Ozbern: we had a similar dilemma, lovely backyard and then they started tearing down bungalows and building four story townhouses all around us. I built a single depth pergola along the back property line, the beauty of this is not only the privacy, but it brings the scale of the yard down to make it feel more intimate when we are outside. We also added a 10' x 10' (little over three meters) pergola right up against the house where we had a wall of windows. Will try to find that photo too. We have coral vine now growing in it. Dies in winter, comes back in spring. You can always do more contemporary details if this is too casual.

Looks like the palm tree look is working so I would blend that with some succulents maybe agave which can grow large and make great statement plants. Also stick with the stones.

Consider where the windows and doors are to help determine where a feature could be placed, but I'd suggest straight out from the step towards the end of the lawn (especially if there are glass doors behind this step). Perhaps a feature tree with under planting or a secondary seating area under a pergola. It is quite a distance from the deck/house so would need to be relatively large.

Hi there, We recently renovated our house earlier this year by removing all the exisiting wallpaper and painted the walls over tge exisiting plasterboard. However, I've noticed straight line cracks appearing around our window edges. It's only cracking around windows and not doors. Anyone know why these are happening and should i be worried??Please note our house was built in 1970s and walls are not insulated so maybe its because of the recent cold weather but pretty annoyed with this. Any assistance would be great! Cheers