Story by: Annie Thornton • Houzz Editorial Staff
These four makeovers show how underused, neglected yards can become outdoor retreats that invite the homeowners to get outside, relax and stay awhile. Take a look and see if any of the ideas shown in the before-and-afters inspire your outdoor living space. Outdoor spaces can also provide fresh air, natural views and more living area.
Family-Friendly Spaces for Lounging, Dining and Making S’mores
Location: Hingham, Massachusetts
Designer: Amy Martin Landscape Design
Size: 800 square feet (74 square meters)
Before: A 1970s brick patio off a family of four’s midcentury modern home did little to enhance their home or provide areas for the family to relax together outside. On top of that, the patio featured dangerous grade changes, and its lack of railings were a safety concern for the family’s young children.
After: The clients worked with landscape designer Amy Martin, whom they found on Houzz. They used ideabooks to communicate their vision for their new outdoor living space.
Martin removed the brick paving and replaced it with large-format porcelain tile, which felt more in line with the style of the home and complemented the brick facade instead of competing with it.
She divided the patio into three zones of varying sizes and uses. In the background, a more intimate lounge featuring two woven chairs creates a small space for a couple to sit together. An outdoor rug, throw blanket and pillows soften the space and create the feeling of a real living space. (Some nights, the family projects movies onto the wall behind the two chairs.)
If more people want to sit together outside, a larger outdoor living area in the foreground features a sofa and two oversize club chairs. Again, outdoor pillows, blankets and a rug create a soft, cozy space that encourages plenty of outdoor lounging.
A freestanding fire pit, the clients’ top wish for the patio, sits in the center of the space, surrounded by a ring of modern Adirondack chairs. On cooler nights, the family can warm up around the fire, roast s’mores and enjoy their woodland surroundings.
Potted plants, including an eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) and a foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myers’), surround the patio and soften the edges, complementing the additional planting Martin did beyond the patio space. Steel cable railings around the perimeter of the patio increase safety without detracting from the view.
Split-Level Backyard for Designers
Location: Oakland, California
Designer: Shelterwerk
Size: 500 square feet (46 square meters)
Before: After renovating their Craftsman bungalow in the San Francisco Bay Area over the past 15 years, architects Heather Sanders-Jacob and Evan Jacob turned to improving their outdoor space. They wanted to transform the overgrown backyard with a new ground cover, fence and furniture. The original carriage house (shown here on the left) would also get rebuilt.
After: The couple removed the cracked red concrete and excavated some of the ground underneath, which they covered with loose dry laid brick on sand. “Rainwater can now seep through the bricks evenly and no longer pools on top of the concrete,” Sanders-Jacob says. They used drought-tolerant plants throughout the project.
New board-formed concrete steps lead to the yard’s upper level. At the top of the steps, a gravel terrace with colorful orange Adirondack chairs and a chimenea invite the homeowners to relax and lounge when the sun goes down. “The crushed gravel was supposed to form the bottom layer and then be covered up by crushed granite, but we bought more gravel than we needed,” Sanders-Jacob says. “But since the color of the crushed gravel matched the board-form concrete so well, we decided to use all of it and save some money.”
Evan Jacob designed and built the couple’s new outdoor dining table from cedar with a clear-coat to complement the yard’s perimeter fence. White chairs surrounding the table brighten the space and pop against the new garage in the background.
