Kurt Forschen of Twist Tours Photography
This is an example of a large transitional backyard partial sun garden in Austin with a fire feature and gravel.

Gas fire place and modern sitting area
Photo of a large modern backyard full sun formal garden for summer in Los Angeles with a fire feature and concrete pavers.

Photo of a mid-sized country backyard full sun garden in Austin with a fire feature and gravel.

Jennifer Cheung
Photo of a large traditional backyard formal garden in Los Angeles with a fire feature.

Our owners were looking for a garden they could share with their large family. We created multiple seating areas including a firepit set in a gravel circle, surrounded by olive trees. The creamy gravel compliments the stone veneer on the firepit and BBQ. Container plants provide accents.

Design ideas for a mid-sized traditional backyard xeriscape in San Francisco with a fire feature and concrete pavers.

When you make the decision to install a Sport Court basketball or multipurpose game court in the backyard of your home, we understand you have a lot of choices to make. Sport Court game courts come in six different sizes, with endless variations as to color, design, sport and court elements such as a light system, rebounder and optional fence. Sport Court Powergame in Green and Dark Blue with White Basketball Lines and Black Multi-Sport Game Lines

Scapes and Stones
Design ideas for a large modern backyard full sun xeriscape for winter in Phoenix with a fire feature and concrete pavers.

Eric Parnell with www.thenwcollective.com/
Large arts and crafts backyard full sun garden in Other with a fire feature and natural stone pavers.

Cedar spa and flagstone deck look out over tranquil ocean view. This is quite a lovely retreat!! Heaven on earth! All Margie could think of while on this site was, "All I need is a tent out here with this view and I'd be happy." The small weekend home on the flank of the rolling grassy coastal plain in Hollister Ranch (near Gaviota, CA) faces breath-taking panoramic views of ocean, islands, coastal plain, foothills and mountains. Holly Lepere

Steven Marshall
Photo of a small beach style backyard garden in Boston with a fire feature.

Western Pavers can help make you patio a natural extension from indoors to your outdoor living environment. Borders in different paver styles and colors help define the area and shape of your patio and make smaller spaces seem larger.

Inspiration for a mid-sized contemporary backyard garden in Melbourne with a fire feature and natural stone pavers.

This home was in need of a indoor outdoor entertaining space that would compliment the residents desire for clean lines and crisp architectural elements. By adding a lounging area with fire pit, water feature, outdoor kitchen and dinning spaces all atop modern pavers we were able to greatly increase the useable space while providing the polished look the client longed for.

Amazing view from the upper deck looking out on the mountain view and down on the hot tub and firepit decks.
Design ideas for a mid-sized transitional backyard partial sun garden for summer in Salt Lake City with a fire feature and decking.

When you open the back doors of the home of Nancy and Jeremy Campbell in Granville, you don’t just step out onto a patio. You enter an extension of a modern living space that just happens to be outdoors. Their patio’s unique design and setting provides the comfort and style of indoors while enjoying the natural beauty and fresh air of outdoors. It all started with a rather desolate back yard. “It was completely blank, there was nothing back there,” Nancy remembers of the patio space of this 1972 split-level house they bought five years ago. With a blank slate to work with, the Campbells knew the key elements of what they wanted for their new outdoor space when they sat down with Travis Ketron of Ketron Custom Builders to design it. “We knew we wanted something covered so we could use it in the rain, and in the winter, and we knew we wanted a stone fireplace,” Nancy recalls. Travis translated the Campbells’ vision into a design to satisfy outdoor entertaining and relaxing desires in all seasons. The new outdoor space is reminiscent of a vast, rustic great room complete with a stone fireplace, a vaulted ceiling, skylights, and ceiling fans, yet no walls. The space is completely open to the elements without any glass or doors on any of the sides, except from the house. Furnished like a great room, with a built-in music system as well, it’s truly an extension of indoor living and entertaining space, and one that is unaffected by rain. Jeremy comments, “We haven’t had to cover the furniture yet. It would have to be a pretty strong wind to get wet.” Just outside the covered patio is a quartet of outdoor chairs adorned with plush cushions and colorful pillows, positioned perfectly for users to bask in the sun. In the design process, the fireplace emerged as the anchor of the space and set the stage for the outdoor space both aesthetically and functionally. “We didn’t want it to block the view. Then designing the space with Travis, the fireplace became the center,” remembers Jeremy. Placed directly across from the two sets of French doors leading out from the house, a Rumford fireplace and extended hearth of stone in neutral earth tones is the focal point of this outdoor living room. Seating for entertaining and lounging falls easily into place around it providing optimal viewing of the private, wooded back yard. When temperatures cool off, the fireplace provides ample warmth and a cozy setting to experience the change of seasons. “It’s a great fireplace for the space,” Jeremy says of the unique design of a Rumford style fireplace. “The way you stack the wood in the fireplace is different so as to get more heat. It has a shallower box, burns hotter and puts off more heat. Wood is placed in it vertically, not stacked.” Just in case the fireplace doesn’t provide enough light for late-night soirees, there is additional outdoor lighting mounted from the ceiling to make sure the party always goes on. Travis brought the idea of the Rumford outdoor fireplace to the Campbells. “I learned about it a few years back from some masons, and I was intrigued by the idea then,” he says. “We like to do stuff that’s out of the norm, and this fireplace fits the space and function very well.” Travis adds, “People want unique things that are designed for them. That’s our style to do that for them.” The patio also extends out to an uncovered area set up with patio tables for grilling and dining. Gray pavers flow throughout from the covered space to the open-air area. Their continuous flow mimics the feel of flooring that extends from a living room into a dining room inside a home. Also, the earth tone colors throughout the space on the pavers, fireplace and furnishings help the entire space mesh nicely with its natural surroundings. A little ways off from both the covered and uncovered patio area is a stone fire pit ring. Removed by just the right distance, it provides a separate place for young adults to gather and enjoy the night. Adirondack chairs and matching tables surround the outdoor fire pit, offering seating for anyone who doesn’t wish to stand and a place to set down ingredients for yummy fireside treats like s’mores. Padded chairs outside the reach of the pavilion and the nearby umbrella the perfect place to kick back and relax in the sun. The colorful throw pillows and outdoor furniture cushions add some needed color and a touch of personality. Enjoying the comforts of indoors while being outdoors is exactly what the Campbells are doing now, particularly when lounging on the comfortable wicker furniture that dominate most of the area. “My favorite part of the whole thing is the fireplace,” Nancy says. Jeremy concludes, “There is no television, it would destroy the ambiance out there. We just enjoy listening to music and watching the fire.”

FX Luminaire stair lights were custom installed
Design ideas for a large arts and crafts sloped garden in Other with a fire feature and brick pavers.

Andover, MA backyard renovation. - Bluestone patio with radius cut curved stone accents. New England fieldstone seat wall, fire pit and Goshen stone pavers leading to pool house. Granite paver borders and jumbo granite cobbled apron on driveway with lavender and misc. plantings - Sallie Hill Design | Landscape Architecture | 339-970-9058 | salliehilldesign.com | photo ©2012 Brian Hill

Naturalist Stone Fire Pit, adirondack chairs and boulder bench make for a great outdoor living space. Holly Lepere
Design ideas for a contemporary backyard garden in Santa Barbara with a fire feature.