“Please improve our curb appeal and outdoor entertaining space.” Requested the Owners of the Elm Grove home. The house had some great assets to work with such as the lannon stone veneer, large existing trees and beautiful horizontal lines. In contrast there were also some significant challenges such as large grade changes, existing trees near the patio and the desire to solve a porch leaking problem to the wine cellar below. The design overcame the challenges and used the assets as inspiration.

The front entry sequence was quite unappealing with overgrown shrubbery, and unusable raised lannon stone planter and limited visibility to the front door. The first step was to remove the overgrown plantings and the raised lannon stone planter on the front porch. This opened up the front door to the driveway. The next step was to repair and waterproof the porch followed by a New York Bluestone veneer. The steps up to the porch were then re-oriented towards the street rather than away from the street making the entry more grand and inviting. The steps up to the porch feature a radial pattern that will be reminiscent in the remainder of the entry design. The various terraces to the front door consist of Brussels Block pavers while the steps consist of lannon park steps. Lannon stone retaining wall terraces break up the tremendous grade change into manageable flights rather than one long flight of steps. The planting beds feature low growing shrubs and perennials to ensure that visibility to the front door is not compromised. Many of the selected plants are intended to cascade over the retaining walls to reinforce the casual appearance desired by the Owner. The plants are massed for maximum impact and feature a variety of textures, colors, hues and forms to provide seasonal impact. The intent is to have something interesting occurring in the garden at all times of the year. The final touch included landscape lighting to accent the path and steps for safe pedestrian movement to the front door at night and accent interesting landscape architectural elements in the landscape.

The backyard patio posed many interesting challenges. The primary challenge was to overcome a significant grade change in a narrow area between the building first floor and the Brussels Block patio below. The design successfully integrated a typical rise to run ratio into the step design by extending the steps into the patio space as a primary architectural feature. The bottom arced custom cut lannon park step landing defines the transition from the steps to the patio while providing and interesting architectural element to the space which breaks from the typical step treatment found with the lannon park steps. A lannon stone retaining wall provides a planting bed for plantings above the wall. The use of lannon stone is inspired by the existing lannon stone veneer on the house. The two blend together seamlessly improving the overall aesthetics of the space. Furthermore, a seat wall is integrated into the design to soften the transition between the vertical house wall and the patio space. The seat wall features a curved form and terminates in a lighted pillar to accent the entry into the space. The seat wall provides the added benefit of overflow seating and framing out a space for supplemental plantings at the building foundation. Overall, the entire design for the front and back of this home exceeded the Owners expectations in design and delivery.

The Fox Point project presented many exciting challenges. The Owners program included a private outdoor entertaining area, curb appeal, visually minimize the garage doors, minimize turf and provide buffers from neighbors.

The pie shaped parcel provides a generous front yard but minimal back and side yards. The small size of the backyard actually became a great asset as it made the space more intimate for entertaining. The backyard was transformed into an outdoor room by placing a custom cedar fence around the perimeter. Special care was given to preserve an existing arborvitae hedge along the north property line which provided great screening. The hedge and fence were further enhanced with strategically placed trees, shrubs and perennials to provide privacy, seasonal interest, texture, color, form and fragrance.

The main entertaining space is hardscaped with Brussels Block by Unilock with a perimeter soldier course and a New York Bluestone welcome mate inlay when you step onto the main patio. Brussels Block was selected because of its rustic appearance that mimics the building’s stone veneer. The Owners also desired overflow seating for larger parties and a permanent grill location. To meet the Owners program, a low seat wall and a custom built-in gas grill with a countertop surround was incorporated into the design utilizing Brussels Dimensional Stone adding an elegant flare to the space. Turf panels that are adjacent to the patio also serve as overflow entertaining space. The garden is finished off with a unique table and chair set, bench seating and various pots.

The garden is also fully functional for evening use with carefully selected landscape lighting. The patio space is surrounded by bollard lighting and accented by uplights that illuminate the ornamental trees while casting interesting shadows on the cedar fence behind.

Drainage posed a challenge on the site since all storm water drainage needed to be diverted to the front yard while still providing a parking slab for visitors. There was not enough space to simply install a swale therefore a strategically placed retaining wall and drainage swale were incorporated to allow both items to be addressed simultaneously. The incorporation of plantings in this area supplemented the space by visually reducing the garage door prominence as well as enhancing curb appeal.

The addition of a Brussels Block paver walkway creates a dramatic transition while a New York Bluestone inlay welcomes visitors at the front door. The entire entry area is flanked with dynamic plantings that frame and draw your eyes to the front door while creating seasonal interest. Overall the landscape provides a warm, inviting aesthetic form the curb exceeding the Owners expectations in design and implementation.

The owner’s goal was to develop an outdoor patio space to take the place of an old, undersized, high maintenance wood deck. A paver patio was suggested with seat walls to reduce maintenance and improve the overall aesthetic appearance of the space.

The design solution utilized carefully articulated paver quilting to develop spaces within the patio and also introduced a seat wall around the perimeter of the patio to not only enclose the patio but also to provide overflow seating while entertaining large groups.

The patio is adequately sized to accommodate multiple tables and chairs and creates a cozy and inviting atmosphere. Outdoor lighting was incorporated into the seat walls and pillars as well as accent lights on adjacent trees to bring the patio to life at night.

All the features implemented in this outdoor living space enhance the owner’s enjoyment of the completed project. The new patio essentially functions as an extension of the indoor dining/living room space.

This project had many obstacles to overcome not only in design but also in implementation. Site access, steep slop (1:1 slope) and existing trees all posed interesting challenges.

The owner's project program included a natural lannon stone outcropping appearance, stair access to the lakefront and a seating area for viewing the lake. All elements were ultimatly integrated into the design.