Design credit: Bill Bib Photo credit: Melissa Preston
Inspiration for a large traditional front yard stone driveway in Dallas.

Inspired by the client’s frequent trips to Martha’s Vineyard, this renovation project’s primary goal was to create a landscape complimentary of this Colonial Revival style home, reminiscent of Edgartown, Massachusetts. The front landscape was specifically designed to offer expansive views of a layered horizontal foundation planting that nestled itself around the base of the home, allowing the home itself to be the star of the show. Flowering borders that rotate with the seasons create a strong foreground while a clipped yew hedge forms the barrier needed to separate the billowing panicle hydrangeas in the background. The axial design of the herringbone front walk, punctuated by a bluestone transitional space and formal cast limestone urn, create an axis by which all other landscape elements are symmetrically mirrored. Desiring a rear entertainment space separated from the adjacent 4 car garage and recreational lawn, a series of intimate gathering spaces were designed to include Edgartown inspired architectural features that would establish the character of the garden while setting the backdrop for a robust mix of perennials, grasses, hedges and annuals. Mimicking the pattern and detail previously established on the stone base of the home, individually hand chiseled pieces of Valders veneer were used to construct the garden walls. Reclaimed street pavers border a reconfigured bluestone patio and create a garden walk that separates the garden into 4 equal quadrants; each section of the walk connecting itself to a prominent feature of the garden. The central paver transition space is backed by a concentric hedge of low growing boxwoods, delineating annual and perennial. The relocation of an arbor, in conjunction with a new evergreen hedge, creates the desired partition between relaxed conversation and open lawn activities. A brick masonry water feature with reclaimed 1916 antique cast iron tub anchors the garden and terminates the perennial adorned paver walk opposite the home’s fireplace centered within the main seating area. Whether spending an evening with friends or a quiet moment alone, this quaint garden space offers our clients the perfect ambiance to pause and reflect on life’s special treasures.

Patio - mid-sized backyard concrete paver patio idea in New York with no cover

Inspired by the client’s frequent trips to Martha’s Vineyard, this renovation project’s primary goal was to create a landscape complimentary of this Colonial Revival style home, reminiscent of Edgartown, Massachusetts. The front landscape was specifically designed to offer expansive views of a layered horizontal foundation planting that nestled itself around the base of the home, allowing the home itself to be the star of the show. Flowering borders that rotate with the seasons create a strong foreground while a clipped yew hedge forms the barrier needed to separate the billowing panicle hydrangeas in the background. The axial design of the herringbone front walk, punctuated by a bluestone transitional space and formal cast limestone urn, create an axis by which all other landscape elements are symmetrically mirrored. Desiring a rear entertainment space separated from the adjacent 4 car garage and recreational lawn, a series of intimate gathering spaces were designed to include Edgartown inspired architectural features that would establish the character of the garden while setting the backdrop for a robust mix of perennials, grasses, hedges and annuals. Mimicking the pattern and detail previously established on the stone base of the home, individually hand chiseled pieces of Valders veneer were used to construct the garden walls. Reclaimed street pavers border a reconfigured bluestone patio and create a garden walk that separates the garden into 4 equal quadrants; each section of the walk connecting itself to a prominent feature of the garden. The central paver transition space is backed by a concentric hedge of low growing boxwoods, delineating annual and perennial. The relocation of an arbor, in conjunction with a new evergreen hedge, creates the desired partition between relaxed conversation and open lawn activities. A brick masonry water feature with reclaimed 1916 antique cast iron tub anchors the garden and terminates the perennial adorned paver walk opposite the home’s fireplace centered within the main seating area. Whether spending an evening with friends or a quiet moment alone, this quaint garden space offers our clients the perfect ambiance to pause and reflect on life’s special treasures.

