This backyard renovation bloomed from the plain concrete slab with café furniture it once was, to a full outdoor kitchen with multiple lounge areas and a large dining space. The unique footprint of the yard really lent itself to the interesting flowing design. The sitting areas and kitchen wrap along the wall of their upper garden area and follow the serpentine structure. The overall design of the backyard was inspired by nature and colors in the immediate area.

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This project required many custom details from the fence flanking the property to the flooring. Leading into the backyard from the driveway is a beautiful cedar door with a speakeasy - a fun feature for my clients to peek outside as their guests arrive. You are then met with a meandering pathway made with river pebbles, spanning the length of the property. My client's existing pond inspired the koi, turtle & lily pad mosaics that I placed by hand. The mosaics were made using colored terrarium rocks and glow-in-the-dark aggregate. I created the mosaic shapes using cardboard and placed them in the wet concrete to leave an imprint to fill later. In hindsight, it would have been better to insert the rocks into the wet concrete, because trying to glue them in after the fact was tough, to say the least. I placed the rocks using tweezers for the turtle because it was so detailed. These little animals took time to work on, and a few tries to get them right, but they really paid off. 

My clients love to get cozy by the fire in the lounge areas and sink into the custom cushions that were designed for the built-in firepit area. For a quick phone charge, tech charging stations are set up in the lounge areas. They enjoy entertaining large parties and cooking in their novel pizza oven and rotisserie/ barbeque. Outdoor TVs are installed in several areas, making the backyard a constant party place during Sunday night football. As if that isn't enough entertainment, on one side of their yard they have a platform for bands to play on, for the ultimate experience.

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This was my first big project after graduating, and in an outdoor setting to boot. I learned so much from working on this project and really enjoyed how detailed and hands-on the design was. This lead me into a mix of interior and exterior (hardscape) design.