Backyard Bliss!

My biggest "project" for the last couple months has been the transformation of our backyard space. Our house backs up to an alley, which definitely has its advantages, but the existing chain link fence divided the space in half... grass on this side... "No Man's Land" on the other. (Well, we did park our cars back there, and our trashcans, and a shed.. so it wasn't a complete waste, just not very aesthetically pleasing...)

We went through several design possibilities until we landed on this drawing:

Carport, horizontal privacy fence, gravel play yard, water feature, concrete block planter wall, and, most importantly, better use of the space. After a weeks of contacting contractors, getting bids, and coordinating the timing of the project work finally began. And now we open our doors to this(!!!):

We've still got landscaping to do, and a water feature to install, but we couldn't be happier with the transformation of our backyard!