Landscape Designs
Outbuildings and Weekend Cabins Smart design and innovative details take backyard reading nooks, home offices and weekend cabins to new heights
Kitchen Storage Areas
shed organization
Small but Mighty This garden shed from Outpost London may be small, but it works hard. Pegs fitted onto the back of the door hold frequently used tools, upper shelves provide storage for watering cans and soil amendments, and a larger space below can fit a bicycle. An adjoining potting bench provides room to spread out gardening projects on the worktop and store extra pots and soil on shelves below.
Urban. Tucked into a side yard next to a Santa Barbara, California, home, this 90-square-foot shed acts as a combination workshop, storage space and area to store recycling bins. The space-maximizing design works to take advantage of every square inch, perfect for a small-scale suburban or city backyard. The homeowners used a mix of new building materials, such as corrugated Plexiglas, wood boards and salvaged windows to build a shed that both fits their needs and tight space.
Rustic. Keep wood siding unpainted for a more woodsy look for your shed, and position the shed where it will be partially concealed under the boughs of trees or behind shrubbery. Constructed out of cedar siding and a galvanized metal roof, this storage shed in a Pennsylvania garden looks rustic but modern. Details such as the angled notch at the back as a modern interpretation of a bay window and the use of galvanized metal for the construction give the design a contemporary edge that would work as well in a woodland setting as an urban backyard.
Garden shed. Sometimes there’s just no perfect spot for a shed to take up residence in the backyard. Tucking it to the side can help provide privacy from the street. This Japanese-style shed by S. Baird Design stands out along the side yard. Just be sure to check your local regulations regarding where you can place an outbuilding before you do this.
Healing gardens have a special place in garden design. When you are creating a garden from a healing perspective, it is important to make sure all the senses — sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing — are engaged.
Outdoor lighting can do so much to improve an outdoor space: It can mark the way, highlight a landscape design, complement a home’s architecture and boost the ambiance of an outdoor seating or dining area in the evening. Low-Voltage Lighting, Led lighting, or solar lighting options Less is more. Stagger light fixtures to Illuminate your landscape paths without creating a runway look
When adding a structure to the landscape, it’s best to reference the home’s architecture by pulling in the style, paint color, rooflines and materials. If it’s done thoughtfully, something that could be an eyesore — say, garbage bin storage in the center of a front yard — can become an attractive asset to the overall look of the home.
Surround a storage area with a trellis or wire fence, plant leafy vines and soon storage bins bikes or other equipment will be hidden from view. In this Mountain View, California, yard by Taproot Garden Design & Fine Gardening, a metal framework screens off the area for garbage and recycling bins from the driveway and street. Honeysuckle vines soon will cover the framework with fragrant blossoms and a leafy screen, masking both the sight and any odors from the garbage bins.
An Atypical Greenhouse on a Canadian Island Who uses it: Sherryl Yaciansky Location: An island off the Upper Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada Size: 140 square feet (13 square meters) Year built: 2013 What happens in here: Year-round gardening and plant growing That’s interesting: All of the windows and the door are reclaimed materials found locally on the island where the couple live. Used local materials, most of which were reclaimed, her husband created a wonderful and unique shed for her. “My she shed is a greenhouse, so year-round gardening is what I do in here,” she says. “It is a great place to start seedlings in the spring and for growing summer veggies like tomatoes and peppers. During the winter I grow cool-weather veggies, such as greens like lettuce and kale, and herbs.” “The north wall is made of bottles and stucco, which is both funky and functional,” Yaciansky says. The wall warms up during the day in the sunlight and keeps the greenhouse warm at night. The glass bottles throw filtered colored light from the south side to her potting bench on the north side of the cabin. Here you can also see two closets for storing items like fertilizer and gardening t...
Create Multiple Outdoor Rooms Landscapes divided into multiple-use areas are often more dynamic spaces, both for kids and adults. This backyard by B. Jane Gardens in Austin, Texas, for example, has plenty of activities for everyone in the family, with an outdoor kitchen, edible garden, greenhouse, chicken coop, compost pile and spots for hanging out and relaxing. Kids would want to investigate the different areas of the garden — perhaps pinching a tomato or two from the kitchen garden, checking for eggs in the chicken coop, or running their fingers through the fountain (the narrow blue rill to the left).
Shed at a Glance Location: Bethesda, Maryland Size: 100 square feet (9.3 square meters); 10 feet tall (3 meters) by 10 feet wide by 10 feet long Architects: Amy Gardner and Brittany Williams of Gardner Architects, who designed the shed and oversaw the stormwater-management measures taken during the home renovation Landscape Architect: Holt Jordan of Jordan Honeyman Landscape Architecture, who designed the planting master plan and oversaw stormwater-management measures regarding the shed Structural Engineer: Christopher Cobb of 1200 Architectural Engineers General Contractor: Alan Kanner of Added Dimensions The shed design was part of a larger master plan for managing rainwater — with some measures put into place during a recent renovation of the main house (which the architects had completed) — and for creating a habitat for local wildlife outside of a home in Bethesda, Maryland. The goal for the shed was that it would become a catch-all for garden hoses, tools, a wheelbarrow and bicycles while still presenting a stylish exterior that would complement the home. The house had been built without a garage or other typical storage areas and needed a spot to store these household item...
Side Yard Indoor to Outodoor Designer: Seed Studio Landscape Design Location: San Francisco Size: Total exterior space is 700 square feet (65 square meters) Folding glass doors and slate pavers (which predate the design) at finished floor height make the transition from the home outside nearly seamless. Landscape designer Steve Ritchey, who oversaw the redesign, topped an existing perimeter fence with new planter boxes, creating an even more attractive view from the many rooms that overlook the patio. Blue chalk sticks (Senecio mandraliscae), native island alumroot (Heuchera maxima) and western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) grow in the planters. Overhead are new wood crossbeams, “creating a sense of an outdoor room instead of the existing slot canyon feeling,” Ritchey says of the three-story-tall walled space. “My goal was to bring down the ceiling to something approximating a more typical room height, which feels more comfortable and inviting.” The wood ceiling and eventual maple tree canopy, he adds, help keep the eyes down and within the space. Mounted heaters: Infratech Comfort Heaters Seed Studio Landscape Design In designing and furnishing the side yard, “it needed ....
A Dream Backyard Getaway
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