Archive for outdoor living

Creating Small City Backyard Retreats in Portland

Why Experience Matters in Backyard Landscape Design

I was pleased to share the before photos of this Portland backyard garden retreat with you earlier this year in this blog post. Today, I’m thrilled to reveal some after photos—and tell a few stories along the way about how thoughtful design and careful decision-making transform tricky city backyards into personal retreats.

A view of the first door in this backyard retreat landscaping project.
This small city backyard is almost ready for the new porch and steps to the sunroom.
Under construction, this backyard landscaping project was a puzzle.
The rotting old deck was removed and Cascade Fence and Deck crew were careful not to damage the bark on the prized shade tree.  Before new porch w dining deck and bar.

The Challenge: Two Doors, Two Sets of Stairs, and One Big Puzzle

When I first met my clients Rich and his family, we discussed their small city backyard—a space hemmed in by two sets of stairs, two doors opening to the garden, and a beautiful but (seemingly) in-the-way spring-flowering magnolia.

Having two doors in a small backyard always makes planning your “movement”—the flow from space to space—a bit of a puzzle. But as an experienced designer, I see these challenges as opportunities to create clever, intimate spaces that truly work for my clients’ lives.

Experience Pays Off: Putting Trees First

Without the mature magnolia, the design might have missed that “magic.” Honestly, if we’d lost the tree, I would have had to approach the entire project differently—and the cost to recreate this kind of shade and presence? Astronomical! My clients are dedicated to their tree and consult pros for its care. In a space like this, that’s invaluable.

A big part of what I bring to every landscape design project is deep respect for what’s already there—especially trees. An experienced landscape designer doesn’t just plop down new features, we carefully weigh the benefits of every existing plant, evaluating what should be preserved and how best to protect those green treasures. That pays off both aesthetically and financially.

Protecting Roots, Protecting Value

This magnolia’s root flare was nearly at the base of our new deck, its roots winding through the yards on both sides. We consulted a certified arborist at Honl Tree Care for advice. We avoided raising soil grade, and—most importantly—didn’t compact the patio surface.

Compacted crushed rock is nearly the industry standard for paths and patios in Portland, but experience has taught me that breathing space for roots is paramount. Compacting soil strips out oxygen, literally suffocating roots. That’s not worth the risk to a 50-year-old magnolia.

The backyard sitting area being at ground level, rather than on a backyard deck, adds privacy and zen to this tranquil retreat.
My clients can enjoy being in their garden rather than perched above it.  This location has even more privacy than the new deck.
By using uncompressed gravel, this backyard design lets water get into the ground and nourish roots.
Steel edging butts into stone making the path part of the garden experience.

Returning Water to the Earth

Selecting the right surfaces is another place my experience really counts. In this backyard, I used a 5/8-inch crushed rock for the sitting area—without compacting it—so rainwater goes right through, back into the ground. My clients wondered about cleanup after “the great annual petal drop,” but with a broom and a little patience, it worked beautifully. Functionality, aesthetics, and environmental friendliness, all rolled into one solution.

It’s important to not change the oxygen ratio in the soil near tree roots.  Compacting the soil removes oxygen.   Adding soil over the root zone will change the oxygen ration and damage the roots ability to uptake water….After all they can’t just pick up and move their roots overnight if we change their environment.

Creating Privacy, Creating Sanctuary

A huge part of my work—and where intuition and experience play the biggest role—is understanding how to frame space for maximum comfort. By setting the conversation area down in the garden, we created privacy and a cozy, enveloping feel—a true garden “room.” This was my clients heart’s desire.

Privacy Art Screens Work to Create a Backyard Sitting Room

The screens repeat the rust color, add depth to the small city backyard and break up the horizontal lines of the fence making our sitting area feel more like its own room.  They are located to view from inside the house from the sun room and a whole bank of windows in the kitchen.