Inspired by the client’s frequent trips to Martha’s Vineyard, this renovation project’s primary goal was to create a landscape complimentary of this Colonial Revival style home, reminiscent of Edgartown, Massachusetts. The front landscape was specifically designed to offer expansive views of a layered horizontal foundation planting that nestled itself around the base of the home, allowing the home itself to be the star of the show. Flowering borders that rotate with the seasons create a strong foreground while a clipped yew hedge forms the barrier needed to separate the billowing panicle hydrangeas in the background. The axial design of the herringbone front walk, punctuated by a bluestone transitional space and formal cast limestone urn, create an axis by which all other landscape elements are symmetrically mirrored. Desiring a rear entertainment space separated from the adjacent 4 car garage and recreational lawn, a series of intimate gathering spaces were designed to include Edgartown inspired architectural features that would establish the character of the garden while setting the backdrop for a robust mix of perennials, grasses, hedges and annuals. Mimicking the pattern and detail previously established on the stone base of the home, individually hand chiseled pieces of Valders veneer were used to construct the garden walls. Reclaimed street pavers border a reconfigured bluestone patio and create a garden walk that separates the garden into 4 equal quadrants; each section of the walk connecting itself to a prominent feature of the garden. The central paver transition space is backed by a concentric hedge of low growing boxwoods, delineating annual and perennial. The relocation of an arbor, in conjunction with a new evergreen hedge, creates the desired partition between relaxed conversation and open lawn activities. A brick masonry water feature with reclaimed 1916 antique cast iron tub anchors the garden and terminates the perennial adorned paver walk opposite the home’s fireplace centered within the main seating area. Whether spending an evening with friends or a quiet moment alone, this quaint garden space offers our clients the perfect ambiance to pause and reflect on life’s special treasures.

Shelly Harrison
Pool - traditional pool idea in Boston

Request Free Quote This old-world style swimming pool suits the house perfectly. Measuring 15'0" x 46'0" this pool has a beautiful Onxy colored exposed aggregate finish and 1" plum colored glass tile around the waterline. The mosaic mural on the sunshelf was custom designed and installed, and the raised wall waterfall and deck sprays provide a touch of elegance and ambient noise. Bluestone coping and capstone and concrete pavers provide the seating areas.

Completed in 2019, this old school Tudor style home underwent a refreshing update to create a clean transitional style residence and completely new presence on the street. The previous front yard was tight and over planted and offered no parking for the owner or guests. The owner asked DDLA Design to create an all new front entry to provide a more welcoming entry experience with new parking areas. To do this, we introduced a low stone retaining wall in the front yard to create a defined, circular driveway that provided a comfortable parking and turning radius for an estate of this scale. The front driveway used a combination of decorative pavers to create interesting patterns and borders to compliment the stone used on the entry steps and caps. The front landscaping and planting areas were simplified using lower and more ornamental plantings to provide accents of color and evergreen background. Additional decorative urns were used to frame and accent the entry steps to the side garden and front door.

A fun, custom and unique creation we designed and constructed which incorporates many facets to your outdoor living experience! With symmetry in mind we still wanted to bring forth a "softness" to this ensemble. Soft arches and curves combined with a balanced layout and symmetrically cut stone. We used one of our favorite types of stone for the facade- an Oklahoma thick flagstone called "Ozark". We installed this in a dry stack pattern for all vertical surfaces other than the sides of the chimney and pizza oven where we used a buff colored mortar to create a shadow joint. A thick Pennsylvania Bluestone was used for the counter top. The intricate "thin flag feather" insets and backsplash is a Tennessee thin flgastone veneer called "Crab Orchard ( gray). This was painstakingly cut and installed piece by piece in a dry stack pattern. Extremely time consuming but gorgeous! The chimney sits app. 12' tall and the pizza oven sits app. 9' tall. Plenty of room in between for the Green Egg, sink, refrigerator, grill and cabinets. Low voltage night lighting was also incorporated into the backsplash as well as surrounding landscape. We also recommend a clean burning wood for pizza ovens. This one is stocked with European White Birch. These photos do not do this project justice, yet due to the season we will be posting better ones come summer time. Copper planters will also be placed on top of the 16" wide backsplash cap. Our company concentrates on presenting our clients with unique, top quality additions to their home and life with the best products and professional artisans. All styles and types of landscape and hardscape designs coupled with quality and service is our goal. 30 years serving the Atlanta and North Atlanta community. Visit us at arnoldmasonryandlandscape.com and contact us!

