Elegant Boston Backyard Serves Up Style and Year-Round Enjoyment
Landscape architects transform an expansive lawn into a dynamic space with a pool, an outdoor kitchen and a fire pit
Designed to draw a family of four outside, where they frequently host friends and visiting family, this Boston-area backyard maximizes outdoor living opportunities. Outdoor spaces — including a pool, outdoor kitchen, bar, dining area, fire pit lounge and child-friendly kitchen garden — flow together seamlessly and can accommodate groups of all sizes.
Dynamic new plantings surround the outdoor living spaces with multiple seasons of interest. Apple blossoms, dogwood and azaleas in spring give way to viburnum, roses and hydrangeas in summer and fall, along with plenty of evergreens for year-round structure.
Dynamic new plantings surround the outdoor living spaces with multiple seasons of interest. Apple blossoms, dogwood and azaleas in spring give way to viburnum, roses and hydrangeas in summer and fall, along with plenty of evergreens for year-round structure.
Before: When it came to designing the backyard, the homeowners had a robust vision for how they’d like to use the space. “The client is in the hospitality industry, and his desire was for an outdoor space which he could use to entertain large groups of guests and family when visiting, but that also would feel intimate when his family was just relaxing at home,” says Peter White, principal of ZEN Associates.
Having that built-in flexibility to accommodate different group sizes as well as a better flow between indoor and outdoor spaces helped shape the new backyard’s design.
Having that built-in flexibility to accommodate different group sizes as well as a better flow between indoor and outdoor spaces helped shape the new backyard’s design.
After: White and his team removed the lawn and replaced it with a new pool and a generously proportioned patio, which is divided into smaller areas to accommodate larger or more intimate groups.
Replacing the individual steps below the French doors that lead from the home’s living room to the backyard with a single long step — lit from beneath with an LED strip light — created a more seamless transition from indoor to outdoor spaces.
The patio was also designed to allow for tenting, maximizing the host’s ability to entertain larger parties no matter the weather.
Replacing the individual steps below the French doors that lead from the home’s living room to the backyard with a single long step — lit from beneath with an LED strip light — created a more seamless transition from indoor to outdoor spaces.
The patio was also designed to allow for tenting, maximizing the host’s ability to entertain larger parties no matter the weather.
Outdoor Eating and Entertaining Area
The new kitchen, bar and dining area is the main hub for outdoor entertaining. The outdoor kitchen includes two sinks, a refrigerator, a warming drawer and a professional-grade grill — plus a party-ready keg fridge and a built-in ice chest.
The countertops are heat- and stain-resistant Dekton, a resilient engineered material made of glass, quartz and porcelain. The island with bar seating was designed for guests to hang out, sip a drink and watch the action.
The new kitchen, bar and dining area is the main hub for outdoor entertaining. The outdoor kitchen includes two sinks, a refrigerator, a warming drawer and a professional-grade grill — plus a party-ready keg fridge and a built-in ice chest.
The countertops are heat- and stain-resistant Dekton, a resilient engineered material made of glass, quartz and porcelain. The island with bar seating was designed for guests to hang out, sip a drink and watch the action.
The outdoor kitchen features a custom-designed roof made of a steel frame topped with polycarbonate panels that White says are similar to those used in greenhouses. They allow light but not UV rays to penetrate.
A dining table for six next to the kitchen and bar area sits under a new 12-foot-tall pergola that was painted a crisp white to tie in with the home’s trim. In addition to casting shade, the structure also serves as a mount for outdoor lighting, speakers and heating units, bringing the comforts of dining indoors to the outdoor space. The pergola’s louvre roof system can be opened and closed with a remote control to allow more or less shade or to keep rain out, as needed.
Catawba rosebay (Rhododendron catawbiense), ‘Limelight’ hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’), Blue Maid holly (Ilex x meserveae ‘Mesid’), purple-leafed coral bells (Heuchera sp.) and white pines grow in the bed behind the dining area to form a lush backdrop.
Catawba rosebay (Rhododendron catawbiense), ‘Limelight’ hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’), Blue Maid holly (Ilex x meserveae ‘Mesid’), purple-leafed coral bells (Heuchera sp.) and white pines grow in the bed behind the dining area to form a lush backdrop.
Pool Lounge
Two steps, also underlit with LEDs, form an elegant transition between the outdoor kitchen and the new pool.
Umbriano pavers in ‘Summer Wheat’ by Unilock were used for the patio flooring. The material adds a soft, warm tone, has nonslip texture and is resistant to heat absorption in summer – making it comfortable to walk on with bare feet.
“We took some cues from the building architecture, brick and slate roof and white trim,” White says about choosing the project’s materials. “We carried that material vocabulary out into the landscape structures and added a new contemporary element using Cor-Ten steel for the pool fencing.”
Two steps, also underlit with LEDs, form an elegant transition between the outdoor kitchen and the new pool.
