Before and After: 4 Lively Yards Perfect for Late-Summer Hosting
Get ideas for all-ages fun from these backyards that squeeze the most out of the sunny season
Whether you have vacation time still to come or you squeeze in fun on the weekends, these four backyard makeovers — including one where the homeowners found their pro on Houzz — offer plenty of inspiration for making the most of your outdoor space on lingering warm days. Pools feature strongly, of course, but you’ll also find ideas for adding shade, areas for sports, crowd-pleasing cooking setups and more. Have a look, then let us know in the Comments how you’re savoring the last days of summer in your own yard.
Before Photo
After: Stucchi raised the ground to build the 7-foot-deep pool and put it near the back of the property to leave room for a terrace near the house and plantings all around. An in-ground spa with a spillover feature sits in the foreground. On the side this photo was taken from are four lounge chairs, and at the far right, out of the frame, is a cabana with a TV, seating and two refrigerated beverage drawers.
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
Find a landscape designer on Houzz
To the right of the home (where string lights are in the previous photo), a dining area with flexible bench seating is located next to an outdoor grill, which conveniently sits off the home’s indoor kitchen.
Along with the string lights, low-voltage landscape lighting by Cast — controlled by a phone app — offers an alternative to wildlife-disturbing floodlights. A Sonance sound system, with speakers and subwoofers throughout the garden and cabana, is controlled via a home automation system and completes the party-ready scene.
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Along with the string lights, low-voltage landscape lighting by Cast — controlled by a phone app — offers an alternative to wildlife-disturbing floodlights. A Sonance sound system, with speakers and subwoofers throughout the garden and cabana, is controlled via a home automation system and completes the party-ready scene.
Read more about this yard
Before Photo
“After” photos by Caitlin Atkinson
2. Courting Sports in California
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their four sons
Location: Portola Valley, California
Size: Three-quarters of an acre
Landscape architect: Bay Tree Design
Contractor: Paravati Construction
Before: This Northern California couple wanted more outdoor spaces where their four boys, ages 12 and younger, could play, as well as both spacious and cozy areas for entertaining. They also tasked landscape architect Lisa Howard of Bay Tree Design to create gardens where the wife could grow edible plants and flowers for cutting, while also making the whole outdoor area look more refined and pulled together.
2. Courting Sports in California
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their four sons
Location: Portola Valley, California
Size: Three-quarters of an acre
Landscape architect: Bay Tree Design
Contractor: Paravati Construction
Before: This Northern California couple wanted more outdoor spaces where their four boys, ages 12 and younger, could play, as well as both spacious and cozy areas for entertaining. They also tasked landscape architect Lisa Howard of Bay Tree Design to create gardens where the wife could grow edible plants and flowers for cutting, while also making the whole outdoor area look more refined and pulled together.
After: Two outdoor “rooms,” one open and one more secluded and shaded, offer views of a generously sized lawn for playing soccer and other games. This area is at the far end of the yard; closer to the home (not seen here) are Cor-Ten steel planters brimming with herbs, vegetables and flowers, as well as a pergola with a cafe table, chairs and an expansive view of Portola Valley’s eastern ridge.
The older kids get their own hangout room separate from the main house and right near the existing pool. Howard also turned the area to the right of the outbuilding — at the top of a long, winding driveway — into a sports court that can be used for extra parking. The property also includes a pool house, an outdoor shower, a climbing-ready Japanese maple and other areas that foster socializing with friends and family.
Read more about this yard
Read more about this yard
“After” photos by Bureau Gravity
3. Brazilian Flair in the Prairie State
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of five
Location: Western Springs, Illinois
Patio size: 500 square feet (46 square meters)
Landscape designer and builder: Hursthouse Landscape
Before: With Brazilian roots, these Chicago-area homeowners wanted to bring South American flavor to their yard with a gaucho, or Argentine-style, grill. This type of grill is an important part of the culture, nurturing a communal and celebratory spirit among families and friends who gather while foods slowly roast. The home’s existing back patio was too small, but the yard had more than enough room for Hursthouse Landscape architects and contractors, a firm the homeowners found on Houzz, to expand it and build a pavilion as well.
