Before and After: 5 Amazing Backyard Transformations
Let these before-and-after photos inspire you to create a more functional, colorful and stylish backyard
An urban backyard in Brooklyn, New York, becomes a French-inspired oasis. Ruins on an Illinois dairy farm are transformed into a luxe garden complete with bocce court. These are just two of the inspiring backyard makeovers seen in the following before-and-after photos. Tell us in the Comments which backyard you’d want to hang out in most!
After: Haiman says the homeowners were inspired by gardens and landscapes they had seen while visiting France, and they wanted him to add some French character to their yard. Haiman and his team built new cedar fences and added a French blue farm door that doesn’t actually open. “In 18th-century French gardens they called them ‘follies,’” Haiman says, referring to the practice of adding ornamental structures, such as Egyptian pyramids or Roman temples, to landscapes to create an interesting focal point.
The backyard features two identical fiberglass fountains designed by Haiman and constructed by a local artisan. “They look like concrete, but they’re actually fiberglass and they’re very solid,” he says. One of them is pictured here.
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The backyard features two identical fiberglass fountains designed by Haiman and constructed by a local artisan. “They look like concrete, but they’re actually fiberglass and they’re very solid,” he says. One of them is pictured here.
Read more about this backyard makeover
2. Cooling Refuge in the Desert
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Size: 1,500 square feet (139 square meters); 75 by 20 feet
Designer: Kathryn Prideaux of Prideaux Design
Before: This Tucson, Arizona home’s original adobe brick walls were in great shape and tied in with the style of the house, but the wood-panel inserts were declining. “Wood just doesn’t last in Tucson. It’s being repaired and replaced constantly,” designer Kathryn Prideaux says.
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Size: 1,500 square feet (139 square meters); 75 by 20 feet
Designer: Kathryn Prideaux of Prideaux Design
Before: This Tucson, Arizona home’s original adobe brick walls were in great shape and tied in with the style of the house, but the wood-panel inserts were declining. “Wood just doesn’t last in Tucson. It’s being repaired and replaced constantly,” designer Kathryn Prideaux says.
After: Prideaux kept the brick walls but replaced the wood with rusted steel panels, a material she frequently incorporates into her projects. Here, the rust colors of the steel and adobe brick complement each other and pop against the glistening blue tile and water.
A new pool, the homeowners’ primary wish for the redesign, is 29 by 9 feet and anchors the backyard. They use it to exercise and cool off in the hot desert sun. At one end sits a shallow shelf where the homeowners can relax in their lounge chairs, partially submerged in the water, in the shade of a patio umbrella that can pop into a built-in hole in the shelf.
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A new pool, the homeowners’ primary wish for the redesign, is 29 by 9 feet and anchors the backyard. They use it to exercise and cool off in the hot desert sun. At one end sits a shallow shelf where the homeowners can relax in their lounge chairs, partially submerged in the water, in the shade of a patio umbrella that can pop into a built-in hole in the shelf.
Read more about this backyard makeover
Shop for outdoor dining sets
3. Romantic Farmhouse Garden and Bocce Court
Location: Old Mill Creek, Illinois (about 48 miles north of Chicago)
Size: About one-tenth of an acre (405 square meters)
Designer: David and Jennifer Hoxsie of Greenhaven Landscapes
Before: A farm in Old Mill Creek, Illinois, included an old dairy barn ruin, situated down a slope from the main house. It was one area the new homeowners saw as filled with design potential. The dairy had burned down decades ago and all that remained were three concrete walls from the barn, a run-down wooden shed and a towering concrete grain silo.
Location: Old Mill Creek, Illinois (about 48 miles north of Chicago)
Size: About one-tenth of an acre (405 square meters)
Designer: David and Jennifer Hoxsie of Greenhaven Landscapes
Before: A farm in Old Mill Creek, Illinois, included an old dairy barn ruin, situated down a slope from the main house. It was one area the new homeowners saw as filled with design potential. The dairy had burned down decades ago and all that remained were three concrete walls from the barn, a run-down wooden shed and a towering concrete grain silo.
