A thoughtful design process can take a project from blank slate to beautiful, finished result. Our design process considers sun and shade, wind, traffic patterns, viewing angles, and existing architecture. In some cases, even something as simple as drainage can help move the process along.
This backyard was a poorly-drained blank slate. Our first step in the process was to plan the drainage system, something often left until later stages of the design. Once the necessary slopes, swales, mounds, and trenches had been laid out, the bones of this landscape started to take shape. A terraced project with the fire pit,dining area, playground, and swimming pool, all at different elevations, created interest in the previously flat space and allowed for drainage in all directions. All the terraces are connected by modern concrete stepping stones, with lowmaintenance plantings surrounding them. At the back of the landscape, a raised wooden lounge platform, a small stone water feature wall, and the pool house combine to block views of the lower part of the forest beyond, which helps draw the eye up toward the picturesque foliage above.