This project that backs up to ‘the lake’ in the Lakewood Hills neighborhood of Windsor has been a joy to work on. The home features a large, tri-fold door to the backyard that in many ways helped guide the design. The idea was to create a large indoor-outdoor space, and to take full advantage of the open views of the lake from both inside and outside. The design features a large, steel and cedar pergola that spans four outdoor rooms: outdoor kitchen, dining, fireplace and are space around a large water feature.
I’ve been using more and more porcelain pavers, and I’ve really fallen in love with this product. The step and wall faces are stacked stone veneer, with porcelain coping on the steps, water feature and seat walls. To provide variety and to take advantage or the material’s flexibility, the fireplace and outdoor kitchen and bar will be stucco.
We used sheet mulching to smother an impractically large and sloping lawn where the yard falls off towards the lake. Drought tolerant, and low maintenance groundcover will take the lawn’s place on the slope. The remaining flat area will feature a much smaller lawn with flagstone stepping stones, a gravel patio where one can enjoy the water feature, and a pathway with stone steps to allow the owner private access to the lake.