Maggie’s Garden Makeover

I’ve always loved Maggie’s home and yard. Her home has been a source of inspiration for me ever since the moment I saw it almost 9 years ago. She was also my very first home and garden tour on my blog, so when she asked me to help her revamp her yard last year, I was a bit confused… but also totally excited about a dramatic change.

This was her yard at the end of last summer when the furniture was covered, things were still being stored in various places and the plants were over the moon about having survived a crazy hot summer.

As you can see, there are 2 outdoor spaces on each side of the house – one with a pool and the other with a BBQ area.

The BBQ area was fairly easy to work with. However, the pool was a totally different story. In general, this project was a bit of a challenge on many fronts. The shape of the yard is quite awkward with lots of slanted walls, which meant that any pattern would have to be adjusted with that in mind. The pool was originally constructed close to the sidewalk so this was causing excess water to puddle around the surrounding concrete. Every new layer of tiling had to be redesigned so that it would gradually slope down to force water to drain to the planting beds. On top of that, every layer of cement and tile (3 to be exact) had to be done by a different company.

And then when we got to the planting, a lot of the mature plants were taking over various parts of the yard. We also couldn’t plant flowers and certain types of plants at ground-level as Maggie’s turtles would devour them. Then there were also the 3 dogs to consider…

Overall, it took months of planning, coordination and work to complete, but I think it was totally worth the wait…

| BEFORE |

| AFTER |

Tackling a Large Space

When I first saw the size of the space, I really felt the need to have a tile pattern that created some visual interest with movement. The pattern forces your eye to move throughout the space and notice all of the little nooks in the yard. I had been seeing variations of a square pattern on Pinterest for a while and just knew this was the right project to use it on. What I love most about this particular design is that it also kinda looks like you have a giant outdoor rug.

And to keep it all cohesive and part of a continuous look, I wanted to make sure that all of the flooring was a variation of the same tones of gray.

Allocating Zones for Seating

The other thing that had to be considered in such a large space was how to maximize the use of it. Various zones were created around the entire yard so that you could sit with a group at a lounging zone, gather by the pool for those who are swimming, and sit at a dining table off the BBQ.

Maggie had an old fireplace mantel frame in her house which was was used to create another focal point in the lounging zone just in case she wanted to put some candles there for mood lighting!

Setting the Mood with Layered Lighting

Lighting was such a critical part of this yard. The space actually takes on a whole new life when lit up! I really wanted to make sure that the lighting was layered to create some drama. There are spotlights on the trees, string lighting around the house and over the dining area as well as some wall sconces to light up the house. It looks so dreamy at night!

I absolutely loved working on this beautiful space. I hope you enjoyed the transformation as much as I did!

Furniture Sources: Couch | Swivel Armchairs | Side Table 1 | Coffee Table | Round Coffee Table (similar) | Lanterns

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