Landscape Solutions for Outdoor Entertainment Areas
We are inching closer to the prime outdoor living season in the Northwest. Crank up the tunes, crack open the barbecue, and gather your friends—it’s going to be a great summer. Or is it? Is your yard ready to meet your vision for a season of outdoor entertaining? If not, let’s take a look at what to consider when creating an outdoor space that’s event-ready and built to last through many seasons.
Landscape East & West can transform ordinary yards into functional, beautiful outdoor entertainment spaces that extend your home’s living area and create your ideal environment for gatherings, relaxation, and enjoyment. However, perfection takes time, so if you’re dreaming of warm days and starry nights in your yard, now’s the time to take action.
All great landscape projects start with a solid plan. Our design team consults with each client at the start of the planning process to determine the intended use for the space, identify style preferences, discuss maintenance expectations, and establish budget parameters. Then the fun begins as we work together through the many options for an outdoor entertainment area.
What do you envision:
- Outdoor kitchen with grill, counter, sink, and refrigeration
- Pizza oven or smoker for specialized cooking
- Dining patio or deck
- Shade structures like pergolas or pavilions
- Bar area with seating and storage
- Seating areas with or without built-in seating
- Fire features like a fire pit, fireplace, or fire table
- Water feature for ambiance and white noise
- Game areas like bocce ball, putting greens, or lawn games
Each client has a unique vision and a one-of-a-kind yard to match. Our job is to ensure the intricacies of the landscape allow for the creation of the desired end result. In other words, can that dream of a large paver patio be installed on a steeply sloped yard? While we can work magic, a complete site assessment is a critical early step in the planning process.
The Landscape East & West landscape designers will evaluate the terrain for slopes, drainage issues, and soil conditions. We’ll analyze sun and shade patterns throughout the day to ensure plants and guests won’t bake in the hot sun. Existing features will be assessed, so if an outdoor kitchen with a sink and refrigeration is the plan, we’ll know if the water lines are in place and that tree roots won’t buckle the paver patio. Of course, we will measure the space accurately for proper scaling so your outdoor entertainment area blends in seamlessly with your home and doesn’t overwhelm your existing landscape.
Another critical piece of evaluating the landscape is privacy. With so many homes today having limited space between the houses, we’ll work with you to the level of privacy you want. While privacy fences are always an option, there are other strategies for limiting the view into your yard. An outdoor fireplace can block the one space that sits directly in line with your neighbor’s patio. Green walls, vertical gardens, simple hedges, or ornamental grasses can also block sightlines in a more natural way. If you’d prefer what you do in your backyard to be known only to you, we’ll make that happen.
With so many beautiful options for outdoor entertaining areas, it’s tempting to go overboard and throw in everything plus the kitchen sink. Our design team is skilled at preventing sensory overload. We’ll pull all the elements you choose together to create visual cohesion between your home’s architecture and materials and between separate use areas in your yard. We’ll balance hardscapes with softscape elements and create focal points so nothing about your landscape is jarring or looks like an afterthought.
Our commitment to you is that no matter what type of outdoor entertaining space you desire, our team will take care of the details that may not be flashy but absolutely matter in function. We’ll ensure there are clear pathways and spacing for furniture and movement, and design smooth transitions between your indoor and outdoor spaces. Lighting will also be a high priority. We’ll show you options for path lighting for safety, task lighting for cooking, accent lighting to highlight features, and ambient lighting to create an overall atmosphere.
If the appearance of tulips, bursting buds, and warmer temperatures has you itching to start creating your summer of fun, contact us. Let’s start planning not just for a summer playground but for an outdoor entertaining space that works through the seasons and the years.
