With Memorial Day came the unofficial start of summer, and the perfect weather had most of us finding every excuse possible to be outdoors. However, when a homeowner in Horsham made their way to their backyard, they decided they had finally had enough of their drab and useless patio design.

They were stuck with poured concrete foundation walls, an unusable space under the deck, and a small concrete slab outside the basement door. They wanted to transform this bland outdoor area into fully functioning and attractive entertaining space, and so they contacted Garrett Churchill for help.

We were inspired by the foundation of the house, which was veneered with stone in a contrasting color to the grey siding of the home. To start, we installed sitting walls to frame the patio and fire bowl, and veneered the walls in the same stone that was used on the house to tie everything together. The patio itself was done with manufactured bluestone product, similar to what was used on the front walkway we completed two years ago.

Next, a Belgium block border was installed to contain the pea gravel under the deck. This space was completed with a large couch, chair, outdoor rug, and two tables. While the area would have looked lovely on any property, we feel that the stone veneer on the foundation really brings the space to life.

We finished the project off with two redbuds, one dogwood, several shrubs, and grasses. Uplighting illuminates the three trees in the yard, and lighting under the bluestone caps on the sitting wall softly light up the patio.

This is truly a perfect space to spend summer evenings entertaining, or to roast some marshmallows for s’mores on family night. We’re so glad we were able to transform this outdoor living area for our clients!