Landscape-Design-In-A-Day designed this tranquil backyard retreat.
View from the dining deck to the sunroom porch after the design was installed.
We used matching colors all around to add harmony to this small city backyard retreat.
Finished steel planters dress the house wall and welcome us to the dining deck. My client Rich treated the steel to change it from a black to this mottled rust orange which contrasts with the slate blue house body color beautifully.

To punch up visual interest and privacy, we repeated the rust color from custom-finished steel planters (shout out to Rich for his creative process using hydrogen peroxide, rock salt, and vinegar on raw steel!). He used this technique to change the planters from a basic black raw steel to the rust finish you see.  The steel screens from Home Depot echo the planters’ patina, break up the shallow yard’s horizontal lines, and make even a petite space feel layered and intentional—like a private, hidden retreat for dining, lounging, clinking glasses, or sipping coffee.

Small Details, Big Delight

Details matter: the way Brian Woodruff, (Mortar and Petal) selected and set our boulders and used steel edges for the paths is refined and quietly beautiful—simple, deliberate moments that give the space soul. The new deck’s soft, neutral tone boards isn’t boring at all,  but creates the perfect backdrop.

And a fun surprise? My clients realized, post-design, that there was room for a bar counter at the deck’s end—giving them their first-ever sit spot view into their lush, Japanese-inspired front garden. And now, even their sunroom furniture was relocated to face the garden, and wow we see there’s a new “favorite” spot at the bar for morning coffee. These delightful, unforeseen changes are the best signs that our design is a perfect fit and that our new backyard retreat is truly being lived in and loved. That’s the real reward of thoughtful, experienced design.

Ready to Love Your Tricky City Backyard?

If you have a small, challenging city backyard in the Portland area, I’d love to help you make it wonderful and welcoming—a place you’re drawn to every single day. With an experienced landscape designer, your outdoor space can become not just more functional, but an oasis that reflects your style and maximizes every inch!

Let’s talk. Contact me and let’s create the retreat you’ve been dreaming of.

P.S. The old, rotting deck is gone (thanks to the careful crew at Cascade Fence and Deck), the new porch and dining deck are in, and the  plants are growing and looking healthy. The transformation is nearly complete… and I couldn’t be happier for my clients!

 

 

Tricky Outdoor Living Landscape Design for Portland Backyard: Part 1 of 2

Making The Best Use of Small Portland Backyard for Outdoor Living

Challenging Portland landscape design for outdoor living.

Room for a little lawn for the pups, an office and entertaining area will be a challenge in Portland corner lot.

My client Stacy needed privacy and a complete re design of the back yard of her 1940’s home.  She has an especially tricky corner lot.  They often have a much smaller back yard especially when the house faces one street and the driveway and garage are around the corner.

Where will the new office go?

There are some difficult and very important ways I needed to help Stacy make this new home work for her.  It wasn’t just having a nice back yard that was at stake.  She needed to add a 12’ x 10’ office to her back yard for her new job as the house was not big enough to accommodate working from home.

Small Portland lot needed a lot of landscape design for outdoor living spaces.

Not enough room for entertaining with friends in this tricky city corner lot-NE Portland

Not Enough Outdoor Living Space

Her past outdoor lifestyle had lots of outdoor entertaining with 10 to 15 friends over. It would be pretty sad to tell half the friends they were not invited to her next July party.  Her dream back yard needed to have a dining table for 6 and a large sectional sofa.

Protect the large Shade Tree from construction

The back yard had significant privacy issues on two sides, a magnificent (over the top amazing) 25’ tall mature Japanese maple and the strangest drainage system for her garage roof I have ever seen in my life.

Landscape design concept drawing for outdoor living spaces of Portland corner lot.

Concept drawing #3 of 7 – My client and I are looking for the best possible layout of the landscape to accomplish our goals. Sometimes 3 concept drawings isn’t enough. This one was better at accomplishing our goals, but not the winner.

She needed a designer to create multiple landscape layouts to find a design that would make the best use of her space and give her as much of her hearts desires as possible.  The word possible is important.  And there were many many different or slightly different layout designs created to find the best one for this tough city back yard.

