Inspiration for a mid-sized modern backyard concrete paver patio remodel in San Luis Obispo with a fireplace and a pergola

Inspiration for a traditional backyard stone landscaping in Phoenix.

Back Porch Extension, with outdoor heater, grills, TV
Patio kitchen - traditional backyard concrete patio kitchen idea in Dallas with a roof extension

Patio - mid-sized modern backyard concrete paver patio idea in San Luis Obispo with a fireplace and a pergola

Example of a mid-sized minimalist backyard concrete paver patio design in San Luis Obispo with a fireplace and a pergola

Using only unusual evergreens I designed this small front garden to look interesting while offering all seasons something nice to enjoy. Evergreens are not always green

Mountain style kitchen photo in Denver

This guest bathroom was transformed into a whole new configuration. Included was a new soaking tub & shower enclosure. The wall to wall, horizontal, white tile was installed to look like shiplap. This included the painstaking task of two different grout colors to help hide the transitions, and make it look more like true, wood, shiplap.

The series of LED lights in the pool and spa help to create a soft even glow throughout. The Jandy control system allows the pool lights to be set to a single colour or a changing rainbow of colours, while the ultimate convenience is that most backyard components can be controlled remotely or from inside the home.

Photos: Bob Greenspan
Pool - mid-sized transitional backyard stone and rectangular infinity pool idea in Kansas City

Wall cabinets are kept to a minimum to show off the distinctive vertical shiplap construction. Floor to ceiling wall cabinets are Waypoint® 650 Painted Linen.

Inspiration for a large modern full sun front yard concrete paver driveway in Portland.

Bathroom - contemporary bathroom idea in Las Vegas

Trendy kitchen photo in Las Vegas

A Meyer Lemon tree graces the front, creating a Mediterranean feel
This is an example of a mid-sized mediterranean drought-tolerant and full sun front yard concrete paver garden path in San Diego.

This beautiful geometric project designed by Mike Farley has a lot of elevation changes with a stunning view of the golfcourse. The flush spa was kept near the house for easy access and blended with the contemporary style of the home. Both the outdoor kitchen and fire pit area are used as retaining walls with the elevation change. It also gives lots of seating along with the bar stools - inside and outside the pool. The water feature is a sheer rain fall that is kept low so that the golf course view isn't blocked. There is a nice sized tanning ledge to hang out on. The outdoor kitchen has a grill, trash can, drop in cooler and lots of seating. The cabana has cam lights for evening fun. We used ceramic on the patio that looks like wood and has greys and browns in it. The concrete is grey with a heavy texture. The channels have Mexican Pebble to blend with the grey tones.

The subtle changes begin as soon as you walk out the back door of the house. The existing decking had a lot of what we call "tweeners"; areas that are overly generous walkways, yet not large enough to house furniture. The awkwardly small bluestone patio was expanded to accommodate a generous seating area. This was done by pushing the step-down closer to the pool. Our talented stone mason carefully married the new bluestone into the existing portion of the patio, resulting in an imperceptible difference between the two. As you descend the new bluestone steps to the pool level, your bare feet will be thankful for the new smooth-finished, limestone-colored concrete, with a hand cut pattern carefully etched into it's surface. The old red brick decking was so hot that the owners could not walk around the pool with their bare feet. The brick coping was also replaced with an eased edge, Pennsylvania Premier Stone which matches the new step treads throughout the project. Between the house and the pool, a large raised planter was reconfigured, giving additional space to the pool deck for a shaded lounge chair area. Across the pool, a bank of rather tall painted brick retaining walls were cut down, shortened and moved. This lessened the visual impact of the walls (which were overwhelming in the space) and also opened up a new seating area, nestled under the arms of the massive Pecan tree at the back of the property. Rather than continuing solid decking around the entire pool, the area near these walls has been transformed to large stone stepper pads set in a sea of beautiful St. Augustine lawn. This creates a visually softened area that is still suited to setting tables and chairs when the guest list calls for additional seating. The spa area is possibly the most dramatic change on this project. Yet more raised planter walls divided this area into awkward spaces, unsuited for proper furniture placement. The planters were removed, new stone decks added, and once again expertly married into the existing decks, opening the area to house a large dining table and a newly built-in BBQ area. The spa itself was re-imagined with the bluestone coping and painted brick veneer. The most impressive addition though is the new handmade glazed tiles that surround the existing cast stone water feature. This water feature was almost unnoticeable against the painted brick wall, but now the dramatic arch and pop of color draw the eye to this quaint little corner of the property. Originally designed by one of the most notable landscape architects in town, this once impressive project had faltered in recent years. The pool and spa still functioned well, and the client wanted to keep it intact. In addition, they wanted to keep as much of the existing landscape as possible. But, the surrounding decks, walls and steps were fair game. At first glance, one might think that our changes were simple material changes. However, upon closer inspection, one can see the subtle-yet-transformative changes that came together to update this classic pool in a tasteful, timeless manner, as well as to improve the flow and usability of the deck areas, while softening the feel of this massive hardscape.

Waterfeature using local stone
Photo of a large contemporary full sun backyard water fountain landscape in San Diego for summer.

Small minimalist backyard entryway photo in San Francisco with decking