Landscape Design
Patio of the Week
Patio of the Week: Family-Friendly Yard for Playing and Relaxing
An addition inspires a couple with young kids to redesign their backyard and make it a place they could enjoy together
A couple with two young kids were undertaking a home addition when they decided to also overhaul their outdoor spaces. “The existing space was disconnected and was not functioning for the family needs and wants,” says Ron Swick, owner of Swick’s Organic Landscaping, who oversaw the outdoor renovation. Working with the design and construction team and sharing their ideas using Houzz ideabooks, the homeowners gained a new backyard space that enables them to relax together, entertain and cook — right off the newly expanded kitchen and family room.
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The team planted an ‘H.M. Eddie’ yew (Taxus x media ‘H.M. Eddie’) hedge in front of the existing wood perimeter fence, softening the edge of the yard and adding a lush, green frame. A new red cedar planter with a low-VOC whitewash houses the existing Japanese maple tree as well as new rhododendron, Helleborus and Hakonechloa shrubs, all of which thrive in at least partial shade.
Overhead protection from the sun, a request from the homeowners, was achieved with multiple shade sails. The team installed them on steel posts with concrete footings.
The backyard was designed both for outdoor living and family play, so the team used lawn and poured-in-place concrete (with a sand-float finish by Sutherland Concrete) for the ground. River rock between the planter and the patio and lawn adds to the yard’s aesthetics and aids with drainage and lawn maintenance (the mower doesn’t need to go all the way to the edge of the planter).
Overhead protection from the sun, a request from the homeowners, was achieved with multiple shade sails. The team installed them on steel posts with concrete footings.
The backyard was designed both for outdoor living and family play, so the team used lawn and poured-in-place concrete (with a sand-float finish by Sutherland Concrete) for the ground. River rock between the planter and the patio and lawn adds to the yard’s aesthetics and aids with drainage and lawn maintenance (the mower doesn’t need to go all the way to the edge of the planter).
A red cedar hot tub is nestled into a corner of the yard, tying in with the patio’s wood overhang and adding curves to the mostly rectangular backyard space.
Hot tub: Forest Lumber & Cooperage; upper bench and housing for mechanical: Swick’s Organic Landscaping
Hot tub: Forest Lumber & Cooperage; upper bench and housing for mechanical: Swick’s Organic Landscaping
The new outdoor kitchen sits next to the house, adjacent to the expanded kitchen and family room and protected by the overhang. It’s easily accessed through expansive sliding doors. Swick’s built custom cedar framing for a candy-apple-red mini refrigerator, storage cabinets and open shelves. Custom-colored concrete counters top the cabinets and house a Napoleon grill.
The custom fire table, made of concrete, sits close to the kitchen. It matches the color and material of the outdoor kitchen counters; DreamCast Design and Production constructed both.
Browse outdoor lounge furniture in the Houzz Shop
The custom fire table, made of concrete, sits close to the kitchen. It matches the color and material of the outdoor kitchen counters; DreamCast Design and Production constructed both.
Browse outdoor lounge furniture in the Houzz Shop
Photo by Aaron Northcott
Enjoyment of the backyard extends into the night, with strategic landscape lighting and the fire table focal feature illuminating and heating the space.
Landscape lighting: Kichler
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Enjoyment of the backyard extends into the night, with strategic landscape lighting and the fire table focal feature illuminating and heating the space.
Landscape lighting: Kichler
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The front yard and entry also received a redesign, mostly for curb appeal. Foliage-forward plantings and shade-loving species similar to those used in the backyard, including chartreuse Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa sp.), repeat in the front garden.
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Backyard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two young children
Location: Richmond, British Columbia
Size: 1,132 square feet (105 square meters)
Designer and builder: Swick’s Organic Landscaping
The team at Swick’s worked to achieve the clients’ wishes for the backyard: space for relaxing, entertaining, dining, cooking and playing kickball. “We wanted to achieve everything on the wish list without making the space feel crowded,” Swick says. “It needed to feel large and well organized for whatever function it was being used for.” They kept some features, like the outdoor kitchen, relatively small and incorporated multiuse items, like a fire table that can also serve as a low table for drinks or appetizers. Clean lines keep the space feeling ordered and expansive.
With the exception of the stunning specimen Japanese maple tree (Acer palmatum) and existing perimeter fence, the backyard was redesigned from scratch.