After: The homeowners worked with Greenhaven Landscapes to redesign and rebuild the space, creating a garden within the remaining walls of the dairy. “We tried to work with and showcase what was left of the existing dairy barn structure as much as possible to honor the history of the farm,” says designer Jennifer Hoxsie.
The Greenhaven Landscapes team also added a bocce court and covered seating area, built trellises to support vines along the reinforced walls and rebuilt the falling-down wooden shed. The existing concrete grain silo still stands in the background.
Read more about this backyard makeover
The Greenhaven Landscapes team also added a bocce court and covered seating area, built trellises to support vines along the reinforced walls and rebuilt the falling-down wooden shed. The existing concrete grain silo still stands in the background.
Read more about this backyard makeover
4. Bright Backyard Retreat
Location: Harpenden, Hertfordshire County, England
Lot size: About 1,830 square feet (170 square meters)
Designer: Fiona Green of Green Tree Garden Design
Before: “Our busy lifestyles meant the garden had become neglected in recent years,” says homeowner Liz Sergeant of her backyard in England’s Hertfordshire County. Shrubs were overgrown, and the lawn showed the wear and tear of football matches. “As the years went by, our needs began to change,” she says.
Location: Harpenden, Hertfordshire County, England
Lot size: About 1,830 square feet (170 square meters)
Designer: Fiona Green of Green Tree Garden Design
Before: “Our busy lifestyles meant the garden had become neglected in recent years,” says homeowner Liz Sergeant of her backyard in England’s Hertfordshire County. Shrubs were overgrown, and the lawn showed the wear and tear of football matches. “As the years went by, our needs began to change,” she says.
After: Landscape designer Fiona Green divided the backyard to create two separate garden rooms — an outdoor dining area and a private lounge — connected by a smaller square of turf and a vibrant palette of plants. The garden shed was spruced up with a fresh coat of paint, and existing apple and silver birch trees were retained for structure and screening.
Shed paint: Wild Thyme, Cuprinol
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Shed paint: Wild Thyme, Cuprinol
Read more about this backyard makeover
5. Colorful Urban Lounge and Play Area
Location: Harlem neighborhood of New York City
Architect: Jessica Birnbaum Pratt of Emergent Form
Before: The existing brick patio of this home in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City had not been very user-friendly for the family. “The homeowner had a lot of ideas about what she wanted to accomplish in a limited space,” architect Jessica Birnbaum Pratt says. “She wanted a lounge, a dining area, a cooking area and a play area for her daughter.”
Location: Harlem neighborhood of New York City
Architect: Jessica Birnbaum Pratt of Emergent Form
Before: The existing brick patio of this home in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City had not been very user-friendly for the family. “The homeowner had a lot of ideas about what she wanted to accomplish in a limited space,” architect Jessica Birnbaum Pratt says. “She wanted a lounge, a dining area, a cooking area and a play area for her daughter.”
After: Birnbaum Pratt worked to bring in more greenery. “We didn’t want the whole thing paved,” she says. She found a batch of discarded cement pavers and cut them down to fit the area she needed.
She also pumped the color palette way up by using pops of turquoise, fuchsia and Kelly green. Toward the rear is the lounge and the play area, which are illuminated with string lights and a pendant. In the center is the dining area, outfitted with two benches and a table.
Read more about this home and garden makeover
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She also pumped the color palette way up by using pops of turquoise, fuchsia and Kelly green. Toward the rear is the lounge and the play area, which are illuminated with string lights and a pendant. In the center is the dining area, outfitted with two benches and a table.
Read more about this home and garden makeover
More on Houzz
Get the Kids Outside With Family-Friendly Backyard Ideas
16 Ways to Get More From Your Small Backyard
Find a landscape designer near you
Shop for outdoor products
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Size: 1,840 square feet (170.9 square meters)
Designer: Todd Haiman Landscape Design
Before: The owners of this single-family home in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, aren’t the type of people who want to run off to the Hamptons on the weekend, says landscape designer Todd Haiman. “They like to stay close to home on the weekends, so making their backyard an oasis of their own was the driving force behind this project.”
The previous backyard was paved in brick, had numerous container plants and was bordered on both sides by fences that had seen better days.
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