Landscape Design
Before and Afters
Before and After: 3 Patio Makeovers in 300 Square Feet or Less
Landscape designers, including one found on Houzz, create inviting outdoor spaces with small footprints
When it comes to outdoor living space, bigger isn’t always better. In these makeovers, landscape pros creatively used color, plantings and design details to transform tiny, underused patios into inviting living areas that pack in a lot.
After: Without digging into the patio, Hick created a naturalistic, plant-filled yard that welcomes wildlife and encourages exploration. “To move the clients’ thinking on from plastic grass being the most child-friendly option, I focused on the importance of play and a connection to nature in childhood,” Hick says.
Most notable are the bug hotels, gabions (rock-filled steel baskets) and other insect-attracting elements scattered throughout the yard. The gabions encourage wildlife and can store the pine cones, twigs and other natural trinkets that the children like to collect and play with. The flat, open patio allows the kids to scoot around on bikes and play on large beanbags (not shown).
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Most notable are the bug hotels, gabions (rock-filled steel baskets) and other insect-attracting elements scattered throughout the yard. The gabions encourage wildlife and can store the pine cones, twigs and other natural trinkets that the children like to collect and play with. The flat, open patio allows the kids to scoot around on bikes and play on large beanbags (not shown).
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Hick added deep planters made of lightweight fiberglass to the perimeter of the space and two oversize Cor-Ten steel containers that grow herbs and flowering vines.
The purple flowers seen here in the planters behind the bench are ‘Amistad’ sage (Salvia ‘Amistad’, USDA zones 8 to 10; find your zone). ‘Rozanne’ cranesbill (Geranium ‘Rozanne’, zones 4 to 9) sits to the right. Grasses also grow in the containers.
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The purple flowers seen here in the planters behind the bench are ‘Amistad’ sage (Salvia ‘Amistad’, USDA zones 8 to 10; find your zone). ‘Rozanne’ cranesbill (Geranium ‘Rozanne’, zones 4 to 9) sits to the right. Grasses also grow in the containers.
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2. Cozy and Colorful Courtyard
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Landscape designer Jay Sifford
Location: Davidson, North Carolina
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters); 10 by 30 feet
Before: To be closer to his second home in the mountains and simplify life when he was in the city, landscape designer Jay Sifford moved from a home with an expansive garden to a townhouse with a small courtyard.
The completely private patio was a blank slate when Sifford moved in, but it was not without its issues. For one, the brick paving slanted down toward a drain in the back-left corner. The slope created an awkward step from the patio to the door that leads to the garage.
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: Landscape designer Jay Sifford
Location: Davidson, North Carolina
Size: 300 square feet (28 square meters); 10 by 30 feet
Before: To be closer to his second home in the mountains and simplify life when he was in the city, landscape designer Jay Sifford moved from a home with an expansive garden to a townhouse with a small courtyard.
The completely private patio was a blank slate when Sifford moved in, but it was not without its issues. For one, the brick paving slanted down toward a drain in the back-left corner. The slope created an awkward step from the patio to the door that leads to the garage.
After: Bright, colorful foliage pops against the newly painted black brick patio and courtyard walls. “I love the crisp contrast of chartreuse and black,” Sifford says. “I have black dogs. I have black stained floors and a black mountain house. Black is beautiful.” It might seem counterintuitive to go dark in a small space such as this one, but the color can actually help make the area feel larger while also creating a cozy, cocoon-like effect.
A new 6-inch-high, 10-foot-deep deck covering the back third of the courtyard helps mitigate the patio’s slope and provides a comfortable step up to the back door. “I’d also seen this a lot in contemporary London courtyards. It divides the space in a way that makes it feel bigger, whereas a wall or partition would have made it feel smaller,” Sifford says. The decking is black-stained pressure-treated pine.
A vertical garden from TrueVert covers the back corner and spreads onto the adjacent walls. “I really had to restrain myself here and stick with just a few plants in order to create the graphic pattern,” Sifford says. “These are so great in a courtyard — they bring the garden up the wall and contribute to the immersive experience.”
Shop for patio furniture on Houzz
A new 6-inch-high, 10-foot-deep deck covering the back third of the courtyard helps mitigate the patio’s slope and provides a comfortable step up to the back door. “I’d also seen this a lot in contemporary London courtyards. It divides the space in a way that makes it feel bigger, whereas a wall or partition would have made it feel smaller,” Sifford says. The decking is black-stained pressure-treated pine.
A vertical garden from TrueVert covers the back corner and spreads onto the adjacent walls. “I really had to restrain myself here and stick with just a few plants in order to create the graphic pattern,” Sifford says. “These are so great in a courtyard — they bring the garden up the wall and contribute to the immersive experience.”
