Enjoy Summer in Your Outdoor Living Space
The official season of outdoor living is here! After enduring the cold, damp winter, it’s time to reward ourselves by soaking up the sun and enjoying the great outdoors. Having an outdoor living space right outside your home is perfection, but if your landscape is less than perfect, it may be time to refresh. If you’re ready to explore the many options for creating an outdoor living space, contact Landscape East & West to start the transformation.
Choosing the type of outdoor living space you want involves considering your lifestyle, needs, and preferences, but also your existing landscape. How much space is available, what’s the terrain, and what are the city or county building codes? Our expert designers can help you visualize an ideal space and provide a dose of reality on what’s possible within your budget.
The Design Process
Our team always starts with assessing your space. We measure the outdoor area, observe how the sun hits your yard throughout the day, and check the terrain and soil type. These factors will influence the plants we use, where structures are best placed, and just how much can be incorporated. No matter what size yard you have, we can include just enough to make it a usable and beautiful space.
Our next step is to talk with you about your needs and preferences, creating a tailored list of activities you enjoy, such as barbecuing, gardening, reading, playing with the dogs, or outdoor games with the kids. We ask you to envision how you will use the space whether for cooking, entertaining, playing, or just relaxing. How do you want to spend a warm summer day, as well as a cool fall afternoon?
While we encourage you to find photos that represent your dream yard, we offer a bit of caution in getting drawn in by the splashy pages of design magazines. It wasn’t long ago that designers were showing extravagant outdoor kitchens that replicated indoor kitchens. We have created such spaces and know there’s a place for such structures, perhaps if you have a pool and don’t want wet bodies dripping in your home, but before you jump at that idea, consider the practicality. Does hauling the cookware, spices, and condiments from inside to outside make sense? If not, will you need to put in cabinetry as well? Going further, a full kitchen outdoors will require plumbing and electricity for the sink, refrigerator, and cooktop. Hiring a plumber and electrician will quickly add up and may mean scrimping in other places.
Our designers can help you find the compromise of space for grilling or using an outdoor pizza oven with plenty of seating and a table, but instead of adding everything including the kitchen sink, why not put that money towards a trickling water feature, beautiful plants, and a low maintenance porcelain paver patio?
With your needs, wants, and the practicalities of the space ironed out, we begin. to plan the layout. Your outdoor space will likely be divided into zones based on the different activities that will take place. For example, there may be a patio for the grill and tables, a quiet nook for a gazebo with a lounge chair, and a grassy area for dogs and kids to run. We’ll ensure a natural flow with clear pathways between the zones and from your house to the outdoors.
Planning also means sequencing. Certain elements of a yard renovation have to happen before others. If you install a fence before the patio is laid, you may block access for the needed equipment and materials. Irrigation should come before planting and often before structures. Our experts can help you map out the sequence of your outdoor living area installation to ensure the simplest and most cost-effective process. And if your budget is limited, we’re happy to help you plan out your dream yard in stages without putting the cart before the horse!
Trending Now
We mentioned the trend of outdoor kitchens, but we’re seeing more practical trends around the greater Portland area.
Patio: One of the most common choices due to its versatility and ease of maintenance, a patio is a paved area adjoining the house, suitable for dining, lounging, and hosting gatherings. It can be made from concrete, stone, brick, or pavers meaning customization can truly make a patio unique.
Deck: A top choice, especially in homes with elevation changes, decks are ideal for enjoying views and outdoor dining. An elevated platform often connected to the house, a deck can be made of wood or composite materials and include built-in seating, planters, fire pits, and grills. We build custom decks to meet your specific needs.
Garden: A garden is a space dedicated to growing plants, flowers, and vegetables, and is a beloved choice for those who enjoy growing their food and creating a lush, green retreat. A garden can be enhanced with pathways, arbors, trellises, and raised beds, mixed with natural elements like wood, stone, and metal for garden structures.
Fire Pit or Fireplace: In our cooler climate, a cozy area with a fire element, is highly popular for gatherings and enjoying evenings outside. A fire feature made from stone, brick, metal, or concrete, can be a simple fire pit or more elaborate outdoor fireplace, often surrounded by seating areas.
Outdoor Living Room: With a solid patio or deck serving as the base, outdoor living rooms are gaining popularity as homeowners seek to extend their indoor living space outdoors. These spaces can be designed with comfortable and weatherproof seating like sofas and lounge chairs, outdoor rugs, and coffee tables. They can include televisions and audio systems to further mimic what you’d find in an indoor living room.
Pergola or Gazebo: Favored for providing shade and adding a decorative element to the outdoor space pergolas and gazebos enhance the comfort and aesthetic of your outdoor space. These structures are often used to cover dining or lounging areas and can be adorned with climbing plants, lights, or curtains.
Looking Ahead
Our goal at Landscape East & West is to help you build the yard you need at each stage of your life. For young families having a space for a trampoline, basketball court, play equipment, and a lawn may be preferable, but what about 5 to 10 years from now? As kids grow up, you may want less lawn and mowing and more garden space. If gardening loses its appeal, a firepit to sit by with friends, or a water feature to backdrop hours of reading may be the next step. Your landscape design can be as dynamic as your interior design because nothing we do today can’t be undone and redone in the years ahead.
No matter what stage of life, you deserve the ideal outdoor living area and Landscape East & West can help make that happen, again and again. Contact our team for a free consultation and together we can bring years of enjoyment to your outdoor space.
