Evolution of a Small Yard

By Terry Sims, APLD, Landscape Designer and General Contractor

The Garden Artist, Inc., Boise ID, an award willing landscape design and construction company.

The Challenge

Our Client hired us to design an outdoor living space, with a kitchen, hot tub, dining and lounging area, sitting area, fire for warmth and a water feature.  An extended roof covers a patio, large enough for the dining area.  The rest of the improvements had to fit into a townhouse yard, 23’ wide x 30’ long.

The Solution

To maximize use of the space, we angled the kitchen and hot tub so the improvements weren’t crowded. This technique made the fence line look longer and opened up beds for plantings.  We surrounded the fire/water feature, by a sitting area, and placed it in the far back of the yard as a destination point; its orientation parallel to the fence for spatial distance.

The winters are cold in this area so the hot tub was placed close to the back door.  We sunk the tub 18” to accomplished several objectives, most notably an unobstructed view to the sitting area.  If budget allows we always try to lower the hot tub not only for the view beyond but for the aesthetic purpose of hiding the plastic square form of the tub.  The structure of a portable hot tub is not very attractive and hard to effectively disguise without considerable expense if the tub is not lowered below ground level.

The BBQ was set off center the kitchen counter to create a 3’ serving counter adjacent to the dining area.  The opposite side of the BBQ counter is 2’ and used for staging and preparation.  The stone veneer face of the kitchen unit and the concrete counter top is built from the same material used in the sitting area.  Using a different material here would hinder the visual flow by introducing additional focal points, a design point to consider when working in a small yard.

The main focal point is the sitting area located at the rear of the yard.  We ended the path here and with the angle of the kitchen and hot tub, vision is funneled directly into the fire/water feature located in the center of the sitting area.

A water feature and fire platform was combined to save space.  Water emerges under the fire and falls into a stone veneer basin.  The natural gas flame heats the sitting area, extending evening and seasonal entertainment.

We painted the fence blue/grey to fade into the background and an ‘S’ shape paver path appears to elongate the length of the yard.

To tie in the existing dining area with the new improvements, we cut the existing concrete patio and extended the paver path in this area to the back door. A concrete overlay covered the remaining old concrete and the new concrete around the hot tub and kitchen, giving the area congruency.

The improvements extended our Client’s home beyond the four walls and what was once an unattractive and unused yard is now the center point for entertaining and relaxation.

End

 12/12/12