Shop for patio furniture on Houzz
This painted blue door on the opposite end of the courtyard leads to the house and ties in with the sofa cushions and wall art. Sifford found the three paintings by Nicholas Yust on Houzz. “These three paintings are backed on aluminum squares and mimic the view of the sky,” he says. “And when I’m lying on the sofa, the courtyard’s walls create a big black picture frame for the view of the sky.”
Painted cedar planters mimic the siding’s horizontal lines, keeping the eye moving and making the space feel bigger. “Never undersize pots,” Sifford says. “They make a small space feel smaller and jumbled.” Colorful and playful ‘Everillo’ sedge (Carex oshimensis ‘Everillo’, zones 5 to 9) grows in the foreground.
The oversize light fixtures, which Sifford also found on Houzz, add to the courtyard’s immersive feeling.
Paintings (set of three): “Blue Essence” giclee on metal, Modern Crowd
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Painted cedar planters mimic the siding’s horizontal lines, keeping the eye moving and making the space feel bigger. “Never undersize pots,” Sifford says. “They make a small space feel smaller and jumbled.” Colorful and playful ‘Everillo’ sedge (Carex oshimensis ‘Everillo’, zones 5 to 9) grows in the foreground.
The oversize light fixtures, which Sifford also found on Houzz, add to the courtyard’s immersive feeling.
Paintings (set of three): “Blue Essence” giclee on metal, Modern Crowd
Read more about this renovation
Before Photo
3. Stylish Side Yard for Dining and Cooking
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with two kids
Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts
Size: About 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Landscape architect: Inge Daniels Design
Contractor: Curbs Studio
Before: This early-1900s shingled home sits on a compact corner lot overlooking the Charles River and abutting a road and public footpath. For their side yard (their home’s largest outdoor space), the clients wanted to be able to cook, dine and entertain in a somewhat private space that also wouldn’t block views of the river from the home.
This outdoor space stretches beyond 300 square feet, but the renovated area fits within that footprint.
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with two kids
Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts
Size: About 300 square feet (28 square meters)
Landscape architect: Inge Daniels Design
Contractor: Curbs Studio
Before: This early-1900s shingled home sits on a compact corner lot overlooking the Charles River and abutting a road and public footpath. For their side yard (their home’s largest outdoor space), the clients wanted to be able to cook, dine and entertain in a somewhat private space that also wouldn’t block views of the river from the home.
This outdoor space stretches beyond 300 square feet, but the renovated area fits within that footprint.
After: The renovated side yard sits just past the waist-high hedge seen in the previous photo.
Landscape architect Inge Daniels started by delineating this space with an L-shaped privacy screen to shield it from pedestrians on the adjacent walking path. The screen was constructed with concrete posts and horizontal wood slats. “The slats provide privacy but also allow some sunlight to filter through,” Daniels says.
The patio also features new bluestone pavers that form a path connecting the area to the rest of the yard.
Landscape architect Inge Daniels started by delineating this space with an L-shaped privacy screen to shield it from pedestrians on the adjacent walking path. The screen was constructed with concrete posts and horizontal wood slats. “The slats provide privacy but also allow some sunlight to filter through,” Daniels says.
The patio also features new bluestone pavers that form a path connecting the area to the rest of the yard.
The screen includes a custom concrete shelving system that surrounds a grill station and forms bench seating. Storage underneath holds firewood used to fuel the egg-shaped wood-burning grill seen here.
A stylish wood-and-aluminum dining table anchors the new patio at its center. Lush green shrubs and hydrangeas envelop the space and complement the sage green seat cushions of the dining set.
Read more about this renovation
More on Houzz
Read more landscape design guides
Browse thousands of outdoor photos
Work with a landscape contractor in your area
Shop for outdoor products
A stylish wood-and-aluminum dining table anchors the new patio at its center. Lush green shrubs and hydrangeas envelop the space and complement the sage green seat cushions of the dining set.
Read more about this renovation
More on Houzz
Read more landscape design guides
Browse thousands of outdoor photos
Work with a landscape contractor in your area
Shop for outdoor products
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with two young children
Location: East London
Size: About 270 square feet (25 square meters)
Landscape designer: Melanie Hick Garden Design
Landscape installer: Garden Tamers
Before: The owners of this new home in London wanted to add life and greenery to their blank-slate courtyard. Designer Melanie Hick, whom the homeowners found on Houzz, proposed a design that would welcome wildlife, avoid artificial materials and inspire the children to play and explore.
One of the challenges was that the home sits over an underground parking structure. So all the plantings needed to be in containers, and the porcelain pavers had to stay. “Reducing waste and reusing existing materials in any [project] is a huge sustainability saving,” Hick says. “You’re not creating more landfill. And, as this is a new build, those tiles are new, so it would have been a terrible waste.”