Landscape Design
Patio of the Week
Patio of the Week: Sloped Yard Now an Entertainment Hub
A pergola, an outdoor kitchen, a lounge, a whirlpool and gardens let this Toronto couple live their best life outdoors
With its tricky slope, long and narrow shape, and existing mature trees, this backyard outside Toronto presented lots of challenges. The couple who live here love to cook and host get-togethers outdoors, so they wanted it to serve as an entertainment hub complete with an outdoor kitchen, bar, covered seating area with a wood-burning fireplace, whirlpool and beautiful gardens. And for circulation, there needed to be an easy flow from the house and between all of these elements.
To improve the circulation and the transition from the house to the yard, King created a new grading plan. By installing a large retaining wall along the back of the property (behind the fireplace), he provided a flat space for a pergola that extends over the outdoor kitchen and lounge. And he designed a landing off the screened-in porch that has wide steps leading down to this area, creating a strong connection between the house and yard. The right side of this photo shows the existing silver maple and the new terracing. The patios are composed of interlocking pavers, while the stairs are natural stone, cut deliberately with irregular edges for a more natural look.
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The leathered black granite countertops have an overhang for bar seating on both sides of the outdoor kitchen.
“The homeowners wanted an outdoor space they could use rain or shine,” King says. The new pergola has motorized aluminum louvers that fully cover the top during inclement weather.
As outdoor cooking enthusiasts, the clients wanted to go all-out with the outdoor kitchen. It includes a ceramic Kamado-style charcoal grill, a gas grill, gas burners and storage drawers. The ceramic grill sits atop a lower countertop — a slab of natural stone that matches the stairs.
Much like an interior open plan, the lounge is open to the outdoor kitchen and faces the new wood-burning outdoor fireplace. The fireplace is made of local stone from Wiarton, Ontario.
As outdoor cooking enthusiasts, the clients wanted to go all-out with the outdoor kitchen. It includes a ceramic Kamado-style charcoal grill, a gas grill, gas burners and storage drawers. The ceramic grill sits atop a lower countertop — a slab of natural stone that matches the stairs.
Much like an interior open plan, the lounge is open to the outdoor kitchen and faces the new wood-burning outdoor fireplace. The fireplace is made of local stone from Wiarton, Ontario.
To screen the views of the street and other homes beyond the fireplace, King planted arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Nigra’), also called black cedar, as a hedge. “Black cedar was a good choice because it’s not as rigid as other cedars. Its looseness makes it appear deeper,” he says.
Browse outdoor lounge furniture in the Houzz Shop
Browse outdoor lounge furniture in the Houzz Shop
The designer tucked the whirlpool off the other side of the patio, making it easily accessible from the screened-in porch (just out of view on the left). The grade change gives it a sunken appearance. And its location is close enough for conversation with folks hanging out under the pergola.
Down the slope from the outdoor room, the garden takes on a more natural look. Boulders retain the earth along either side of the path, and shade-loving plants create layers of texture and color.
But while it looks natural, it took a lot of construction to build this environment. King worked with the slope down the hill to create a gentle, gradual path of rugged steps. On the left side, he used natural boulders to form a retaining wall that follows the slope of the path. On the right is the new retaining wall. The way it holds up the earth made this path possible; without it, the grading would also slope down from left to right.
Lighting throughout the yard highlights the garden. Downlights under the pergola provide a pleasing glow in the evenings, while uplights highlight the trees. Small path lights illuminate grade changes for safety.
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But while it looks natural, it took a lot of construction to build this environment. King worked with the slope down the hill to create a gentle, gradual path of rugged steps. On the left side, he used natural boulders to form a retaining wall that follows the slope of the path. On the right is the new retaining wall. The way it holds up the earth made this path possible; without it, the grading would also slope down from left to right.
Lighting throughout the yard highlights the garden. Downlights under the pergola provide a pleasing glow in the evenings, while uplights highlight the trees. Small path lights illuminate grade changes for safety.
Shop for outdoor lighting
Tw Adirondack chairs anchor a private spot in the low area of the garden. “We wanted to create a destination for the path and make it feel like a secret garden down here,” King says.
The silver maple shades the garden. Plants like hostas, hydrangeas and astilbes thrive in the shadier area. Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) fill in spaces between stones and between the path and the boulders. Black-eyed Susans (Rudebeckia spp.), sedums, astilbes and a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) toward the top of the path bring in more color and an interesting mix of textures.
The silver maple shades the garden. Plants like hostas, hydrangeas and astilbes thrive in the shadier area. Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) and creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis) fill in spaces between stones and between the path and the boulders. Black-eyed Susans (Rudebeckia spp.), sedums, astilbes and a Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) toward the top of the path bring in more color and an interesting mix of textures.
This landscape plan shows the steps in darker gray on the left side, with the path leading down from the pergola to the lower part of the yard in the lower-right corner. The boulders beneath the path are the series of retaining walls.
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Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: A couple who loves to cook outside and entertain
Location: Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Size: About 5,000 square feet (465 square meters)
Designer-contractor: Adam King of Partridge Fine Landscapes
The area to the left of this new pergola and surrounding landscape shows a few of the original backyard elements — a pool directly behind the house, and a screened-in porch (back left) overlooking it. There was not a good connection between these spaces, and the only patio space was a small lounging area next to the pool. Everything to the right of the pool and porch is part of the new design.
“The porch was disconnected from the rest of the yard, the poolside patio only had room to seat four people, and the circulation was awkward,” landscape designer Adam King says. The rest of the yard sloped down away from the house toward the side yard. And there was a mature silver maple (Acer saccharinum) that the team needed to design and construct around with care.
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