3. Brazilian Flair in the Prairie State
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of five
Location: Western Springs, Illinois
Patio size: 500 square feet (46 square meters)
Landscape designer and builder: Hursthouse Landscape
Before: With Brazilian roots, these Chicago-area homeowners wanted to bring South American flavor to their yard with a gaucho, or Argentine-style, grill. This type of grill is an important part of the culture, nurturing a communal and celebratory spirit among families and friends who gather while foods slowly roast. The home’s existing back patio was too small, but the yard had more than enough room for Hursthouse Landscape architects and contractors, a firm the homeowners found on Houzz, to expand it and build a pavilion as well.
After: The new pavilion has a fireplace with the gaucho grill tucked inside, while a gas grill for other foods sits nearby. A dining table here seats six, but the adjacent patio offers plenty of additional seating around a fire pit. The patio is also a great place for hanging out before and after the meal. Bluestone paving unites the two gathering areas, while the pavilion’s architecture and materials mimic the house.
See why you should hire a professional who uses Houzz Pro software
See why you should hire a professional who uses Houzz Pro software
Here’s a closer shot of the gaucho grill, showing how meats get infused with that famous smoky flavor. A signature wheel allows the homeowners to adjust the grate’s height to control cooking temperature and time.
Stretches of countertop hold serving dishes and icy beverages, while protected wood storage ensures that the grill can keep going rain or shine. A trash receptacle sits conveniently to the right.
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Stretches of countertop hold serving dishes and icy beverages, while protected wood storage ensures that the grill can keep going rain or shine. A trash receptacle sits conveniently to the right.
Read more about this yard
Before Photo
Photo by Claudio Santini; “after” photos by Jessica Alexander
4. Lap Pool in Los Angeles
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: Sybille Zimmermann of Studio Zimmermann; her husband, Howard; their teenage daughter; and their dog
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 6,799 square feet (632 square meters)
Landscape designer: Kate Leuhusen of Lion House Design
Contractor: Lion Builder Construction
Before: Largely empty swaths of lawn in the side yard and backyard here didn’t contribute much to the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that Southern California is known for, or to the gatherings with friends that this family, which includes a teen, was envisioning. So after seven years of living in the house, homeowner and designer Sybille Zimmermann teamed up with Lion Builder Construction and Kate Leuhusen of Lion House Design to make over the home and yard with entertaining and lots of fun in mind.
4. Lap Pool in Los Angeles
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: Sybille Zimmermann of Studio Zimmermann; her husband, Howard; their teenage daughter; and their dog
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 6,799 square feet (632 square meters)
Landscape designer: Kate Leuhusen of Lion House Design
Contractor: Lion Builder Construction
Before: Largely empty swaths of lawn in the side yard and backyard here didn’t contribute much to the indoor-outdoor lifestyle that Southern California is known for, or to the gatherings with friends that this family, which includes a teen, was envisioning. So after seven years of living in the house, homeowner and designer Sybille Zimmermann teamed up with Lion Builder Construction and Kate Leuhusen of Lion House Design to make over the home and yard with entertaining and lots of fun in mind.
After: The team extended the back of the home into the side yard, adding wide LaCantina bifold doors on two sides for that open feel and a kitchen pass-through with three wicker stools that can handle wet swimsuits. A new 30-foot lap pool with a built-in spa can be heated on cool days and has an electric cover for safety. While the pool takes up most of the previous lawn space, the team preserved many of the yard’s existing plants and trees.
These Steps Will Help Keep Kids Safe Around Pools and Spas
These Steps Will Help Keep Kids Safe Around Pools and Spas
After: Just off the house under cover of a shade sail sit a dining area and an outdoor kitchen with a barbecue and a wood-fired pizza oven. A string of bistro lights adds an inviting glow. The decking is Kebony, a sustainable wood product, which transitions into concrete pavers separated by a sterile, drought-tolerant lawn alternative called Kurapia.
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Read more about this yard
More on Houzz
Read more stories about landscape design
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Hire a landscape contractor
1. New Pool in New England
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with two teenagers and two dogs
Location: Needham, Massachusetts
Size: About one-quarter acre
Landscape designer and builder: Stucchi Landscape & Design
Before: Covered in snow when the homeowners first visited it, this Boston-area home required more than a little imagination. Would the couple, who had two teens, be able to fit in the must-have pool and other outdoor elements they were envisioning? Wisely, they brought along landscape designer Jim Stucchi to see the property before putting in an offer, and he came up with a plan to fit in everything.