Having been in business for 20 years allows me to work with clients when they move into a new home or..... when their style changes. In this case I designed their back yard to reflect the traditional style of the home in SE Portland. There was an expansive paver patio that lead onto a swath of grass. The materials had a rustic look and the plantings were colorful and natural. They loved this space and did a lot of entertaining in it over the years.
I happened to bump into them a year ago, it was one of those things that was "meant to be". They had been renovating their home over the past few years to reflect their new lifestyle, clean living. The exterior was getting a stucco finish and the interior is now clean and bright and minimalist in furnishings. They now wanted the exterior space to reflect the interior space. They made sure to let me know that,' It's not like we don't love it, we have just changed."
So, here is the result of months of planning and installation. The design part was not so challenging, we used just about the same spaces. The patios are a bit larger and the grass and planting areas are smaller. The challenge came in material selection and the design of the covered living area.
Where there were cultured stone wall, they are now sleek stucco with Schist slab caps. Where we used a traditional size paver before, now we used a 24" square Architectural Slab. Next, it seemed only natural to bring in metal elements. The covered living area is powder coated steel, the low profile water element is steel as well. They have also had custom steel planters made (not pictured here).
Landscape Construction: Autumn Leaf Landscape, St. Paul, OR
Metal design and fabrication: Bu-Kai Design