This outdoor kitchen/bar provides everything you need to entertain your guests outdoors. The stainless steel cabinets along the wall house a sink, refrigerator and plenty of storage.

Our client’s garden was bereft of any interest, other than a large shed at the end of the garden, and a small patio outside the house. An unattractive stand of conifers dominated one side of the garden, and overpowered the space. These two areas were linked using a bold design of interlinking circles, with a cobbled path snaking its’ way down the garden to create a feeling of greater width and depth. A dry stone wall sets off the patio, and frames the entrance into the main part of the garden. A feature pot is set on a plinth at the bottom end of the garden, where it is visible from the house. The planting is colourful and interesting, with box balls used to reinforce the circular theme. The conifers have been removed and replaced with attractive ornamental trees that will provide more year round interest

Glencoe Residence Landscape. Brick Paver Driveway with Bluestone Motorcourt Border, Radiant Snow Melt Heat System, French Inspired Formal Entrance Landscape, Low Voltage Lighting, and Irrigation. Entire property Constructed by: Arrow. Designed by: Marco Romani, RLA - Landscape Architect.

A complete and eclectic rear garden renovation with a creative blend of formal and natural elements. Formal lawn panel and rose garden, craftsman style wood deck and trellis, homages to Goldsworthy and Stonehenge with large boulders and a large stone cairn, several water features, a Japanese Torii gate, rock walls and steps, vegetables and herbs in containers and a new parking area paved with permeable pavers that feed an underground storage area that in turns irrigates the garden. All this blends into a diverse but cohesive garden. Designed by Charles W Bowers, Built by Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc. © Garden Gate Landscaping, Inc./Charles W. Bowers

Gingerbread farmhouse remodel

Carl Mayfield

Santa Barbara lifestyle with this gated 5,200 square foot estate affords serenity and privacy while incorporating the finest materials and craftsmanship. Visually striking interiors are enhanced by a sparkling bay view and spectacular landscaping with heritage oaks, rose and dahlia gardens and a picturesque splash pool. Just two minutes to Marin’s finest schools.

Reverse Shed Eichler This project is part tear-down, part remodel. The original L-shaped plan allowed the living/ dining/ kitchen wing to be completely re-built while retaining the shell of the bedroom wing virtually intact. The rebuilt entertainment wing was enlarged 50% and covered with a low-slope reverse-shed roof sloping from eleven to thirteen feet. The shed roof floats on a continuous glass clerestory with eight foot transom. Cantilevered steel frames support wood roof beams with eaves of up to ten feet. An interior glass clerestory separates the kitchen and livingroom for sound control. A wall-to-wall skylight illuminates the north wall of the kitchen/family room. New additions at the back of the house add several “sliding” wall planes, where interior walls continue past full-height windows to the exterior, complimenting the typical Eichler indoor-outdoor ceiling and floor planes. The existing bedroom wing has been re-configured on the interior, changing three small bedrooms into two larger ones, and adding a guest suite in part of the original garage. A previous den addition provided the perfect spot for a large master ensuite bath and walk-in closet. Natural materials predominate, with fir ceilings, limestone veneer fireplace walls, anigre veneer cabinets, fir sliding windows and interior doors, bamboo floors, and concrete patios and walks. Landscape design by Bernard Trainor: www.bernardtrainor.com (see “Concrete Jungle” in April 2014 edition of Dwell magazine). Microsoft Media Center installation of the Year, 2008: www.cybermanor.com/ultimate_install.html (automated shades, radiant heating system, and lights, as well as security & sound).

AZEK Deck's Brownstone, part of the Harvest Collection, is a pleasing and popular tried and true decking color that is a soft shade of brown. Paired with white AZEK Premier Rail, this creates a lovely and striking appearance that welcomes all to relax and enjoy low maintenance, stain- and scratch-resistant AZEK Deck. With a limited lifetime warranty, AZEK Deck is designed to last beautifully. Available in 16 additional colors and several grain textures, AZEK Deck has a color to complement any housing exterior allowing you to personalize your backyard experience.

Photo by George Dzahristos

The goal of this project was to provide a lush and vast garden for the new owners of this recently remodeled brick Georgian. Located in Wheaton this acre plus property is surrounded by beautiful Oaks. Preserving the Oaks became a particular challenge with the ample front walk and generous entertaining spaces the client desired. Under most of the Oaks the turf was in very poor condition, and most of the property was covered with undesirable overgrown underbrush such as Garlic Mustard weed and Buckthorn. With a recently completed addition, the garages were pushed farther from the front door leaving a large distance between the drive and entry to the home. This prompted the addition of a secondary door off the kitchen. A meandering walk curves past the secondary entry and leads guests through the front garden to the main entry. Off the secondary door a “kitchen patio” complete with a custom gate and Green Mountain Boxwood hedge give the clients a quaint space to enjoy a morning cup of joe. Stepping stone pathways lead around the home and weave through multiple pocket gardens within the vast backyard. The paths extend deep into the property leading to individual and unique gardens with a variety of plantings that are tied together with rustic stonewalls and sinuous turf areas. Closer to the home a large paver patio opens up to the backyard gardens. New stoops were constructed and existing stoops were covered in bluestone and mortared stonewalls were added, complimenting the classic Georgian architecture. The completed project accomplished all the goals of creating a lush and vast garden that fit the remodeled home and lifestyle of its new owners. Through careful planning, all mature Oaks were preserved, undesirables removed and numerous new plantings along with detailed stonework helped to define the new landscape.