Umbriano pavers in ‘Summer Wheat’ by Unilock were used for the patio flooring. The material adds a soft, warm tone, has nonslip texture and is resistant to heat absorption in summer – making it comfortable to walk on with bare feet.
“We took some cues from the building architecture, brick and slate roof and white trim,” White says about choosing the project’s materials. “We carried that material vocabulary out into the landscape structures and added a new contemporary element using Cor-Ten steel for the pool fencing.”
Measuring 20 by 42 feet, but only reaching a maximum depth of 5 feet, the pool was designed to be spacious and family-friendly. “The pool stairs are wide, side-to-side steps, which serve as a gradual entry, like wading into the water at a lake or the beach,” White says.
The handsome Cor-Ten steel walls softly light up at night through LED strip lights mounted under the wall cap (seen in the previous photo).
The handsome Cor-Ten steel walls softly light up at night through LED strip lights mounted under the wall cap (seen in the previous photo).
A tiled fountain, featuring a 6-foot-wide cascade of water, anchors the far end of the backyard and fills the area with the sound of running water.
Cloud-like white hydrangeas grow above the fountain, with ‘Walker’s Low’ catmint (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’) and silver maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) planted at the base.
A pair of 8-by-12-foot orange umbrellas cast wide pools of shade for a row of chaise lounges.
Cloud-like white hydrangeas grow above the fountain, with ‘Walker’s Low’ catmint (Nepeta x faassenii ‘Walker’s Low’) and silver maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis) planted at the base.
A pair of 8-by-12-foot orange umbrellas cast wide pools of shade for a row of chaise lounges.
Gathering Space Around the Fire Pit
The fire pit lounge sits snugly within a curved space formed by a stone wall next to the dining pergola, a design move that makes the large space feel more intimate. The stone wall, which is made up of two special cuts (ashlar and ledge cut) with a bluestone cap, was used throughout the landscape to tie different areas together.
The gas-burning fire feature, measuring 6 feet in diameter, is used year-round as a gathering place in the backyard. Friends can kick back in the Adirondack-style chairs or cozy up on the floating bench seat while roasting a marshmallow over the flames.
Subtle landscape lights cast a glow in the beds behind the seating area, while LED strip lights highlight the graceful curves of the steps and circular fire feature.
Garden bed lights: Pathway Ballards, Bega
The fire pit lounge sits snugly within a curved space formed by a stone wall next to the dining pergola, a design move that makes the large space feel more intimate. The stone wall, which is made up of two special cuts (ashlar and ledge cut) with a bluestone cap, was used throughout the landscape to tie different areas together.
The gas-burning fire feature, measuring 6 feet in diameter, is used year-round as a gathering place in the backyard. Friends can kick back in the Adirondack-style chairs or cozy up on the floating bench seat while roasting a marshmallow over the flames.
Subtle landscape lights cast a glow in the beds behind the seating area, while LED strip lights highlight the graceful curves of the steps and circular fire feature.
Garden bed lights: Pathway Ballards, Bega
Kitchen Garden
The kitchen garden, situated right outside the kitchen door in a sunny corner of the yard, includes a series of raised Cor-Ten planters set among gravel pathways edged with boxwood.
The homeowners requested the area to be designed with children in mind, so White and his team kept the scale relatively small and packed beds with fruits, berries and scent-heavy culinary herbs, including basil, thyme, cilantro and sage, where children could pick a leaf or berry to discover the fragrance and taste.
The kitchen garden, situated right outside the kitchen door in a sunny corner of the yard, includes a series of raised Cor-Ten planters set among gravel pathways edged with boxwood.
The homeowners requested the area to be designed with children in mind, so White and his team kept the scale relatively small and packed beds with fruits, berries and scent-heavy culinary herbs, including basil, thyme, cilantro and sage, where children could pick a leaf or berry to discover the fragrance and taste.
Flowers such as zinnia and coneflower can be cut to bring indoors. Espaliered Fuji apple and Bartlett pear ripen in fall along the brick wall of the home.
Since the completion of the project, ZEN Associates has also looked after maintenance and been able to watch as plantings grow in and the family takes full advantage of the backyard. “It is always great to see toys, bikes and towels when we arrive as evidence of a lot of use and fun for all,” White says.
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Tour other inspiring gardens
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Landscape at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of four (including two small children), originally from South America, that frequently hosts friends and family
Location: Brookline, Massachusetts
Lot size: Nine-tenths of an acre
Design: ZEN Associates
When the homeowners purchased this new-build home in Brookline, Massachusetts, they inherited a landscape that had lots of lawn and low-maintenance shrubs but offered little reason to spend time outdoors. They hired ZEN Associates to redesign the backyard space and overhaul the front yard, side yards and parking terrace. They also added fencing, a security system and outdoor lighting and heating.