Backyard Plans and Dreams

Our whirlwind European vacation came to a close Saturday evening. We had an amazing trip but we are glad to be home and back to our routines! Until I finish going through my 1400+ photos, I’ll hold off on giving any trip summaries for the time being. So, today, we’re going to talk about our backyard – a space we literally never use, thanks in part to our courtyard, but also because it is a non-functional blank slate at this point. It has an amazing amount of potential but will require a lot of work on our part.

I hesitated sharing this post for nearly eight months because it is a long, long-term plan {which can be no fun in the blogging world}. As you may remember, May is Outdoor Month for our Year of Change Project. So, I thought it was finally time for me to share the details and our plans, as long-term as they may be.

Last fall, we had a landscaper {K&M Landscaping} come over to bid updating our back hill. While he was here, we also asked for ideas on our backyard. A week or two later, we met with him, and he presented a plan that is much like I had envisioned for the space.

As you can tell from the drawing, our lot is very oddly shaped. Although we are not on a cul de sac, the lot is similar in that we are on the corner of a curved street, so our lot is very pie-shaped. Our front yard is small {especially with the side-loading garage} and our backyard is massive. In the drawing below, you can see our house footprint along with the courtyard space {the square on the middle right-hand side} and our covered patio off of our dining room {the gray square in the upper right portion of the house footprint}.

So this is our high-end dream. Realistically, only about 50-60% of this plan will come to fruition at some point down the road, but we would love to have a pool some day. So much so, that we started a “pool fund” in our bank account last fall once we saw the plans. Here were my main “wish” items that he included:

• Pool with an organic-shaped border {not rectangular}
• A hill full of dense trees, shrubs and flowers
• Terraced levels on the hill
• Privacy in the form of trees and plants throughout the yard

Our landscape guy had so much fun with the plan because our backyard has insane potential {his words, not ours}, he added some features we didn’t request {but that could be easily removed}. For example, the waterfall/stream {which we likely won’t add for cost} and the built-in firepit and seating area {unsure on this, but we don’t want to neglect our courtyard, and this will also add a lot of cost}.

Here is the yard yesterday.

{This is looking from our covered patio to the left side of the backyard – the area that would remain grass}

{This is the view straight out the dining room doors on the covered patio – Our lot runs to where you see that smaller tree on the right. This is the part of the yard where we would add the pool and possibly expand the patio}

{This shot from late last fall shows just how deep the lot is from our house – I don’t think the above photos capture it as well}

Following are some inspiration photos I have stored over the last year or two to help guide the plan {found on both my Outdoor Spaces and Pool Party boards on Pinterest}. I’m still working on refining my vision, but it has certainly narrowed in the last eight months since the plans were drawn.

{Love the overall feel and privacy of this space and I would love to incorporate a pergola somewhere for shade. That brick and iron fence combo would be killer, albeit insanely expensive I’m sure – via}

{How I envision the pool edge – clean rounded edges for the majority, with a raw edge on the side of the hill. I’m also leaning towards a patio with the stone/grass mix in lieu of traditional pavers – via Houzz}

{Love this one too, for many of the same reasons – via Houzz}

{I pinned this one for the landscaping around the pool. Not too fussy, with color and privacy – via}

{Love the tiered levels of this landscaping – via}

Our yard is the perfect shape to accommodate a pool {also allowing for plenty of grass space, as well} and the steep hill in the back provides perfect privacy from anyone behind us. But, who knows? By the time we can afford one, we may be too old to even want one!

Regardless, we still need a lot of work in the privacy department in our side yard.

{Similar angle but taken inside in our living room. Our fireplace is to the far left of the photo and the post you see in the first image above is hidden behind the drywall between the two windows in this photo}

To give some perspective, the tree you see in the first photo above is the tree in the plan that is directly to the right of the gray box on the house drawing {our covered patio}. Our lot line ends about a foot or two behind the tree {you can almost visualize it with the mowed lines in the grass}. As you can see, it is a big open “field” of grass until the next street over, where three houses can overlook both backyards. Ideally, I’d like to create a wall of trees {as the plan suggests} to provide a little more privacy in our living room. We’ll likely go with some evergreens {Vanderwolf Pines} to provide that privacy year-round.

We’ve also talked about doing something like these two photos with the covered patio – ours isn’t this large, but we could build up a partial wall {with a fireplace?} and add a TV. This would also add a lot more privacy on the side of our house.

{via}

{via}

So many options!!

Regardless of the path we go {especially since these plans are all long-term}, the side-wall of trees is something I would like to get started on sooner rather than later so that the trees have a few years to grow before we move on to the bigger projects {like the pool, if that is the path we go down}. Starting with this phase also works well because it would not impeded any construction down the road. I also may make a flower bed along one side of the covered porch to add some color and texture.

Hopefully over the coming weeks we can go tree shopping for some smaller trees. I also plan to get started on my flower planters during the week or next weekend at the latest! So excited the warmer weather is finally here!