Although the house is still under construction and we won’t move in until late fall, we’ve already been thinking about what we want the back yard to look like. The builder will install a 20′ x 12′ deck off the family room – where the three ‘pink’ footers are in the picture below. We specifically requested an additional slider door be included in our Master Bedroom rather than just a window so we can have back yard access on that side too. The builder will provide basic ‘steps’ at that door for now, but next season we plan to build a deck to match the one on the other side.
We had originally planned to continue the deck out the entire length of the house, but we decided it would be easier and more cost effective to have the two decks with a ground-level patio in between so that the hot tub could sit lower than the deck which eliminates the need to ‘climb’ into it. Plus I won’t fret about the deck being stable enough to support a full hot tub!
I also like the idea of breaking the space up into different areas for different purposes. I’m envisioning something like this on our ‘private’ Master Bedroom deck for lounging and a dining set on the deck off the family room. On the patio below I would like to make something like this where guests could sit and relax near a fire pit which will be made from this free washing machine tub we snagged on Craigslist last week!
The plan is to use pavers like this or stamped concrete like this on the patio, then use landscaping stones to create a spot that the drum will slide into. Eventually we’d like to have one or both decks screened in or at least covered by a pergola with some sort of rain protection to extend the usability in our short summer season. But that of course is a year or five down the road.
Beyond the decks and patio we plan to have grass for the dogs. Depending on when we get into the house, we might buy some of the ‘end of season clearance seed’ to put out and see what we get, but most likely we will have the yard hydroseeded next spring. I was stunned to find out that they charge just $395 if the area to be seeded is less than 3,000 sq. ft. Um, yeah! Sounds good to me! Definitely better than the Craigslist ad I saw for free sod if you come cut up and haul off some guy’s yard! I might be thrifty, but I know my time is valuable and I’d spend a whole lot more digging up, hauling and replanting his old “who knows what’s in it” grass than paying the out call to have fresh, weed free grass growing within 2 weeks! Knowing us we’ll measure out everything before we schedule and make sure we’re just under that figure. We should be able to do an L-shape around the back and side of the house well within that figure. 🙂
I don’t have much landscaping beyond the deck-patio-deck and lawn planned for the back yard, but I will probably put a small flower bed along the bedroom side of the house for perennials like bulbs and hostas. Our garden will be to the right of the deck off the family room in the alcove created between the side o the house and 3rd bay of the garage, which you can see on the right edge of the photo above. Watch for a post about that plan next week!
Apparently Tequila approves of this change because she often chooses this spot to nap during the day! So I guess that means it’s a keeper. 🙂
Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys 