Before and After: This Space-Savvy Patio Redo Features an All-Weather Lounge Space

Written by

Megan Baker DetloffHome Projects Director
Megan Baker DetloffHome Projects Director
Megan is a writer and editor who specializes in home upgrades, DIY projects, hacks, and design. Before Apartment Therapy, she was an editor at HGTV Magazine and This Old House Magazine. Megan has a degree in Magazine Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of…read more
published Aug 4, 2021
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About this before & after
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Rental Friendly
Before: Yard with small patio that features a dining table
Credit: Kristi Waite

Name: Kristi Waite (@kristiwaite)
Redo: Outdoor space
Level: Pro remodel

Just like indoor rooms, outdoor spaces like yards and patios can come in awkward shapes and sizes that make them tricky to use efficiently. Kristi Waite’s backyard is a great example. Because her family’s home is at the end of a cul-de-sac, the yard is long and narrow — and when they bought it in 2017, it was majorly overgrown, too. All that added up to make the space tough to use.

Credit: Kristi Waite

Kristi and her wife spent a few years remodeling the inside and removing most of the overgrown shrubs. They were left with a yard that looked fine, but, Kristi says, “it still felt like it needed help.”

Credit: Kristi Waite

The couple knew they wanted to keep the bamboo in the back of the patio, but wanted it to be a little more manageable; they also knew that they wanted to create a yard with different zones so that they could entertain and also have room for their daughter to play. They decided to bring in pros to help get it all done.

Credit: Kristi Waite

Kristi and her wife worked with Yardzen to design a new backyard space, which came to life thanks to a local landscaping company. “We simply didn’t know how to break up the space ourselves,” Kristi says. A new landscaping plan created zones for entertaining (a middle patio laid with pavers), play (a rubber mulched, kid-friendly area), and lounging (open grass).

The plan also included some thinning out of the bamboo forest, which maintained the yard’s privacy without looking overgrown.

Credit: Kristi Waite

Better yet, the outdoor space was made to brave the elements of their Pacific Northwest location: The pergola is fitted with clear polycarbonate so it’s just as useful in winter as it is in summer.

Credit: Kristi Waite

Another key feature? The newly installed hot tub. “I grew up with a hot tub at home so I’ve wanted one my whole adult life,” Kristi says. “Thankfully, I was able to sell my wife on the idea!”

Credit: Kristi Waite

The couple finished off the yard with some low-maintenance plantings that wouldn’t require a ton of upkeep, plus comfy furnishings to accommodate their family and guests.

“We absolutely love being in our backyard,” Kristi says. Not only is it beautiful, but it’s meaningful, too: “We bought this home from my grandparents so I’m most proud to have a space that honors so many of the traditions we have as family for gathering and spending time with loved ones,” she says.

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