Pop-Up Projector Screen Makes for a Cool Outdoor Movie Experience
A custom design from a landscape architect enables Seattle homeowners to watch movies under the stars
‘Ice Dance’ Japanese sedge (Carex morrowii ‘Ice Dance’)
Custom concrete box. The homeowners wanted the projector screen to be stored outside so movie night could be as easy as setting up the projector, pulling open the screen, grabbing a few chairs and pressing play. With Seattle’s wet, rainy climate, the designers and the homeowners went back and forth on ideas before deciding to have the projector screen pop out of a waterproof bench. “It seemed like the only way to keep water off,” Garff says.
The custom concrete box that stores the projector screen also doubles as an outdoor storage bench when the screen isn’t in use. It’s a poured-in-place hollow concrete box made just large enough for the projector to fit inside. The concrete bench was designed to be useful for the screen and to complement the patio in a way that didn’t draw attention to itself.
A slab of PaperStone — a brand of recycled paper countertop made of post-consumer wastepaper, non-petroleum-based resins and pigments — forms a hinged lid on the box, protecting the screen when it’s put away. When it’s raining, water drips off the lip of the PaperStone and drains onto the patio and away from the screen. The lid is heavy, so the team also installed gas springs along the top to reduce the weight. “You push it open and are relieved of lifting 200 pounds of countertop,” Garff says.
PaperStone slab: Charcoal; gas springs: Bansbach Easylift
The custom concrete box that stores the projector screen also doubles as an outdoor storage bench when the screen isn’t in use. It’s a poured-in-place hollow concrete box made just large enough for the projector to fit inside. The concrete bench was designed to be useful for the screen and to complement the patio in a way that didn’t draw attention to itself.
A slab of PaperStone — a brand of recycled paper countertop made of post-consumer wastepaper, non-petroleum-based resins and pigments — forms a hinged lid on the box, protecting the screen when it’s put away. When it’s raining, water drips off the lip of the PaperStone and drains onto the patio and away from the screen. The lid is heavy, so the team also installed gas springs along the top to reduce the weight. “You push it open and are relieved of lifting 200 pounds of countertop,” Garff says.
PaperStone slab: Charcoal; gas springs: Bansbach Easylift
Projector screen. The permanent outdoor projector screen is a 106-inch-diagonal screen that is retractable and self-supporting. The homeowners bring out the projector when the screen is in use and get sound from the speakers disguised as rocks next to the concrete bench. (The property adjacent to the home is uninhabited, so the homeowners don’t have to worry about noise.)
Projector screen: Kestrel Home Series
Projector screen: Kestrel Home Series
‘Prairie Fire’ sedge (Carex testacea ‘Prairie Fire’), ‘Hidcote’ English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’), ‘Moudry’ dwarf fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Moudry’)
The rest of the yard. Garff’s team addressed other areas of the yard when they installed the projector screen, primarily in the form of subtle plantings and hardscape improvements here and there. Much of the landscape was designed by the former homeowners, who had imposed a more formal Asian style on the landscape than the current homeowners wanted.
During this update, the design team modernized and simplified plantings with grasses while also leaving some of the more-mature specimens, including a Japanese maple in the front yard and the green hedge behind the planter. “What we tried to do, especially in the front yard, was respect the architects and clean up the yard with some clean lines,” Garff says.
The rest of the yard. Garff’s team addressed other areas of the yard when they installed the projector screen, primarily in the form of subtle plantings and hardscape improvements here and there. Much of the landscape was designed by the former homeowners, who had imposed a more formal Asian style on the landscape than the current homeowners wanted.
During this update, the design team modernized and simplified plantings with grasses while also leaving some of the more-mature specimens, including a Japanese maple in the front yard and the green hedge behind the planter. “What we tried to do, especially in the front yard, was respect the architects and clean up the yard with some clean lines,” Garff says.
‘Elijah Blue’ fescue (Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’)
The owners wanted to re-create the look of California’s modern grassy landscapes. Garff created a more streamlined plan filled with plants that could tolerate Seattle’s colder, wetter climate. He chose a combination of grasses and bamboos, massing them to create a look similar to those of the grassy landscapes seen throughout California.
The owners wanted to re-create the look of California’s modern grassy landscapes. Garff created a more streamlined plan filled with plants that could tolerate Seattle’s colder, wetter climate. He chose a combination of grasses and bamboos, massing them to create a look similar to those of the grassy landscapes seen throughout California.
Beesia (Beesia deltophylla)
Garden beds are composed mainly of massed plantings, which not only creates a sleek, modern look but also makes maintenance and cleanup easier, as all the plants have the same care needs.
Each bed features three types of plants, if there is room: ground-level plants, midlevel plants and larger structural plants. The colors and textures complement each other while still leaving room for contrast. “We treat each bed like its own composition,” Garff says, and then they’ll carry one or more plants into an adjacent garden bed for continuity.
Including some plants with winter seasonal interest is important in a climate like Seattle’s. “We have six months where the leaves have fallen off the trees and it’s dark and wet,” Garff says. Plants with structure, attractive bark or winter flowers help to keep the garden looking alive during those dark months. “And something that’s going to pop early in the spring to give people hope that winter will end. We’ll do a lot of bulbs in early spring.”
Garden beds are composed mainly of massed plantings, which not only creates a sleek, modern look but also makes maintenance and cleanup easier, as all the plants have the same care needs.
Each bed features three types of plants, if there is room: ground-level plants, midlevel plants and larger structural plants. The colors and textures complement each other while still leaving room for contrast. “We treat each bed like its own composition,” Garff says, and then they’ll carry one or more plants into an adjacent garden bed for continuity.
Including some plants with winter seasonal interest is important in a climate like Seattle’s. “We have six months where the leaves have fallen off the trees and it’s dark and wet,” Garff says. Plants with structure, attractive bark or winter flowers help to keep the garden looking alive during those dark months. “And something that’s going to pop early in the spring to give people hope that winter will end. We’ll do a lot of bulbs in early spring.”
‘Hidcote’ English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’)
Landscape installation: Sage and Stone
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Get the Kids Outside With Family-Friendly Backyard Ideas
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Browse projectors and screens
Landscape installation: Sage and Stone
More
Get the Kids Outside With Family-Friendly Backyard Ideas
Find more landscaping ideas
Browse projectors and screens
Project at a Glance
What it is: Backyard pop-up projector screen
Location: Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle
Designer: SCJ Studio Landscape Architecture
It’s hard to beat the setting of this outdoor movie-watching spot on a hillside above Puget Sound. “You can watch a movie with the breeze coming off the water in the summer,” says landscape architect Mark Garff, who worked with the homeowners, a couple, to design this permanent outdoor movie experience for their home in Seattle.
An existing terrace in the home’s backyard provided a great location. Here the homeowners can sit back with friends, watch movies and grill all summer long. In addition to setting up the outdoor projector screen, Garff’s team also renovated other areas of the landscape, cleaning up some of the planting and edging, while leaving much of the existing hardscape and mature trees that already filled the yard.