6. Secure Fencing With Setback If security and privacy are primary concerns, opting for a wall or fence with a lockable gate is your best bet. A wall with a set back, it can increase your curb appeal to do so. Leave at least 1 foot, ideally 2 to 3 feet, between the fence and the road or sidewalk to allow planting space for hedges, perennials and vines to soften the wall and provide interest to passersby.
Tall potted plants in the right spot can help create a visual separation between a public space and a private one, helping an entrance feel more removed from a busy street. Plus, they can be a useful solution for renters or anyone who is unable to build a fence or more permanent barrier. Design tip: Choose hardworking evergreen plants or large-scale ornamental grasses, rather than flowers, to act as a moveable privacy hedge. Taller containers and dense foliage can also help with some noise abatement.
Rock Gabion Formerly a purely utilitarian building style used for retaining slopes, gabion walls have increasingly been finding other uses in residential landscape design. Made from a combination of wire cages filled with chunks of rock, these often 2- to 3-foot-thick walls make one of the best sound barriers around. The uneven surfaces of the chunky rocks in the wire cage absorb more sound than a more traditional smooth rock wall does, as smooth walls simply cause noise to bounce back.
If total seclusion is a goal, choose a hedge plant with dense foliage growth, such as arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), Carolina laurelcherry (Prunus caroliniana), shown here, or cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus). Design tip: If you like the leafy green look of hedges but need more noise reduction or security than plants provide on their own, hide a noise barrier wall between two rows of hedges — if allowed by your local building codes. The combination of both a soft barrier (hedge) and a hard barrier (wall) is the most effective at absorbing sound.
A Fiery Focal Point The fire pit contains a sculptural bundle of stainless steel rods inspired by branches. The stainless steel doesn’t get hot enough to be a safety issue when the fire is going. De Brabandere designed a tinted concrete table for the sculpture to sit atop. The table is hollowed out to contain a gas line and a burner tray that provide warmth and a cozy glow. Local company Hogtown Sheet Metal + Custom Fabrication made the fire pit. The fire can be turned on remotely from indoors, so when they are entertaining in their dining room on a snowy night, the homeowners can turn it on and enjoy the glow without setting foot outdoors. And De Brabandere designed a landscape lighting scheme that highlights the raised planters and lights the trees from below.
Much like a rug with a border, the 12-by-24-inch patio pavers in the running bond pattern have an edge of 24-by-24-inch Eramosa pavers. The steppingstone pavers with creeping thyme continue off the far side of the patio, providing a transitional edge between the patio and the back lawn. Focal point firepit.
When is a garden shed not a shed? When it’s an open and airy potting space like the partially enclosed one seen here from SDS Design - Build. By using existing fencing to form two sides of the structure and adding a roof and built-in benches, this potting zone is easy to access and a snap to clean up. Slatted benches let soil fall through to the ground when potting, and a sink and garden hose are conveniently positioned within reach for watering and washing up.
kitchen’s glass-paned garage door that rolls up, encouraging activity to spill outdoors onto the cedar deck. Gliding slatted screens, a roll-up garage door, and a canopy that rises at the touch of a button allow the outdoor space to expand or contract to suit the weather or time of day. The living room’s “sun visor” (pictured at back) is not fixed but dynamic. Engler fitted its slatted wood screen with a sophisticated system of exposed tractor parts and hydraulic cylinders from a Caterpillar excavator, which lets it be raised from a vertical mode to a horizontal canopy—or any angle in between—to temper the sun’s rays.
branch-like metal fire feature and contemporary water bowl — that appear to almost float in the space.
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