The Backyard and Patio Renovation Pt. 1 - Where We Started and Initial Goals

We've been in our home for 3.5 years now and a lot has changed inside but what I’ve kept somewhat quiet is the total transformation that has occurred to our exterior. It started in the summer of 2018 with new entry steps and porch, continued in the summer of 2019 with new siding and continued on in 2020 with new windows, tree removal and a complete renovation of our back patio and landscaping.

The process has moved along pretty organically — prioritizing what seemed the most necessary at the time and what we could afford. Doing a full exterior renovation all at once would have been incredibly stressful and cost prohibitive. But we did have safety hazards with lead paint and jagged walkways so getting to this beautiful point in under 4 years is satisfying and encouraging.

The backyard was a crazy mess. The home had been unoccupied for a year before we bought it and the previous owners lived in it from 1972 to 2017. One of the owners was daily gardener, with an apparent love for day lilies and honeysuckles because they were everywhere. The pathway from the driveway to the backdoor was a grid of bricks and marble tile. I bet it was really pretty when it was first installed but decades of weather and wear had created a tripping and slipping hazard. The yard felt smaller than it is because of the positioning and size of the perennial flower beds. Getting to the grass from the house was a narrow pathway between bushes. There were also two black walnut trees that made the yard feel divided and created a toxic ecological environment for other plants to grow (who knew?!).

I feel like I can make quick, confident choices when it comes to interiors but landscaping feels so open ended to me. Like, is it okay to pull out perfectly fine perennials? Can a place that used to be a garden bed be a seating area? For some reason, it took a long time to start to visualize what we could do here. And setting practical goals definitely guided the design.

THE GOALS

Play Space and Entertaining Space

It was hard to wrap our heads around what we would need and want to do to transform the patio space into an outdoor living space used as often as possible. Because we share a driveway with our neighbors, riding bikes and drawing with sidewalk chalk in the drive isn’t safe. I wanted an oversized patio space where the girls could do whatever they wanted without worrying about cars coming. I also wanted a lounge area and a separate dining area. Even though our hardscape patio was going to be large enough to accommodate both of those things, I wanted to open space to play. We decided that only the 8 foot dining table and seating would be on the patio and the lounge area would be relocated.

Adding Privacy

Another goal we had for the space was more privacy on either side of our yard. We LOVE that our two lots back up to 10 houses. And 3 of those are multi-units. So we have gotten to know a ton of neighbors. But we also need to be able to keep to ourselves when we want to. Partitions and privacy without a total disconnect from the people around us was a big priority.

Aesthetics

Our house was built in 1900 but we’ve done some modernization to the home. We try to keep the balance of old and new and let the character speak more than trends. So same for outside. I knew right away that I didn’t want organic shapes for our pavers because our home is so linear and I knew I didn’t want anything too small since the bottom half of our home is brick. Something large with hard lines would be best BUT I also wanted it to have an English garden feel to it. Not too much to ask, right?

Once we had this rough idea of what we wanted, we hired on our friends at Young Gardens in Des Moines to talk about how to practically make that happen. There are so many decisions and design elements to walk through for this renovation so I’m breaking it up into 3 parts — Pt 1. Where We Started and Initial Goals, Pt 2. The Design Plans and Work in Progress and Pt. 3 The Reveal.

Comment with any specific questions you’d like me to address in the upcoming posts about the backyard.