Here's a link to a photo of a garden design fit into a quite small, terraced Oakland hills garden, where I tried to balance useable outdoor space for entertaining against the desire for lush plantings with lots of year round color. The travertine tiled terrace here was elevated over a wood substructure to raise its height sufficient to give good bay views while seated. The Ipe wood screens with bougainvillea were added to lead the eye away from the uphill homes looking down on the garden from above. This terrace is actually quite private once you are on it, and plantings were designed to filter neighbor's views without blocking their views of the bay.

Here is a link that might be useful: A small garden design for entertaining