Yard needs new focus

We have beautiful surroundings in our backyard with a creek and some nice trees.

We just lost our big ash tree and so now the main focus of our yard is a pile of wood chips.

Our brick patio is small and we would like to enlarge it incorporating the bricks we have.

We would also like to add a fire pit to replace our chiminea which is in pieces.

We also have no lighting at all. We have the potential, now we would like to make it blossom.

Design suggestions by Northwest Metalcraft

First of all, you might start by getting rid of the chiminea.

You have such a lovely backyard, you might be able to put in a grill island that has some bar or counter stools that could go around it and create an outdoor kitchen (if you enlarge the patio).

Again, you could also use a fire pit or fireplace if you're going to enlarge the patio, which would add to the ability to entertain.

We are experiencing a revolution in outdoor entertaining with people creating outdoor living areas. You could also use some gas lights to provide lighting as well as outdoor heaters which would extend your season outside.