Backyard Landscaping Reveal!

Our original plan for the backyard was an inexpensive DIY that would hold us over until we were ready for a major overhaul. However, due to some tricky drainage issues, we quickly realized that even our DIY job was more complex than we had imagined. Since this is a long-term home for us, we decided it would be worth the investment to have the backyard done once and done right. After many weeks of planning and coordinating and lots of hard work by our crews, we are finally revealing our new backyard patio! I’ll walk you through all of the plants, materials and even a detailed cost breakdown.

The Before

Our pool and pool deck fill the majority of our backyard space, but we had this 40′ x 20′ patch of grass (mostly mud and weeds) off to the side that wasn’t being used. This space runs along our living room (where the chimney stack is) and connects to our pool bathroom (where that seemingly random door is.) We wanted to transform this from a forgotten space into a functional outdoor living area that felt more connected to the heart of our home. We knew it would be perfect for entertaining and for those long summer days spent by the pool. (You can check out our initial drawings and plans for the space here.)

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The After

I’m so glad we decided to tackle this project early on. It feels like we gained a whole new room to the house. The end result is clean, low-maintenance, lush and relaxing.

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All of the pavers we used are cast stone in a light grey color and finished with a “Georgia” texture. I would have been plenty happy with plain white concrete slabs but these offer up an additional layer of interest that make the whole space feel a bit more special. We used 36″ squares for the patio area and 18″ x 36″ rectangles for our walkways. This helps create some visual movement and distinguishes between the traffic areas and rest areas (I may have taken a landscaping class or two!)

The brick border to our flower beds will help prevent water from flowing back toward the house and into the pool (taking all of the mulch with it.) I didn’t want anything too bulky so I was thrilled when we were shown these light colored, cut Chicago bricks. They provide the perfect pop of red against the mulch, they subtly tie in with the pool brick and they help further establish the Spanish Modern aesthetic we’re going for in this house.

The chocolate mulch was a compromise. I would have loved something lighter, but our trees drop so much debris that it would have been a mess within a week. In the end, I appreciate the contrast that the mulch provides.

Since our patio design is structured and geometric, I asked for plants like ornamental grasses that would soften things up a bit. Other than stating that I didn’t want anything “too manicured”, I wasn’t very prescriptive in my design requests. I trusted my contractor and knew he had a great deal of passion for the creative side to landscaping. When he showed up with all of his plant choices, it felt like Christmas morning. He nailed it! As these beds fill in, things will cascade over the border edge and create a very organic, lush feel.

The choice to go with artificial turf has already become a hot topic and I get it! I have long turned my nose up at the idea of a artificial lawn. After all, isn’t weird to have a “fake” yard? Slowly, however, I started to question how “normal” it was to have a real lawn. They require a lot of maintenance, a lot of money and, sadly, a lot of water even here, where torrential downpours are part of every day life. And how often do we really use our lawns to their fullest? The idea of a virtually maintenance-free, eco-friendly lawn was suddenly very appealing. It’s soft underfoot, always beautiful and, unlike a “real” lawn, you can clean it. (Yep. SOLD!) There are a lot of details that go in to choosing the right turf, so I’ll save that for a separate post. In summary, we chose a short pile with highly porous base that would allow for ample drainage and minimal bacteria growth (necessary for pet owners.)

How much did it cost?

Including the landscaping, tree-trimming, pavers, irrigation and artificial turf, our total project cost came out to about $15,000 which was actually what we had budgeted for this project. The turf accounting for roughly $5000 of this cost.

I should also mention that I had a lot of guidance from my friend Claudia over at @dotsanddesign. She is a landscape architect who is way too good for our budget but who generously shared her suggestions and checked my thinking throughout the entire project. Check her out on Instagram!

Our contractors:

Tree Trimming by Arbor Experts | $1000

Landscaping & Irrigation by Gary Chapman (of Blue Rhino, LLC and Impact Landscaping) | $8400

• Including Brick and Pavers from Palm Beach Cast Stone

Artificial Turf by Tom Bartolec of Coastal Synthetic Turf | $4800

• Again, I’ll save the plethora of details for a separate post, but this cost included roughly 500 square feet of turf, labor and workmanship and product warranties.

Total Project Cost | $14,200

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What’s next?

Well first, some furniture! Unfortunately, we recently ran into some pretty serious plumbing issues that left us with a hefty bill. We’ll push back our spending on patio furniture for a few months but I’ll be sure to update you once I have some plans together! Eventually, we’ll also paint the house, resurface the pool deck and install all new lighting. You can follow all of my daily updates over on Instagram.

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