Our clients had recently purchased a gorgeous French chateau-style home that boasted an expansive back yard. Unfortunately, other than the overall size, the backyard lacked much of what our clients wanted. It offered very little shade from the intense South-facing exposure. The back patio lacked any sort of entertaining space or gathering areas for guests. The swimming pool & spa were incredibly dated. Finally, the existing landscaping was an eclectic mix of plants that had all been pruned into submission or were struggling to shine.
We knew this property could be so much more than its current state. We developed a plan with our clients to create a spacious outdoor living space that would be perfect for large gatherings & family parties. We also wanted to give the swimming pool & spa a much-needed update. And, for the landscape, we wanted to create a lush & dramatic garden that would complement the scale of our clients’ residence.
First, we set out to create the perfect outdoor entertaining space for our clients. We began by focusing on a critical element: shade. Due to the exposure, we knew we needed to provide a massive shade footprint for the space to be usable in the Summer. We created a spacious, aluminum patio that spans the entire space. It gives generous shade & allowed us to illuminate the space with additional lighting. We were also able to add fans for extra cooling.
Next, we focused on the floor space itself. We wanted a concrete finish that would pair well with the style of the home. For that reason, we selected a “paver” stamp for the concrete on the main patio area. It’s a beautiful concrete stamp that mimics the classical look of pavers, at a fraction of the cost of laying actual pavers. After we had reimagined the flatwork space, we focused on creating gathering spaces within the patio footprint. An outdoor firepit had always been high on our clients’ wish list & we loved the idea of creating one here on the patio. We added generous outdoor firepit & built a beautiful L-shaped bench to provide additional seating around the fire.
In addition to the fire pit, we knew our clients desperately wanted an outdoor kitchen as part of the new design. We created a spacious outdoor kitchen island that boasts two grills, an outdoor-rated fridge & an ice chest. For the exterior finish of the outdoor kitchen island, we used a traditional brick veneer with an added twist: we painted it a rich white tone to give it a more classical look. This look would also be incorporated into our final finish to the fire pit & custom bench seating. The final touch was the concrete countertop which we polished & highlighted using a smoky grey color to compliment the colors of the home.
Our next big task was to transform the clients’ dated pool & spa area. First, we completely updated the interior finish & pool tile with elevated materials. We also added a more modern stone veneer to the exterior areas of the existing spa & retaining wall. This crisp, white stone finish gives a bold ‘pop’ to the pool while still blending nicely with the overall design.
Our final critical area to focus on was of course the landscaping itself. We reimagined the planting palette taking advantage of the well-established shade that was available from the mature trees. We used a heavy mixture of Azaleas & Camellias throughout these areas to give color
