The house in this project falls into this group. It is an older house with a detached garage that is never used as a garage. And, like many others, the owners usually park only at the “top” of the drive nearest the front door. This is specifically important because how much of the backyard is taken up by the driveway. The image below shows how the driveway comes down a slight hill and then turns to meet the door for the garage. The following image shows the rest of it leading all the way to the door. Roughly half of the entire backyard is overtaken by blacktop, so removing it would, in effect, double of the living space.
This project takes a completely different approach than the first project we showcased. With this project, we redesigned the backyard to remove a big chunk of the driveway. We wanted to replace it with more lawn, native plants, lighting and a more decorative patio for the space. In essences, the goal was to create a lively yard where family trumped blacktop. Like many homeowners, most of the driveway isn’t used. Often, only the front portion of it is used to park near the front door. This is particularly true for older houses with detached garages. Like I mentioned before, detached garages from the first half of the 20th century are not used for cars. These structures are ideal for renovating as outdoor living spaces, home offices or something in between. The house in this project falls into this group. It is an older house with a detached garage that is never used as a garage. And, like many others, the owners usually park only at the “top” of the drive nearest the front door. This is specifically important because how much of the backyard is taken up by the driveway. The image below shows how the driveway comes down a slight hill and then turns to meet the door for the garage. The following image shows the rest of it leading all the way to the door. Roughly half of the entire backyard is overtaken by blacktop, so removing it would, in effect, double of the living space. We went through several options for the overall layout and settled on one that nestled a patio into the corner of the yard. Removing the driveway also allowed us to create new planting areas to fill with tons and tons of native perennials and grasses. The sun exposure is so different from one side of the yard to the other. The majority of the space of the existing driveway is super sunshine while the area near the house gets part-shade all day long. We had to adjust the plant selection to make sure everything would be happy once planted. The final patio design was a huge improvement from the boring blacktop. We used a triangular shaped paver in two different colors to create an organic, expressive graphic that really expressed an aspect of the owners personality. The pattern invites you outdoors where the asphalt seemed to suggest you stay away. An image of the final design is pictured above.
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About YardBlogThe goal is to make this blog a resource for helpful tips and sustainable ideas. I create original content that shows projects in progress and the behind-the-scenes of installation. And, I try to have as much fun as I can doing it. Archives
March 2022
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