This Small Outdoor Space Got a Huge Makeover
Before: a little fenced-in patch of grass. After: a private and stylish garden, perfect for entertaining
After downsizing to a townhome in Denver’s LoHi neighborhood, this homeowner wanted to create a lot of visual interest in her outdoor space and maintain her penchant for entertaining—even though her new yard seemed, at first, quite small and unusable.
The transformation is almost unrecognizable, as the small area was transformed into a private and stylish garden, perfect for entertaining and relaxing outside—as well as offering a seamless transition from indoor to outdoor living.
The key to success in this dramatic makeover was scaling things down to size. Everything is lean and light, making the space feel comfortable and inviting—not too busy or overcrowded. The furniture is narrow and sleek. The fountain sits at a low profile, and the fire pit is undersized and round in shape to allow for easier movement through the space and more flexible seating around it.
Large white planters were used as large accent statements, filled with colorful and textural annuals each year, allowing for the garden to feel slightly different each season. Ornamental trees add height and create privacy from the street and sidewalk on the other side of the fence. Understory plants below the trees offer another dimension to the space and bring color to the ground plane.
Pops of color in the pillows echo the contemporary style of the interiors, making the outdoor space truly feel like an extension of the home (and the homeowner’s personality).
In sharp contrast to the white-and-light-colored patio furniture, fire pit, plant containers, and the home itself, shiny black concrete squares were added to the patio, separated with dark gray Mexican beach pebbles—adding even more texture and depth to this green garden escape.
Troy Shimp is a Senior Designer with Lifescape Colorado, a Denver-based landscape architecture, construction, and maintenance firm. View their profile or reach one of Lifescape’s designers at 303-831-8310.
Content for this article provided by Lifescape Colorado.
