It’s common knowledge when you purchase an urban home, that you wont be getting much outdoor space. Most city backyards are about 16 feet wide and 30-40 feet long, which doesn’t leave to too much square footage to play with. When I purchased my 1868 row home in the historic Musser Park neighborhood, I knew that updating the wasteland of a backyard was a must, and would be one of the first things on my list.
Luckily for me, I pretty much had a blank slate to work with. I think one of the most important things I did was create a plan (when I say “I,” I really mean “my dad and I” as he did most of the actual planning.). We used software to draw out several options for the backyard. I knew that I wanted to have a large brick patio, some grass and a pergola to sit under. I also knew that I wanted to be able to seat as many people as possible, and to be able to throw the best parties in town.
Here is the initial plan:
Using this plan, we put the project into motion and hired an excavator (about $2,000) to pull up 10 inches of ground. Next step was the fence. I opted for a hand-built fence rather than the pre-made sections you see out in front of Home Depot. This was a smart choice for several reasons: Much sturdier, no cracks to see through and much more sound proof. The fence took us about 7 weekends to build (it was the hardest, most grueling thing I have ever done) but the result was awesome. I used a solid stain in a dark charcoal color to finish it off. Some advice to anyone painting a fence: Buy a sprayer. I painted the whole thing in about two hours.
We put some detailing on the gates, using a cedar post that was sawn off in different widths, and a concrete-cast of Bacchus (the god of wine.) After the fence, we sunk the pergola posts and laid the patio. I went with different colored bricks for some texture, and flanked the whole thing in a grey stone material called Techo-Bloc which is a flagstone alternative.
Soft seating was very important to me. Target.com has awesome faux wicker in a variety of setups and a very reasonable price. I decided to put the soft seating under the pergola to give it some shade.
For landscaping, I kept it simple with 3 different plants: Dwarf boxwoods (a classic that never goes out of style,) setcreasea or “purple heart,” a waxy-looking plant that grows in bright purple, and hyacinth bean vine, which grows so fast, and grows in bright purple seed pods. There’s something about the charcoal gray/purple color combo that I love. It’s masculine, but still adds color. I topped the landscaping off with two huge potted palms and mulched everything with natural cedar…smells great and the light tan mulch really pops against the dark fence and gray stone.
I opted for some high-end sod to finish off the project since it was such a small area of grass. The entire project took me working both days, every weekend from Easter until the middle of July, but the change in the outdoor space is so dramatic and was worth every hour worked and every dollar spent. I love having people over for dinner and drinks on the patio (I have since acquired a nine-foot cedar table that seats 10 for larger dinner parties). Renovating your outdoor space in the city is also a sure way to add resale value to your home, as its not something that most older city homes have.
