apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It looks amazing! But one question....will the doggies poop on rocks??

absolutely. mine prefer it, and it's sooo much easier to clean up after.

With the exception of the bamboo (which will spread like the plague), the deck is a fantastic idea.

Looks great. I might have considered recycled rubber mulch instead of gravel in the play area though. It's a little softer on the shins and knees if someone bails from the equipment.

Something about just decking over an entire yard rubs the the wrong way. Whats wrong with walking your dog to poop and pee and fixing the grass so it grows?

I think this is beautifully executed and looks fantastic, but I agree that there is something not right about decking over an entire yard. I think it wants for some green space.

The idea of dogs peeing and pooping in the same gravel that kids play in? I'm not so big on that at all, but maybe that's not what actually happens? At least grass is sort of naturally self-cleaning in that it grows and gets mowed.

I have a small yard, a large dog, no kids, and no real desire to spend time gardening, and this totally appeals to me.

I'm thinking the statement about the corner of the yard being for the dogs & kids means more that it gives the dogs a place to dig, not poop. The dogs would likely still be taken for walks to do their business.

And having 3 active kids 2 dogs??? Your nice lawn full of lush grass that you endlessly care for and mow (because of course you'll have that kind of time) will get torn up and kicked up and dug up, and trampled down, and have items dragged across... etc. A lawn is not worth it. Plants, trees, gardens? Very nice. Lawn? yawn.

I love the trees growing through the deck - makes it look almost like the deck is a tree house, very Swiss Family Robinson. Might be fun to build an octagonal bench/planter/combo circling around the tree.

I think the deck looks great and everything, but man, I am programmed to think that a yard, especially one with kids has to have grass in it.

Deck surrounding the tree looks great; however, I feel for kids who don't get a chance to just poke about in the greenery (of whatever sort) in their backyard. That was one of the highlights of childhood - lying there in the backyard and seeing what was going on in the grass, between the clovers, and trying to figure out exactly how many different kinds of things were growing there.

Grass does not at all have to be high maintenance. It can also very easily go dormant in hot, dry summer months, but still provide much more of a cushion than gravel. (before picture doesn't look all that bad, actually).

As for the deck - it's going to take a major beating from dogs, kids, balls, etc...

If it was an adult space, I'd say - 'wow, this is an amazing space'. And it is, in many ways. It's just missing some real live plants.

As a fellow resident of central austin with two small kids and two dogs, I fully appreciate the decision to use decking and gravel as primary ground cover. We have several different levels of limestone-bordered sections of our backyard with grass occupying one (small) portion, gravel occupying another portion and side beds of native planting surrounding the yard. When you live in an area suffering from drought that has experienced 40 days of temperatures over 100 degrees, having an expanse of "green lawn" doesn't make much sense, or feel very responsible. Luckily Austin has many outdoor public spaces where kids can wiggle their toes in the grass.
To me, the decking looks like a great space to do some container gardening.

Hey everyone! Thanks for the great comments! Since I didn't go into that much poop detail in the actual post, I thought I'd clarify. The dogs do get walks for bathrooms a few times a day, and that is the corner that they did their business in even when there was grass. Whenever there is some poop in the corner, it's dutifully picked up as soon as possible as to limit the mixing of kids and dog poop! And I believe it was more of a mix of the 3 kids and 2 dogs running around and the shade from the huge tree that contributed to all the bare spots that turned into mud pits in the backyard. But! There's still some great grass and another swing in the front yard (not pictured) if the kids are aching for some green space!

Keep the questions and comments coming!

i LOVE this yard and have been considering doing something similar in my own (much smaller) yard. i'll be keeping these photos for inspiration! thank you!