Beloved Wood Table

I had created several drawings prior to our first on site appointment so I already suspected the bad news but ever the optimist I worked on site with Stacy for 2 hours before making the first cut in her wish list.

The challenge I hit right away was how to keep Stacy’s large beloved wood table she and friends had built.  It was a beautiful piece of handcrafted furniture and the table she had special dinners with friends for many years. It was very important to her.

We worked together at her kitchen table which is a typical way I like to work with my clients. Stacy will tell you the first thing she learned was that she didn’t have enough room to keep her beloved outdoor table that she and friends had built.  It was simply too big.

Challenging Portland landscape design for outdoor living included large table and sitting area on client's wish list.Seeing me work and re work the concept drawings right before her eyes helped her let go and open up to the next steps and that was a good thing.  In short letting go of her lovely table was important because it could not be done without giving up either the office or the sectional sofa lounging area. As Sherlock would say, “When you have eliminated all which is impossible then whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth.”  Sherlock Holmes aka Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Typically I do not design an entire back yard around a piece of furniture- it doesn’t serve my clients best interests but this loved table was well worth the time we took. Our design works well with a typical sized table but not an oversized one.

Locating the New Office

The next big challenge would be placing the new office.  Stacy had picked a spot for the office and in the end we placed the office in that corner of the back yard.  We had the size and shape of the new office but we also needed the location of  all doors and windows before we can start.  Another big issue to carefully consider was how the studio foundation would affect the health of the magnificent huge shade providing Japanese maple.

My next blog will share how we worked with placing the office.

Client Testimonial

“Carol did a fantastic job designing our very difficult back yard space and worked in just about all our asks.  She was easy to work with, and I greatly enjoyed the format and how she got to know my preferences for this or that.  I’ll be asking her to do a plan for my front yard once the back is done!”

Contact me

Tricky corner lot?  Not enough room for all your outdoor living needs and wants?  Contact us.  We love the challenge and the satisfaction that comes with finding solutions for outdoor living in small or tricky city backyards.  With my experienced designers eye we will find possibilities even with what seems like impossible scenarios.   I’ll tell you what you can have and also what doesn’t work after carefully applying my years of experience and creativity to your situation.

 

5 Benefits of Having an Outdoor Living Room: Why Your Family Needs One Now

Sellwood nieghborhood Portland outdoor living shaded area landscape design.

Outdoor living in Sellwood neighborhood of Portland Oregon provides shady summer outdoor living

Quality Outdoor Living for Residential Portlanders

As a landscape designer, I have seen firsthand the value that a back yard outdoor living room can bring to a family. These spaces can provide a place for relaxation, entertainment, and quality time spent together.  But wait there is more…..

Concordia neighborhood Portland landscape privacy solution.

Privacy solution for outdoor living in Concordia neighborhood of NE Portland features modern pavers and these special steel screens.

In Portland Oregon we know the opportunity to enjoy outdoor living is here late spring through mid to late fall.

The sky spigot tends to shut off just after early June’s Rose Festival and summer in Portland can be heavenly.

Having comfortable outdoor living is part of a quality lifestyle for most Portlanders.

Outdoor Living Gets Us Outside

First and foremost, an outdoor living back yard gives my clients a place to enjoy the beauty of nature. It gets us out into fresh air and sunlight.  This can feel especially wonderful during the warmer months when the outdoors becomes a haven for relaxation and rejuvenation.  Or it could if you have one…

Kenton neighborhood Portland outdoor landscaping screened front yard.

This attractive modern style front yard also has a comfortable outdoor living space screened away from the sidewalk in Kenton neighborhood of N Portland.

Gathering Place for Friends and Family

An outdoor living room can also serve as a gathering place for friends and family. With comfortable seating, access to outdoor cooking and a heat source like fire pits, outdoor fireplaces or outdoor electric space heaters placed under overhead cover, its easy to host events and create lasting memories with loved ones.  Aside: (outdoor electric space heaters placed inside covered areas don’t pollute or add to global warming here in Portland where we have abundant and cheap electricity.)

