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Design Dilemma Porches & Decks Landscape Design

Patio / backyard / outdoor living ideas

last year

Hi my wife and I are in a dilemma, we have a raised deck off of our kitchen it’s where we grill, eat and hangout a lot in the summer.
We built a 12x16 stone patio at grade it gets great sun in the evening when the temps drop in the mountains.
We would like a wood burning fire pit area with Adirondack chairs. Which we would use sparingly is my guess.

Questions
-what would you decorate / furnish the patio with?
-where would you put the fire pit area? I’ve put our old portable fire pit as a guide.

Featured Answer

teamjv
Original Author

last year

Lots of great feedback, wanted to say thank you. Finished a little more and wanted to share. Still need some plants, stain for the chairs, a few more chairs and a patio set.
But some of the bigger heavy lifting is done

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Comments (16)

mindshift
last year
This Houzz Article claims a firepit needs a minimum 12' diameter circle. If you can make it larger so much the better. The article also gives info on how much space to allow for other areas. Remember that unless your firepit is smokeless, you may not be able to sit on every side of the fire. Not everyone likes eau de woodsmoke that much. Perhaps the area below the patio would be suitable. Firepits should be a minimum of 10' away from trees and buildings and should not be under any overhanging limbs. Larger firepits may need up to 20' of distance. Remember that the heat rising from the fire can singe and damage or kill leaves.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
IMO the first thing I would do is build an nice 2 level extension to the deck so that you would have the BBQ outside the kitchen and then a level with dr and another for seating and use the patio for the firepit disregard the pool
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The only place yet unseen is at the corner of yard from where original panorama was taken. If you took a photo from near the post (which is near drain,) I think that would cover it. A couple of thoughts, so far, is that some of the wood retaining walls look like they might be much higher than what is being retained. I'd consider removing a few inches off the top, if possible. And, I'd consider some plants at the top of the retained areas that "heap" and "weep" over the wall, covering some (or much) of it's upper portion. (The wood adds to the barren, hard surface. It would be easy to cover with plants that trail.) Likewise, the wood of the fence adds a barren quality. You are punctuating it with art, but it needs some foliage, too. It could come from hanging planters bearing trailing plants. Or you could create a small opening in the pavers (at strategic positions) from which a vine -- annuals or perennials -- could grow. If it's a permanent woody vine, think through carefully where it will grow and how it will be supported. If annuals, just some twine, wherever, that plants could grow on, ought to do it. Some moonflower vines with their awesome scent (and evening & nighttime show) might help the smoke condition.
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I am a confirmed, dyed in the wool DIY'er and with budget limitations that further require this approach. I feel as if I am smart, I know how to research, and so I should be able to learn how to do almost anything well enough to suit me needs. My previous homes landscaping was my first foray into the field and I attacked it- I read, I went on garden tours, I went to plant shows, seminars, and everything else under the sun to learn the basics. As a result I had a yard full of plants that had each been moved ten times in order to try and obtain the look I wanted. It was exhausting and this method continued for nearly six years. We joked about my plants having frequent flyer miles- my husband is a saint because he dug, moved things, and did everything I asked over and over and over in my attempts to capture a look. The money we spent on plants! Only to remove them and give them away when they did not work- it is sickening how much time and money we wasted. When we decided to redo all of our fencing I took the plunge and hired a landscape designer to make me a plan that we could implement as funds allowed. I was on a totally tight budget and did everything I could to make it easy for her to do my job- I had a survey ready for her, I had measurements, I had a list of every plant I owned that I wanted to incorporate and a list of those species I did not want, and I had clear ideas of the function of each space within my yard. She came up with a plan that totally did it for me. This was in 1996 and I think it cost me something like $350. The only items I had her company install were three larger shade trees. Everything else we did on our own over the next few years and it turned out beautifully. I know for a fact that is what sold the house in a very poor real estate market in '07- the house itself had problems but the curb and garden appeal were off the charts and the rear garden was a wonderland. Which is my long winded way of telling you that IMO spending money on a solid design up front is far cheaper in the long run that trying to do it yourself, especially if you don't have a demonstrated knack for it. You can spend that much money on plants at Home Depot in one weekend only to have half of them fail from being repeatedly moved or be inappropriate to your needs once you get them home. It would be FAR cheaper and more efficient, IMO, to work off of a sound design from the beginning. If you like you can substitute various plants within the design but the solid bones of the plan- the balance, the scale, working with textures- some things just go more smoothly and successfully when you bring an expert into the process. Of course you can do what you like- but IMO planting a plant one time and having it be the right plant for the specific spot that serves the intended purpose and renders you a gorgeous, easily maintained, well functioning yard- well that's worth the price of a professional design. I don't have any idea what they are charging nowadays but I do know that this yard will be with you for decades, or at least as long as you remain in the home. It is your daily environment, it influences your life constantly, it is the space our kids grow up in and remember all their lives. Even if I had to skip this years vacation or put off that bigger TV I would try and find a way to insure that my design was sound and the best way to accomplish that, IMO, is to have a pro do it.
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What kind of problem do you have to solve? Do you lack privacy? Do you need shade? Is this deck on the north/south/east/west side of your house? Can you see the kids on their gym equipment? Do you have outdoor grilling equipment? Do you eat at the table? If you want a low budget fix, do one which can be moved when you decide to put more money into it. I got some huge plastic tubs like nurseries put trees in. Or a few whiskey barrels with a liner to allow planting. To keep them from becoming too too heavy, break up some styrofoam packaging materials (or those peanuts) to take up space before you go broke buying potting soil. Then get some cut bamboo fronds (or straight tree limbs or skinny wood or maybe short rebar) and build a teepee shape in the pots. I planted quick growth climbing annuals, or perennials in the ones I did. Morning glories are great, moonflower vines too. But after seeing what they do with vines in Italy, I like the star jasmine which blooms once a year. But your climate may dictate something different. Kiwi vines are not as quick growing, but with male/female plants you would eventually have fruits, and they survive very cold climates. If you put two or three of these tubs just outside the paved patio area, you'd not intrude on the usable space. Even planting petunias, nasturtiums, or other flowering plants which spill over the edge of the tubs, man alive, it could look great. I do think that you could build just the posts for one side of a pergola this year, perhaps 3 posts, with cross bars between connecting them at the top and at counter height, with maybe lattice below the counter height. Hanging baskets from the top bars and putting a narrow counter or wide top rail where you might place food to serve. It would be a way to get privacy along that one side, or maybe provide some shade. Then as funds allow, you might choose to complete the pergola, or increase the size of the patio before you go that far. Whatever you do at each step could give you much enjoyment because it will all look better with each step. If you put in the posts, I'd go for 6x6 posts now, just in case you do want to go the pergola route later.
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Thanks everyone for your answers and picture examples. They were very helpful. My patio is 15 x 20 and I have found it hard to find a premade pergola kit in that size. I’m actually wanting there to be no “ceiling” to the outdoor room so we can look up at the stars (and also so we can have a fire pit). We will use umbrellas over the dining and living areas when needed. The posts would just be used as supports for curtains, string lights and to add vertical interest by growing flowering vines. I think I’ve found my solution: 6x6 cedar posts secured to the patio with the anchors in the picture below. It looks pretty straightforward so hopefully we won’t mess it up. Then I can add curtains rods and curtains.
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Sigrid
last year
I'd get red adirondak chairs, a table between them. I'd plant gardens or shrubs in the bare dirt, and some groundcovers. I put in a bunxh of tiarella plugs.
fnmroberts
last year
Here’s a look at ours, built as a half-moon adjacent to the patio. Natural Gas to the fire table and 4 Adirondecks
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Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
last year
last modified: last year
Pergola is a good idea
teamjv
Original Author
last year
These are all awesome ideas!
-pool would be fun but pretty short season up here 😀
-BBQ is up on the deck off the kitchen there’s a covered section of roof overhang 5’ we end up with 4 seasons of use.
-I marked out a 12’ diameter area for the fire pit looks like that will work
-gas vs wood is a debate that rages on between us. My wife has suggested fire pit but put a gas fire table / bowl on the patio, something she can turn on/off at night
-I’ll look into some ground cover plant options as I know nothing about that stuff
l pinkmountain
last year
last modified: last year
Be absolutely certain that the heat from the fire pit will not be near any vegetation you want to preserve. The heat that rises from a fire pit is considerable and it can damage nearby upper vegetation. That's why they need so much room around them, for the heat to dissipate. Also for sparks.

