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Landscape Design Design Dilemma DIY

help with rental backyard/outdoor space

smugsprinkleddonut

6 years ago

Hi guys!

So I recently moved into an apartment with a backyard space. This apartment is the top floor of a house. Another apartment is on the bottom floor. The people below me have ownership over the front/back porches but the backyard is a shared space. I have gotten the go-ahead to garden/decorate/etc.

This is my first time with any kind of outdoor space so I'm at a loss on how to decorate it on a budget. I would like an outdoor space where I can relax, read a book, have friends over, etc. Maybe diy a little patio? Hang up some lights?

The steps you see are the steps leading to my apartment. I want to make that space more welcoming... make it look more like an entrance to my home rather than the downstair's neighbors' attic. I'm thinking about laying some plastic stones out to the curb and line it with lights. Any other ideas?

Thanks!!

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Comments (5)

PRO
Yardvaark
6 years ago
"... plastic stones out to the curb and line it with lights ..." There wouldn't be any way anyone could comment on this idea without seeing the entire path of which you speak. The close-up picture cannot explain the context.

"Read a book" and "have friends over" definitely sound like a patio. We have no idea of your budget but since you're renting, you'll want to be conservative. Fairly economical is some patio stones on a sand base. Dirt cheap is an old, discarded carpet. Sometimes it's used right side up; sometimes upside down.

The place to start is by creating a PLAN ... a drawing (to scale) that shows the existing major features (house footprint, walks, drives, tree trunks, etc) on which you'll add the proposed landscape features ... any paths, patio, planting, etc. Usually one would draw a base plan (showing existing features) and then make copies or use tracing paper on which to work out possible solutions for the various desired elements. The latter is usually an evolving trial and error process. When you come up with something that works, it gets added to the plan. It looks like there's a lot shade in the back yard which is good for relaxation & lounging. You'll want to do some clean up (pruning) before getting started on the plan and assessment of existing conditions in order to make sure that what you plan will work.

If you post the base plan here, viewers will be in a better position to understand what you're working with and able to make better suggestions.
User
6 years ago
Buy planters that sit on top of the railings and fill them with flowers that will grow in your area including ivy that will trail down. Use some pots of flowers around a defined area that you'd like to claim as your space. You might also find some good buys on Craigslist for an umbrella table and chairs...space allowing.
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It seems like you will need some on-site professional advice. I'm no where near that, so can just add some reactions. Your home appears large and a large financial investment, so you want to keep things appropriate for the setting and not tacked on here and there. The low level by the basement is not very easy to "connect" well with the high deck so as to have the 2 spaces function really well together. The other side yard that is a higher elevation seems the most natural area for spillover from a large gathering and I would be tempted to develop that space preferentially, even if it requires some privacy screening from the front view of the property. However, if the basement room--whatever you will be making that in to--is a key action zone that will be highly related to outdoor activities, then maybe you do want to develop that walkout area more. A hot tub under that deck doesn't seem very appealing. So, to come up with the best design, you may need to flesh out your activities and traffic flow a bit more to see what is most rational from that standpoint and then factor in the $$ cost of various solutions. Also prioritize--you are trying to do this--decide if pleasant seating out of the rain is most impt, or heating in cool but clear weather, or being in hot tub, etc. I'm not sure you can build a fireplace on the deck proper, if that's what you meant.
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"The large deck ... is structurally sound, the boards are not in good shape." What exactly does "not in good shape" mean? ... that the surface is not good but otherwise they are OK ...? That sounds like a couple of decks that came with a house I once owned. They were functional but ugly from years of weathering and no attention whatsoever. They were transformed into completely acceptable, nice actually, merely with pressure washing, a quick, coarse sanding, and two or three coats of deck paint (not stain) applied with a paint roller. It was not a huge, horrible job and they looked almost as good as new. They were much easier to keep clean with a hard paint surface. The cost to fix it this way, if DIY, would be a couple hundred bucks. If not DIY, a few hundred ... vs. $17K. If you could get another dozen years our of your deck and have it look nice, too, would that be acceptable? Landscaping is a discipline where one must not ignore site conditions or impose unrealistic solutions if they expect to produce a result that is pleasant, lasting and maintainable. I question the overall direction of making a small porch with steps down to where all the landscape features would be. This seems intrinsically less useful than would be having a decent sized deck immediately off of the main living space. I see a grill but not a dining table. Where does the outdoor dining happen? If the kitchen is separated from outdoor dining by a full flight of steps, it will surely be made much more inconvenient. But the real deal-breaker for me is the imposition of "no groundcover," which is driven by unrealistic beliefs based on emotion, when the site itself is demanding groundcover for practical reasons: there is slope and there is shade. Are we really going to spend $50K in order to change this into flat, sunny ground? It's going to require significant retaining walls & grading in addition to all the other new hardscape and planting. On the subject of husband's allergies to pine, I presume you're talking about allergies to pine pollen (since contact with the plant itself can be easily avoided)? Getting rid of the pines is going to make virtually no difference if there are other pines in the neighborhood or region. During the pollen season, which lasts for a couple of weeks, it can blow statewide and there's no escaping it. One's best hope of avoiding it is to stay indoors as much as possible during that time. I think you should begin with the budget because it will determine what is possible vs. what is fantasy. Re-contemplate the goals ... not how to achieve them, but simply the objectives themselves ... what activities do we want to do outside? How convenient do we want them to be? How private should it be? ... etc.
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l pinkmountain
6 years ago
I made a temporary patio by laying down landscape fabric and then putting cedar wood chips on that. I had a patio swing on top of that. You could also fit cement brick pavers in between the mulch, or do as YV suggests, use sand on top of the landscape fabric and then put in pavers. Here's a photo of a small patio I took out of my backyard after I bought the house.
PRO
DJSquire Designs
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Think about a structure for shade, some kind of flooring for bare feet, comfy patio chairs/ lounges, tables, accents, water features, and plants... either in-ground or in containers.

On a budget?... Target, Home Depot and Lowes are good starting points.

For example, this is a small 11'x19' apartment concrete back patio turned into a small garden oasis. It's all about the "vision" and creating a beautiful space:

Small Back Patio Oasis - View 5 · More Info

Small Back Patio Oasis - View 13 · More Info

Small Back Patio Oasis - View 1 · More Info

See project links for more photos.
PRO
Caprock Hardscape Supply
6 years ago
This is a small patio that the homeowner did himself. It looks super involved but we promise, it was actually quite simple. You could even do a little patio and buy a firepit instead of building a stone.

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