Gain a Needed Outdoor Office Space

Another benefit is having more functional room for working from home.  My snowbird clients in NE Portland’s Alameda neighborhood only have one office inside their Portland home.  The new outdoor patio also serves as an office for my client’s partner who is writing a book.  He needs a quiet shady place to work on his laptop and a covered patio with comfortable furniture is perfect for him.  She is a lawyer and uses the indoor office.

Rose City Park neighborhood Portland with outdoor living for bookworm client.

Outdoor living for Rose City Park back yard has large natural shaped flagstone patio and a covered lounge area affectionally called the book nook. Before plants

Personal Relaxation and Meditation Place

In addition to providing an extra office and a place for gathering with friends and family, an outdoor living room can also be a great place for a person to seek quiet contemplation. It can serve as a peaceful retreat where you can enjoy a book, meditate, practice Chi Gong or Yoga or simply sit and listen to the sounds of nature.

One of my NE Portland clients has a covered area in her outdoor living room that she calls the book nook.  While she can also use it for dining with a friend it is used primarily for her to read.  The neighbor’s walnut tree drops walnuts and so the roof of the book nook protects her from the walnuts and the bird droppings as the walnut tree is a wonderful haven for birds.

Get the Kids Outside

One of the greatest benefits of an outdoor living room is the opportunity it provides for children to play and explore in a safe and natural environment.  A back yard that has a covered place for sitting and socializing can also be used to do family arts and crafts in the winter and spring months.  Being sure the back yard has unstructured space to allow for kids and pets to run, jump, and play in the fresh air is a requirement.

Cully neighborhood Portland residential landscape design client.

Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ (Cone Flower) with Delosperma cooperi. Perfect combo for a SW facing drought tolerant planting in Cully neighborhood of N Portland.

Design Your Back Yard to Fit Your Family and Your Property – No Do-Overs

While an outdoor living room can be a great investment for any family, it is important to carefully consider the design and layout of the space. It is important to take into account the size of the yard, the layout of the house, neighboring properties, and the unique needs and wants of the family. A good landscape designer can create a functional and cohesive design that will surprise you with it’s clever use of your back yard spaces.  Once installed this design will not require do overs because it works so well the first time.

Overall, an outdoor living room can bring a wealth of benefits to a family. It’s all about providing a place for relaxation, entertainment, and quality time spent together. By carefully considering the design and layout of the space, you can create a functional and cohesive outdoor living room that meets the needs of your family and becomes a beloved gathering place for years to come.

 

Contact Us

We love to create relaxing outdoor living rooms for your city property.  We know what it takes to make privacy and spaces you and your family will love to be in.  We know you want your landscape design to provide low water needs, habitat for birds, and happy places for the 4 legged members of the family too.  It’s all part of well designed outdoor living back yard in Portland, Oregon.   Contact Us

Covered Outdoor Living for Baby Boomers in NE Portland Backyards

Covered outdoor living landscape design

Covered outdoor area in Rose City Park backyard protects from  sun, rain and walnuts.

Landscaping Outdoor Living in Portland’s Urban NE Neighborhoods

Backyard Outdoor Living in Portland’s Urban NE Neighborhoods often requires a covered area.  While backyard outdoor living conjures up visions of  intimate gatherings with close friends and family sometimes only a covered area will offer any privacy from a 3 story apartment building next door.  A small urban home may not have enough entertaining space indoors and some clients use a covered outdoor space for an extra office or a place for messy arts and crafts projects.  Finding ways to create overhead cover is an important tool for my designs since I often work  in urban neighborhoods.

Rain proof outdoor living’s best benefit in my opinion is leaving the cushions in place for easy use 9 months of the year.  When the rain is pelting us from the south in the winter few people will enjoy being outside and the rain will come in under the cover typically and soak the cushions anyway.  But a gentle rain in the late spring or early fall can easily be thwarted.  If I can use my furniture without having to go fetch the cushions, or peel off a plastic cover….. if it is just waiting for me to use…guess what ?  I use the sitting area so much more.

