Private Garden

New parents Sean and Sara were excited to become homeowners and spent all their energy redecorating. But when baby Leah came along, they realize their unkempt, sloping backyard was an eyesore that needed to be fixed. Although the deck is large and relatively new, no one wants to step off the deck into a rutted yard with overgrown grass and a destination point that looks straight into a neighbor's yard. They ask Chris to design a yard with a play area for Leah and a dining and entertaining area for themselves. Chris and his team level out the yard and create a flagstone patio with an elegant outdoor fire pit. A raised dining room under a pergola gets a clever privacy wall created by antique shutters. A mismatched garage wall is treated with a paint technique that ties the garage to the yard. And Chris re-purposes an old shed and creates a charming playhouse for the toddler. Where the deck used to be the only outdoor space the family used, it is transformed into a stepping off point into their new, private garden.