We don't use our fire pit a whole lot. When we use it we really enjoy it, but it's not like we are having a campfire every weekend. So plan for how you will use and decorate the area for when it is not in use, which will be more time than when it is in use. We have some planters that we decorate with and move them when we have a fire.

Oh, and also plan for some type of wood storage nearby. I wish I could have a snazzy decorated woodbox. As it is, we have a metal wood rack covered by a tarp, not the most attractive landscape feature . . .
ginatay124
last year
What a gorgeous back yard you have :) You could think of the 12 x 16 patio as your outdoor living room and furnish it with a comfortable sectional or chair and coffee table. Or, you could put a hot tub and a couple chairs on it. (We love going into our hot tub morning or evening each day - it really doubled our enjoyment of our outdoor space as well as easing the aches and pains and making us sleep like babies.) The wood burning fire pit could be more of a destination, perhaps down in the cleared area behind your stack of logs and beside the trampoline, just on a gravel base. I love Adirondack chairs around a fire pit for a rustic vibe. If you purchase ones by Polywood or similar brand, they can be left out year round and rain and snow won’t hurt them.
ginatay124
last year
More
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
last year
Here are some ideas:
teamjv
Original Author
last year
That looks cool. I guess in hindsight here you don’t need seating all the way around the fire pit do you?
nickel_kg
last year
Nice job, looks like a great place to relax :-)
tozmo1
last year
So glad you went with the placement @Dig Doug's Designs suggested. Now everyone can enjoy the fire and the beautiful wooded view.
jck910
last year
Looking great!
ginatay124
last year
Wow, you really made it happen. Nice job!!!

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