Maybe some more pics from different angles would help too. I'd put a tree back to hide the view of your patio area from the house opposite. As you don't want to block light, something light and airy, but a great grower like Eucalyptus would be excellent. It would give the illusion of privacy without the density of growth and of course they're evergreen. Possibly a line of fruit trees in a raised bed with lower level planting at the bottom, they will have blossom in the spring, leaves in the summer, but will not block light in the winter. A nice bright patio to the bottom to sit in your sunny spot? (Excuse the crude mock up, but you get the idea )

If you squint at the image, which essentially reduces it to how we see things quickly in a room, you have framed the fridge with slabs of a very dark colour, this makes the fridge area very dominant. I'm not a kitchen designer, but I would find this quite heavy.

Not really sure what the best title was for this! Roughly 50 years ago a porch was added to the front of our property and a small walled flower bed created on either side. The flower bed is above the original exterior ground level (but not higher than the current internal floor lever) and old slate roof tiles have been placed against the wall the wall to try and prevent damp? I only discovered them after digging out the flower bed to lay a drainpipe as the porch gutter pipe just emptied into the flower bed and soaked away. I also discovered lots of damage to the pointing (property is 200 years old) behind the tiles which I'm about to start re-pointing. What I really want to know is, shall I replace the tiles or is there a better alternative now?

I've used the grab on slate sign. Just hold it in place for 2/3 minutes it'll cure within 24 hours provided weather temperatures are ok