Here are 5 Portland backyard landscape designs that use overhead cover for outdoor living.

Rose City Park Backyard

My client Anna wanted a cool shady sitting area to read in her landscape.  We called it the book nook.  Her cover has a traditional tile roof with enough angle to keep dry in a light rain but the most important aspect of the cover for Anna is to protect her from walnuts dropping from her neighbors gorgeous huge walnut tree.  She loves the tree for it’s shade, and  for attracting wildlife.  Her covered outdoor area is designed for 2 people and is mostly for Anna’s use.

Design tip: A translucent cover would have gotten stained and looked filthy in one season because of the debris from the walnut tree.  Translucent covers under some trees are doable here in Portland but one needs to go into it knowing there will be regular maintenance needed to keep the cover attractive and not a visual detriment, (and not under a walnut tree).

Covered outdoor living landscape design includes motorized louvers

Covered outdoor dining in Creston neighborhood has motorized louvers to let the sun in or keep the rain out.

Creston Neighborhood Family Covered Dining Deck

My clients in the Creston neighborhood wanted the option of sun or shade plus rain protection so their furniture would stay dry. Their pergola by Cardinal Aluminum is steel posts and supports but the motorized louvers in the pergola are aluminum.  The louvers give them the choice of sun or shade.  I have several clients who have gone with Cardinal and been quite happy with the results. Given the cost of wood this no wood option is now seen as more affordable than in the past.

 

Covered outdoor living landscape design includes transparent roof.

“We all love the new space and have basically been living out there every time the weather is even a bit decent.” Clients in Richmond neighborhood

Richmond Backyard Year Round Outdoor Living

These clients  in Richmond neighborhood wanted it all.  After working with Landscape Design in a Day they have a heated covered patio with a translucent cover.  They wanted a comfy sofa under the cover and have a table up on the deck near the house.  Our client Emma says this.  “The summary is that we all LOVE the new space and have basically been living out there every time the weather is even a bit decent. We’ve been using the whole backyard too — before the redo the back part of the yard was kind of dead zone (except for the veggie beds) but now we find ourselves out there almost every afternoon, not just puttering in the veggies but sitting out on the little patio or kicking a ball around with our toddler.”

They have overhead heat (electric) for primary use and in the colder months they also use their tower heater which can be moved about.  They can leave their furniture outside year round.  The cover structure is steel posts with a wood structure for the translucent overhead cover.  This photo was taken in late spring so they still have their second heater out in the patio.    Most of the heat is electric so it has less of a carbon footprint than a natural gas firepit or propane or wood burning.  Design by Alana Chau, Landscape Design in a Day

Design Tip: Angle the cover to protect from south or SW sun to create a cooler summer retreat and help protect your cover for possible winter snow load.

 

Large covered outdoor living landscape for dining.

Outdoor living for these Mt. Tabor clients includes two barbeques and covered dining.

Large covered outdoor living patio designMount Tabor Backyard Transformed into Year Round Outdoor Living

My clients in Mount Tabor also wanted the entire backyard turned into outdoor living space.  Their wood pergola structure has a translucent cover.  They especially love the drama added by lighting the top of the cover.  The light is very soft and diffused coming through the semi opaque cover.  They have room for cooking, counter and storage space.  The posts for the cover are set into the property 5’.

Design Tip:  We used the corner of the property to gain the most useful square footage and space.

 

Heated covered outdoor living landscape design.

Here’s where I get my massage and body work done. This lovely covered area provides heat and protection from rain.

Outdoor Office in SW Portland

This is my massage practitioners heated outdoor treatment room in her SW Portland back yard.  This was her response to keeping her clients and herself safe when Covid came into our lives. As her patient I love hearing the birds, including the buzz of hummingbirds and the squirrel scolding while getting my treatment.  No music required.  I have  been treated out here even in November and December.  The powerful electric heat in the top of the arbor is directed down by the shape of the cover.  The shape also keeps the rain out except when it is too windy.  I’m very comfortable and I love listening to the birds while I’m getting a massage.  This structure is wood with a translucent cover.

