Analysis first, then plan, as Tookoo recommends. Use native plants, as neotoma recommends. Get specific plant recommendations locally, as Terri & sgelade recommend. Here is my two cents worth, for the shortterm. a. Remove and stockpile the lawn edging and most of the mulch back against the fences. b. Take a can of spray paint, or a bundle of surveyor's flag, and mark the largest circular or curved form that will fit within the fenced areas, no matter where the trees stand (inside or outside of the line) to form the temporary edge of your lawn area. See if the entire family agrees on the alignment or just do what looks best to you as the Senior Gardener. c. Add the wood edging to the new edge, or, it will look a lot better if the edge is not visible, using a steel edge whose top edge is down just above the grass roots and no longer visible, and not an impediment to the lawn mower. (when you form the plant beds, you will dig down a couple inches at the edge, where it meets the steel, and then slope the bed up from there, and the mulch will be contained at the level of the lawn, beyond) My recommendation, after you call in your landscape advisor, is to fill the beds totally with ground cover, beneath the shrubs, so no mulch will be seen after the two years of plant growth, using only a finer textured mulch which will become part of the soil bed. (Maybe the bark mulch will smell good in your new fire pit, along with the wood edging.) d. Plant the entire area with grass seed or sod and enjoy the beauty. The curved edge will make the space appear and feel larger and will decrease the maintenance of the smaller bed areas. On the subject of tree placement: analyse first, then plan. Look at all the views beyond your fenceline from all windows of the house, the living/ dining areas, all the bedrooms, to enhance the good views and to block the big, the bad, and the ugly. The large trees on your list will block views from the upper windows, The small horizontally branched trees will be a piece of sculpture in your downstairs view throughout the year, while their flowering and fragrance yet another reason to be alive. For instance, if you have an attractive small tree that has attractive flowers and foliage, PLUS has attractive bark color and has a sculptural quality in the off-season, you won't have to visit the museum quite as often, with a sculpture garden right out your window.

Bravo to all these amazing creative minds. I hate wasting stuff that still has life in it. By the way, though I have read that some pallets are treated with a fumigant which is toxic. Generally, make sure pallets are stamped with “HT”, which means they haven’t been exposed to chemicals (at least not in the treating process.) Avoid unmarked pallets or those with “MB” for methyl bromide. Well, if anyone wants some really nice, bargain 2nd hand windows we just pulled out of our 12 y-o house to make way for a sliding door, and you live around Melbourne Australia, please check them out here: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/112070272414?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1586.l2649

Well after a very (very very very) long time my Living Room is all but complete. There is some work to do behind the new steps and some trim to be put on the bookshelves. A light is to be put between the couches (that the electrical cable hanging down) and the wall lights are going to be removed. So just a quick rundown on what has been achieved; Two sky windows - Velux - roofing guy Sheeted under the beams - plasterer New carpet – Bunnings – carpet layer Closed off the old bar and put in a door – builder and plasterer Installed ceiling fans – Hunter, remote control, reversible – electrician Installed downlights - electrician Painted the endwalls – Solver Paint but Dulux Chine White colour - me Painted the ceiling – 2 x coats Solver Ceiling White over 2 x coats plaster board sealer - me New blinds (venetians) and curtains - from Spotlight - me Installed a gas bayonet heater (until I can afford a gas ‘wood’ fire for the fireplace – cripes they are expensive) – secondhand from Garage Sale - me Installed bookshelves – 2 x 202mm high + 2 x 106mm high Billy Bookshelf and 2 x Brimnes Cabinet - me Built and installed new steps and bench top on bookshelf – laminated Beech bench top, cut to size and routed, stained and oiled - me Sofas – Ikea Ektorp - me So some things I would have done differently. The downlights would be warm white not welding mask white. In fact I would re-think the whole light thing and possibly use lights with reflectors that were dark so that light was only reflected down. They would ‘lower’ the ceiling and make the room cosier I think. I kinda like the ceiling fans but had seen some which were awesome but really expensive. Then I saw ones very similar to the awesome ones but much cheaper but by then it was too late. I should have put bi-fold doors where the old bar was instead of a swinging door. I suspect that it will be unlikely now that I can use the room for its intended purpose. In fact with hindsight I coulda shoulda done the job myself rather than getting a builder in. It’s not as good as it should be and that has disappointed me. The bookshelves have come a up a treat – need to finish them off though with some trim. All from ‘Ikea’ except for the timber bench top. The bench top was a light bulb moment and breaks up the all-white appearance of the shelves. Also the white of the shelves and the white of the cabinet were slightly different and the bench has helped disguise that. The bench top and the steps were laminated beech panels from ‘Bunnings’ that I had cut to size. I stained them, put a router over the edge to round it off and then coated with Tung Oil. The bookshelves look bigger in real life than they do in the photos too. So now to sit and enjoy my handy work.

It is a location for a statue, a sculpture (example in HOUZZ on tall sculpture). Something inviting, something that does not arrest/block your step and movement but moves you on to the lounge room, however, it should arrest your eyes, give you a quick message, a note, while you are moving forward. (I am personally also inclined to place a tall mirror there to keep tabs on my walk and figure and shape while moving through life. Then you would come to this corner and look -at yourself!) That would require the bricks to go or leave them till you have the time and guts to get them removed. Until then they can act as a plinth, a platform for the artwork. (I would personally never sit in this corner. Indoor plants may attract and be home to all kinds of critters.) spmm says further up: "it would be good to have something that LIFTS the eye". That is a great point! (Houzz) image from the link above.