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Archives for February 2020

Outdoor Living Backyard Makeover

Spring is peeking around the corner at us with a flirtatious smile.  What better time to discuss fantastic outdoor spaces that allow us to break free from our winter indoor bound blues!

There is nothing better than sitting outside on a crisp evening by a fireplace watching the rhythmic dance of flames.  Mid Century Modern architects knew this too because they incorporated multiple outdoor living areas in homes.  They designed interiors and exteriors that were blurred together creating an alluring illusion that the outdoors live inside and the inside is an extension of the outdoors.  It was and still is very common for a Mid Mod home to have multiple and separate outdoor living areas.  It is this element of design that draws so many people toward the iconic Mid-Century Modern lifestyle.  This type of architecture promoted a friendly community where people would congregate and socialize with each other in front and back yards.   When I design outdoor living, it is important to remember these original principles of mid-century modern living that so many covet today.

Anyone have a backyard that looks like this?

 

 

Well, I call this a blank canvas.  A yard like this has unlimited potential but in its current state isn’t inviting at all.  This home was a mid-century ranch that we remodeled with mid-century modern design criteria.  Since the placement and footprint of the home did not lend itself to any side yard outdoor living, we needed to create front yard and back yard outdoor spaces that lived cohesively with the interior.  Allowing for entertaining, socialization, and family events that cohesively extended beyond the wall of the actual home structure.  If this is done properly the home will feel much bigger than the actual square footage and will have a feeling of warm, vibrant energy.

If you apply Mid Mod principles to this backyard there were two design challenges to overcome. The first is that when we painted the home and garage, everything was gray.  And while I love gray, too much of one thing can be uninteresting.  The second design challenge was that I had one large space to work with and if I kept it one level, it would have looked one dimensional.  There would have been no separation in living spaces and would have been boring. Nobody buys boring!

To solve for these two issues, we installed a deck that wrapped around a “sunken” patio to create a space off of the master bedroom for lounging.  I used a composite deck material which is durable and virtually maintenance free.  But again, it was a darker shade of gray.  To break up the gray, we poured a light concrete patio at ground level for the dining area and installed a modern shade pergola that we stained in a deep warm color.  Because the patio was on a lower grade than the deck, it made each space feel like a separate room coexisting next to each other.  The yard was sizable but not huge so I used an Ipe wood for the back fence to bring in a natural warm element into the space.  (Ipe does need oiling every 12-18 months to maintain this rich color and will last more than 30 years).  Since the fence was such a statement, there was no need to add a lot of landscape to distract from its beauty.  Herb boxes were added to separate the yard from the driveway area. The herbs also provided beautiful aroma and many of the plants acted as natural mosquito repellant to the dining area.

Photo Credit: Shoot 2 Sell

Photo Credit: Shoot 2 Sell

Photo Credit: Christine Colling

Photo Credit: Shoot 2 Sell

Photo Credit: Christine Colling

Photo Credit: Christine Colling

As with any room design, the construction is just part of the equation, the second and equally important aspect is furnishings.  You always want your furnishings to showcase the design and be consistent with the style of the remainder of the home.  In this case, I wanted a large dining table that would seat at least eight people.    I wanted the firepit to be white to contrast with the dark gray decking material.  I used furniture with Teak frames to bring more warm wood into the design.  And lastly, I kept the furniture neutral and added color through the pillows and flower pots (which can be easily changed over time).  After we were done with this project, I felt like something was missing.   I kept looking at the white garage door and all I kept seeing was a large white canvas to paint on.  An idea was born.  The garage door mural was painted to serve as artwork to the backyard.  When it was done, this backyard was ready for cookouts, birthday parties, and the occasional quiet night by the fire.

Outdoor living that is thoughtfully planned becomes an extension of the main living of any home.   Studies show that well designed outdoor living increases the value of your home and is also extremely sought after by home buyers. As spring is around the corner, I hope this outdoor transformation provides you inspiration on how your outdoor space can become your future mod haven.

Mid Mod Inspired Living
@MODHAVEN
Instagram post 2322987595553628972_12910539659 Instagram post 2322987595553628972_12910539659
I am not usually at the home we are remodeling aft I am not usually at the home we are remodeling after dark.  We had some really strong winds yesterday so we went back to check on the pool and clean it up.  We took our Sophie girl.  She thought is was so much fun and I honestly just wanted to sit and stare at the peaceful water for hours.  This pool, yard and house are just cool.  I don’t know what else to say.  Sophie wanted to move in, as she was peaking through the windows.  #cliffmay #pinocchiohouse
Working on some staging concepts in my own backyar Working on some staging concepts in my own backyard for another house.  This green wall hedge is still an undecided for me.
We are at a complete standstill until the shelter We are at a complete standstill until the shelter in place order is lifted because the City of Dallas isn’t issuing permits during this time.  So,  we decided to make use of this downtime and do a little spring cleanup on the Cliff May Pinocchio house.  We gutted nearly all the landscaping ourselves around the pool to increase the outdoor living area.  We pressure washed the pool coping and decking today and started on the fence.  It is beginning to look like a whole new space.  I absolutely love to pressure wash.  Scott has to leave me in my happy place while I make it all pretty.  I am getting really excited about this outdoor pool area renovation.  We have lots more to do in the next 2-3 weeks.  We hope all of you are finding things to do to not go crazy during this challenging time.  Hang in there!  #cliffmay
Welcome to our home. We have been working on the Welcome to our home.  We have been working on the yard and pool at the PINOCCHIO house and still waiting on building permits.  And practicing social distancing while waiting for this virus to pass to get back to work. We know everyone has a lot of anxiety about this situation and we want you to know that we are thinking about all of you! 
This is a strange time and we will ALL make together. 
We are starting to laugh about silly things around our own home.  And like you, we have gotten very close in our home.  Scott and I purchased this home almost 2 years ago planning to completely renovate it, but in the meantime we have been so busy that we love it the way it is.  We are embracing this time to hang out in it and on 3/4 of acre we feel blessed. 
Sometimes it is the small things.  We are celebrating at our home that our silly dog Sophie got off leash restriction this last week post ACL surgery.  She did 10 weeks tethered to us all night and any time we were home.  And while we are home a lot these days we feel a little more free than before, however, Sophie is sneaky and back to her good ole ways of conning us into people food, which she doesn’t get except rarely.  She is cracking us up!  See her sneaky ways! ... and we have a lot of carpet tiles(bad design) for our 14 year old sweetie dog Lilly that can’t walk on hardwoods.  please share with us how your family is doing and  funny things you are celebrating around your house in the comments.  We want to hear from you!
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