Executive Living Space
Residential- Location
- Columbus, Ohio
- Property
- Residential
- Scope
- Patios and hardscapes, Outdoor kitchens and fire features, Retaining and seat walls
Two levels of outdoor living: a raised deck above, a covered patio and bar below, held together by a retaining wall and boulder steps.
The grade change behind this house was the whole problem and the whole opportunity. Rather than fight it, we used it, putting a covered patio and bar underneath the existing raised deck and building the retaining wall that made the lower level possible.
The wall does three jobs at once. It holds the grade, it gives the upper garden a usable flat terrace, and it forms the edge of the planting beds that soften the transition between the two levels.
Natural boulder steps run from the lawn up to the terrace, and hydrangeas along the wall give the whole thing some weight through the summer. The lower patio is lit and covered, so it stays in use when the upper deck is too hot or too wet.
