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Backyard patio/ landscaping help needed!

Chris
4 years ago

Need some ideas!! Few photos of the back of our new home below, followed by a color coded drawing I did (don't laugh!). Let me know what you guys think about each. Trying to keep costs low but want to make this a great area for entertaining guests. We have the ultimate privacy as the side (left of home) and back of the home are essentially all trees.














Red Area of drawing below: Simply looking for pavers in the grass to connect to the fire pit area to the covered patio. Would also like some landscaping options up near the actual home. Those 3 windows have a great view, so we don't want to block those.




Yellow below: Looking at some finished concrete or maybe stone flooring, simply extending the flooring from the covered patio to give us more space. The area where the fire pit is in this photo would be use for an outdoor dining table instead. Our patio isn't as wide as this photo but would be the same layout.




Green below: looking for a nice little bonfire area. Fire pit will likely be purchased online, looking for a wood burning pit. Would like to understand prices on a nice little circular area of some sort. Maybe small pea gravel or sand or something. What do you guys suggest here that is efficient in price? I imagine small rocks are much cheaper than pavers/concrete correct? Would need a tall post put in to connect bistro lights, similar to the photo.




Also any good ideas for a bar/countertop kitchen area? We would put this under the covered patio to help add privacy to the neighbors facing north. Just a 8-10 foot straight line similar to below. Would like to put some wood above to add more privacy. I don't need any high end grill/burners/etc.



Modern Hideout in Bucktown · More Info



Comments (9)

  • PRO
    BeverlyFLADeziner
    4 years ago

    Come back once the siding is up

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    4 years ago

    And with a sketched out plan view of the area.

  • PRO
    Yardvaark
    4 years ago

    What people can get here mostly is suggestions and inspiration. You are providing "inspiration" pictures so have some idea of what you want. It's a matter of organizing it on a 2-D plan. Your choices there are that, either you do it ... or you hire a professional landscape designer to do it. If you do it, you can get counsel here and the first bit you already got was to provide a plan view sketch of the area. (One would have a very hard time trying to convey the information you seek, back to you on the pictures provided so far.)

    Many people get inspiration for planting via pictures (that are taken square to the building and show the flanking surroundings in slightly overlapping pictures.) But it is too early to bother with planting, since you need hardscape and it must be resolved first, before you start working on a planting layout.

  • Chris
    Original Author
    4 years ago

    Thanks guys- I didn’t even know a designer was a thing. First time owner here. Thanks for tips

  • fnmroberts
    4 years ago

    Landscaping is a visionary process. It’s necessary to be familiar with not only what plants/trees you prefer BUT the soil conditions, sunlight, drainage and growth patterns of individual species. Few of us have that knowledge and we see mistakes others make by planting too closely to the house, poor spacing or greenery struggling to survive.


    This video is of our back yard. We designed and built the patio (wait several years for the backfill to settle first), then engaged a local nursery to design, recommend and plant. Their plan showed a conceptual look after 5-years of growth which is about the timing of the video. Yes, more costly initially but you won’t find yourself with dead plantings and replacement costs.


    Enjoy your new abode.


    https://youtu.be/DXdP9U__HN8

  • 93cc
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Just one thought to your bar/grill area idea "Would like to put some wood above to add more privacy." Keep in mind fire issues with wood when grilling but more importantly, hard to keep clean and requires ongoing maintenance. Wood look as shown in your pic is fine if using tile or some other low maintenance covering. Get a Big Green Egg, a horse and some barn animals.

    Have fun!

  • PRO
    Flo Mangan
    4 years ago

    Been trying to come up with some concepts for you. You do need a master plan that you can then implement as funds allow. The kind of examples you show are not expensive. I roughly put multi brown shingles on roof and pale yellow siding. These elements should be selected to coordinate with ultimate backyard design. With this much property, nothing will be cheap. So I went big! A pool in a natural like setting would be awesome along with a bbq corner and various seating spots keeping plant materials at least 3’ from house. Plant materials are dependent on your “zone”.

  • harold100
    4 years ago

    Also, plan your electrical needs for patio now while it easier to cut through the house walls.