Give your deck the edge with beautiful, durable and low maintenance of high-performance Trex Fascia. It’s now available to match each Trex decking and railing collection, including an all-white that complements practically any outdoor living element.

water features, bubbler, flagstone hardscaping, rock garden, outdoor seating, outdoor living space

This turn-of-the-century original Sellwood Library was transformed into an amazing Portland home for it's New York transplants. Leaded glass windows, an open porch and custom made bench add to the eclectic mix of original craftsmanship and modern influences. Lincoln Barbour

This beautiful natural oasis is enhanced with a beach entry pool created from Oklahoma stone. A sheer decent curved waterfall adds drama to this gorgeous space. Bubblers in the beach area give the children hours of fun as bar stools in the water at the deeper end give the adults a place of their own. The swim up bar overlooks a curved outdoor kitchen that houses a grill, egg, drawers, side burner and sink. A pergola at the end of the kitchen with a stunning stone fireplace gives the perfect destination for dinner and conversation. Hemispheres fine furniture adorns this space for the perfect addition to all of its ambiance.

PA Landscape Group, Inc. http://www.palandscapegroup.com/ Project Entry: Mechanicsburg Residence 2013 PLNA Awards for Landscape Excellence Winner Category: Residential Hardscaping $60,000 & Over Award Level: Bronze Project Description: Our client was ready to replace a deteriorating wood deck at the back of their home. They wanted to create an area where his wife and two daughters could enjoy the outdoors,occasional meal off the grill, and hang out with friends. We were challenged to keep the outdoor room from sprawling over a rear yard with a consistently changing grade to the side property line and keeping some open lawn for the sports minded daughters. The area at the back property was wooded and owned by the homeowners association and not maintained. Our design goals were to create a three season area to enjoy the grill year round and social space for family and friends. Oh yes,a place to read the newspaper and watch the Philly's. The existing deck was surrounded by six foot Euonymus alatus, which we decided early on to save and transplant if possible. The Euonymus had been a part of the house since it was constructed. The Euonymus became a new screen, to separate the area from the property line. We created a landing large enough to tie the door,grill pavilion and patio areas together and the steps are good if more kids show up than expected. The dining and grilling area is under roof of a 12ft. x 18ft. pavilion. This structure provides a roofed enclosure. The interior roof is softly lighted and a fan provided to keep a comfortable breeze. The grill,table, and hardscape buffet provide all that is needed to dine and a spot to set the TV to keep up with the Philly's. After dinner the family can move down to the fireplace and hot tub area to relax and enjoy the evening. While Dad can spread out the sports page on the table and read the newspaper. Brussel Block pavers, by Unilock,were choose for the casual tumbled quality and smooth clean surface to accommodate socks and bare feet. One inlay was placed just off the landing to be a central point of the outdoor space. Darker red colored Copthorne pavers, by Unilock, are used as accents both vertically and horizontally to be contiguous with the fireplace element. We set the fireplace at a 45 degree angle and set the wood boxes parallel and perpendicular to the fire box. This creates a cozy seating area and prevents the total layout from running straight across the rear ofthe house. We also constructed a customized the hearth to provide a wider sitting area. Coming from the garage we keep the same grade to the back kitchen door, dropped down one step to the patio and pavilion and then down two steps into the fireplace and hot tub area. This also breaks up the feeling of going straight across the back of the house. The grill island houses a Lynx grill and in the end of the grill island is a refrigerator so that everyone does not have to keep going behind the counter to get drinks.At the opposite end of the pavilion a hardscape buffet was built to provide more counter space for serving food and supplied with electricity to provide power for a TV,computer etc. Low voltage pathway lighting was positioned along the walk from the drive to the back doors for security and safety along the path. Up lighting to the interior of the pavilion roof give an ambient light to the grill and dining area and minimal lighting to the fireplace which will radiate its own light. Control of the pavilion lights is located on the grill island. Low voltage lighting provides a great view along the back wood line. This light along the wood line expands visually the space allowing the backyard to become a great space for all to enjoy. Our client's expectations were surpassed in meeting the challenge of our design goals. Photo Credit: PA Landscape Group, Inc.