Are you set on keeping the dirt area for your puppy or are would you consider container gardening? Does the area get a lot of sun? My first thought is there is alot of brick already between the facade of the building and that two story portion shown. But the herringbone paver layout is great. If it were my home I would probably take that Trex decking and extend it over in to the dirt area at an angle and then use pots to make my garden. Really great pots that you can move around and change by adding colorful plants when the season permits and then I would invest in really nice outdoor furniture to make the space. I see you have a small teak table and with a good powerwash it can be made to look new. Then add some outdoor chairs and hang a piece of outdoor art on the brick and that would be a great start but definitely start by just getting rid of all those odd plantings. It will be a lovely retreat. Good luck.

Hi, why don't you have a think about installing composite decking which will allow you to be level with the door sill without the worry of run-off into the house due to the 5mm gap between the boards. Composite doesn't required coating so the maintenance issues are significantly less, just a hose down and sweep or mop with water. You would still need to excavate approx. 250mm below the finished deck level to allow for the sub-frame but if you use treated pine framing with, either H4 stumps in concrete, or galvanised stirrups to anchor the framing into the soil. Check with your local decking pro for further advice and brand options. Generally, the USA made composites like Trex or Timbertech are better quality and the concealed fixing systems are easy to install. Your soil type may be the only issue with water, ie clay which retains water, or sand which tends to drain more quickly. Good luck

My house and bathroom are small so space saving is critical. The original old bathroom layout has a small square shower and a separate half bath, with an even smaller basin right next to the toilet. It was claustrophobic and the half bath was only used for storing cleaning stuff. When we renovated, the bathroom was gutted, keeping most of the original plumbing points. Though we are not "bath persons" we decided to have a shower over (normal length) bath with frameless swing glass screen. From past experiences, I find it easier to clean a shower-over-bath than a fully tiled shower area, or one with a shower base. When visitors with young children came to stay, having a bath was handy. Combining shower/bath gave us room for a long vanity with plenty of bench space and away from the toilet. It now has ample of space in the middle for changing and moving around each other. Shower-over-bath definitely is an efficient use of small bathroom space.

Thanks siriuskey for your suggestions. I don't really know what style my taste/style of house is really. I like the simplicity of mid century furniture and have a mid century Parker sideboard. Other than that, the house is a bit of a blank canvas at the moment. (the kitchen is fairly modern though with almost white glass splash back, white cupboards, and stone bench tops that are in a colour like Caesarstone Osprey (but are essastone). I do like things from the late 1950's/1960's.....and I like Audrey Hepburn. I also like the Parisian type black n white art from that era. (but I also like naive art - big colour artworks of people or animals that look like they have almost been painted by a child). If I had the money I would buy a high ceiling mid-century home like they have in USA (a modern yet mid-century Brady Bunch style home). My house is a 1962 chamfer board on concrete posts and batterns around the bottom and currently just has satin polished mixed hardwood timber floors throughout. Most of the walls are either natural white as in the study or snowy mountain quarter strength (and in smallest bedroom - half strength russian toffee). Because I am always scared that things will date if they follow trends too much, I always seem to do fairly conservative or timeless things in house renovations and rely on the furniture and accessories to add colour and style. (I like the idea of renovations and the ripping out of old stuff to create something new, but I really don't like have to make all the creative decisions etc along the way)......so I do appreciate it when I get advice from others. I have printed your suggestions and will have a look at them. (I guess the barn door look is actually similar in concept to some of the timber veneer sliding doors seen in midcentury homes). Thanks again.