Architect: Christopher Hall Architect, Inc. Photograph: Anthony Crisafulli
Inspiration for a farmhouse home design remodel in Boston

Techo-bloc interlock pavers and herring bone pattern PT exterior stairs with Regal Ideas aluminum railing system
Example of a small trendy backyard patio kitchen design in Toronto

Backyard designed by Giuseppe Abbrancati and built by Gappsi in Kings Park, NY. Starting with the installation of a gunite swimming pool, travertine patio, and a pavilion with outdoor kitchen. This backyard received a complete transformation. The old railroad tie retaining wall was removed and re-constructed with a poured reinforced-concrete wall. It was then veneered with tumbled travertine split-face veneers and finished on top with 12 inch wide, 2 inch thick travertine coping. Sheer descent water features were also installed in the wall over the center spilling into the pool. The custom designed swimming pool has a roman end by the diving area, steps and a spa in the shallow area, and a sundeck with an LED water bubbler on the long side of the pool facing across the pool to the water feature. The bluestone coping installed for swimming pool and spa complement the porcelain tiles installed in the swimming pool water line. The tile markers outline the steps, benches, sundeck, and the spa interior. The finish of the pool is Super Blue Diamond Brite, which consists of a white quartz with speckle of blue. An outdoor kitchen was constructed with granite counter top overhanging the stool sitting area. All walls were veneered with split-face tumbled travertine and Twin-Eagle appliances were installed. The appliances include a 24-inch griddle, see-through refrigerator, bar sink, ice maker, a large burner, and many storage cabinets. A 16x16 pavilion was custom-built over the outdoor cooking area, completed with stained wood beams in the ceiling and all synthetic wood trims wrapping the four columns and fascia. The entire backyard floor and pool patio was completed with Moca tumbled french pattern travertine. The outdoor lighting is designed and installed to uniformly light up the backyard and accent each area. And a free-standing gas fire pit is also placed within the couch area facing the pool.

Perched up on a hill with views of the park, old skate pond with stone warming house, this old stone house looks like it may have been part of an original estate that included the park. It is one of the many jewels in South Orange, New Jersey. The side porch however, was lacking. The owners approached us to take the covered concrete patio with mildewed dropped ceiling just off the living room, and create a three season room that was a bit more refined while maintaining the rustic charm that could be used as an indoor/outdoor space when entertaining. So without compromising the historical details and charm of the original stone structure, we went to work. First we enclosed the porch. A series of custom picture and operable casement windows by JELD-WEN were installed between the existing stone columns. We added matching stone below each set of windows and cast sill to match the existing homes’ details. Second, a set of custom sliding mahogany barn doors with black iron hardware were installed to enclose an eight foot opening. When open, entertaining between the house and the adjacent patio flows. Third, we enhanced this indoor outdoor connection with blue stone floors in an English pattern that flow to the new blue stone patio of the same pattern. And lastly, we demolished the drop ceiling and created a varnished batten with bead board cove ceiling adding height and drama. New lighting, ceiling fan from New York Lighting and furnishings indoors and out bring it all together for a beautiful and rustic indoor outdoor space that is comfortable and pleasantly refined.

A hillside stream that falls over a massive boulder into a rippling pool introduces you to the large covered random flagstone patio with sitting wall and gas firepit. Medina, WA.

Here, the covered ground floor patio overlooks a shuffleboard court between the house and the dune. The stones for the home and landscape intersect here: both are limestone quarried in upstate New York, but the round fieldstone suggest the earlier carriage house, while the flatter stones suggest former paving throughout the property, repurposed in this modern version of beachside living. This seating area allows one to enjoy the ocean breezes and extends the interior living space on refreshing evenings.

kelsey Sweichert Bisordi
Design ideas for a modern landscaping in San Francisco.

Set in the garden beside a traditional Dutch Colonial home in Wellesley, Flavin conceived this boldly modern retreat, built of steel, wood and concrete. The building is designed to engage the client’s passions for gardening, entertaining and restoring vintage Vespa scooters. The Vespa repair shop and garage are on the first floor. The second floor houses a home office and veranda. On top is a roof deck with space for lounging and outdoor dining, surrounded by a vegetable garden in raised planters. The structural steel frame of the building is left exposed; and the side facing the public side is draped with a mahogany screen that creates privacy in the building and diffuses the dappled light filtered through the trees. Photo by: Peter Vanderwarker Photography