I'm in the process of leveling off my backyard (1 in 8 slope roughly) using a mixture of heron blocks, pavers and turf. Had to deal with red heavy clay that was under the existing topsoil that came out of the cut excavation. As others have said, gypsum is your friend. I would also recommend a thick geofabric over disturbed areas that you might not be covering for a while but you still need to traffic. Just use tent pegs to pin it down. Works wonders especially over clays during rain, minimises dust and keeps a good moisture content of the clay. Get a heap of good topsoil delivered from a landscape yard. Be sure to go and check it out first tho - feel it in your hands and smell the organic matter to decide what you like. In term of trees frangipanis will look great in the warmer months as a screen - flowering and very leafy, in the winter they will drop leaves and won't screen much. I have a fairly large one at the front of mine and i really like it - I Would recommend planting elsewhere in the yard. I don't know much about trees but i hear lillypillies establish and grow fast and screen well. Good luck

Ali, I think you are overthinking this, let your back garden be more natural as a contrast to the structured effect of the tiles in the house. I don't think you need consistency, the pool changes the whole vibe of the area so design for the pool to create a welcoming oasis - think tropical island resort. Have you checked with your local Council if there are limits of hardscape you can have? Some Councils do limit this and that will include your roof, driveway, paths, patios, the pool, etc. As well if you want this much hardscape you will need to consider runoff and drainage, particularly to ensure your neighbours don't get swamped in heavy rain or you have areas that puddle and take days to dry out. Consider summer heat too, sitting outside and the radiated heat that comes off hard surfaces, white and light colours reflect heat while dark colours absorb it. As well too much hardscape does not absorb noise - your neighbours will hear all your conversations and noise from the pool will be amplified. If you want that pool area to be inviting, then it needs lush greenery around it to offset this and soften and cool. Carrara marble tiles around a pool look fabulous and would be a great contrast to your dark tiles indoors. The area outside your kitchen should be grassed and include gardens as space for your dogs, even a small tree or two for the environment and to create shade for the dogs. Artificial turf gets extremely hot and would certainly not provide a pleasant or suitable outdoor space for them. I think I would read up on the breed of dog you plan to get also and fully ascertain their needs to ensure you provide properly for them. If you are planning children down the track, they will want a nice safe, green area to play too.

Hi Evan, it is certainly doable. My back yard is probably 5 times as big as yours. I had a deck put on out the back, built all the garden beds myself, edged different sections of the garden myself, and topsoiled and laid the turf around the new deck and along the side of the house myself. I even made my outdoor furniture. I also filled all the garden beds with soil and planted them out. I got truck loads of top soil and mushroom compost delivered and wheelbarrowed it from the front to the back yard. If you are able to do stuff yourself, it isn’t that hard (I was in my forties when I did all this). You do need a concept plan of how you want your back yard to look. Check out pinterest for ideas. Some small trees (crepe myrtle for shade in summer and flowers would look nice). Think how you want to use the back yard. Hiding the fence would be good. Painting it a dark colour like someone suggested wouldn’t hurt and would add a lovely contrast to greenery. I made some decorative hangings to cover my colourbond fence while the vegetation grew. A water feature would look nice too. You could create an oasis there with a bit of hard work if you can’t afford to pay someone to do the work.

@The Doktor Plenty of room around the side of this house, you can't see this section as we left the grassed areas.