Deluxe umbrella for covered outdoor living landscape design.

Concordia neighborhood backyard outdoor living gets a deluxe umbrella to create shade for dining.

Concordia Backyard  Patio gets Cover with an Offset Umbrella

My clients Ryan and Sam live in a very urban area of NE Portland with a pub next door that has outdoor dining.  This landscape design in particular was a very collaborative process, even more so than usual.  We had a new back porch in the design but the expense (wood is so expensive these days) blew our budget.   We kept the old porch and steps and together created this outdoor room that is such a perfect fit.  It distracts from the next door pub garden, creates privacy, integrates the other two important areas of the backyard beautifully and is highly useable.  A collaborative relationship with clients and installer always opens the door for new and even better fitting ideas.

Design Tip:  Using an off set or cantilevered umbrella creates a physically and visually spacious dining area.  An umbrella with post in the center of the table often makes a dining area feel small and blocks potentially good views, in this case the steel privacy panels (which add so much pizzazz to the space) would have been greatly diminished.

Contact us

Looking for an outdoor landscape design that can create solutions for your city property with all its challenges? Contact us.  We have the experience to know what is doable and the creativity to find the best design for you and your wish list.

North Portland Residential Landscape Design for Shade

North Portland Residential Landscape Design for Shade

Chris and Jennifer of North Portland contacted me for help with their large shady back yard.

Problems

They were overwhelmed with the high maintenance of lawn under huge trees. They wanted a back yard for entertaining a large family (with lots of adult kids and future grand kids).  They wanted to DIY and had a strict budget, so spending 20 grand on a concrete patio was not realistic.Cedar chip patio makes affordable landscaping for North Portland home. Views over the fence included other neglected yards and they had a large (evil) tree of heaven that had to go. Many plants had died or looked leggy and sun starved.

The back yard was longer than deep and made creating a design on their own more difficult.

Solutions

My best contributions were getting the shapes of the new rooms to work with their long but shallow yard. Introducing them to the concept of using cedar chips as their primary surface for entertaining and paths was a perfect fit also. It looks great with their NW Natural style landscape, it’s affordable and it’s very easy to care for. If you get the right kind of chips you can even use a leaf blower on them and they don’t blow away.

We tucked different outdoor rooms into the perimeter of the landscape and kept the existing small concrete patio as a spacious entry to the house and the BBQ center. No more trying to fit a dining table on it as they had done before the design.

Crushed rock firepit patio makes for affordable landscaping in this N. Portland backyard.Selecting low water plants

Sword fern works well for the woodsy nature of this North Portland garden design.

Sword fern works well for the woodsy nature of this North Portland garden design.

The plant selection was also critical.  Shade plants had to survive on the water the big trees would let them have so our palette needed to be all low water plants. We used a lot of sword ferns and kept native plants wherever possible.

On the south end we used one of my favorite little evergreen trees, Boxleaf Azara – Azara Microphylla. They planted them up on a berm which made them taller and helped do a faster job of screening out the neighbors garage wall.  Planting Azaras up on a berm prevents root rot since these plants do not tolerate poor drainage.

DIY installed

Their DIY install of the landscape turned out fantastic. They loved their back yard. When change came along, and they had to put their house on the market, the yard was another major asset and selling point. These photos, which they took, are from their marketing page.

I especially love the hammock room. The fire pit patio is clearly the largest entertaining area and is used for lounging with or without a fire. Their fire pit patio is a crushed rock surface, not cedar chips.

low maintenance evergreen screens tall wall in Raliegh Hills garden design

Azara Microphylla has fine evergreen leaves that add texture to this wall in SW Portland.

The chips continue around to the side yard gate and match the rest of the now low maintenance landscape.

“Carol understood us and got our style for a NW Natural landscape design for our North Portland yard.  We were very happy that she surpassed our expectations for low maintenance, no lawn, great textured plantings, backyard design.  She understood that we wanted to do some of the work ourselves and helped us make a beautiful-yard-on-a-budget a reality.”