brackenbiscuit these will all go together like gangbusters, keep it light and bright but interesting and work with a new blue green gray back door in a tone like bm beach glass http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/beachglass templeton gray as a counterpoint on some craigslist piece of furniture . . add warm undertone tan and oatmeal nubby tweed upholstery to start . . the teal navy gray will work with the black iron stove and accents without going black. start keeping the left door to the kitchen closed and get a door stop to hold the other one open permanently . . this will work because you need a little more wall to make the tv work well - in the kitchen, pull your table away from the wall just a tad - consider a padded bench on the wall to provide a kind of sitting space in there and put the chairs across - if you shift your television to the wall (high enough the heat is not an issue , you can still have big speakers work well - and remote the media equipment - run the wire and patch the holes. Hang it mid-height - eye level when you sit plus 15 degrees . . check out the amazing sconces you can put on the entry wall - shades of light petersik pendant with home-made trim wood brace to pump it out from the wall since the power is high? over the console? round wood table in middle - even a hd butcherblock round on a painted drum base in trim tone? With those tones - teal gray, biscuit, creamy off-white, muted blue-greens - paint your white chairs and a hand me down bench wythe blue and find a graphic sunbrella print with a little blue green, chocolate and orange for cushions and pad skirts with velcro at the table . . make a galvinized pipe leg / plank 1 x 12 / clear finish console for behind the door . . now you are cooking with gas . .

It's hard to comment without a picture of the home. Lots of styles were built in the 80s and it would depend on what suited the layout. You usually can't go wrong with classic styling that doesn't date too readily.

You DO have a steep slope to deal with! The tree roots will help stabilize the soil and make a mudslide less likely. If you cannot mow the lawn safely, terrace the area (think Machu Pichu) into garden beds for flowers or vegetables. Do you want your children to play on a grassy area or on a man-made surface? Be sure that the play area has shade during the hottest part of the day. Best wishes.