Partying & playing

When clients came to Lotus Gardenscapes in Dexter, Michigan, saying they felt claustrophobic in their backyard, landscape designer Nicole Lloyd set out to create a space to entertain and for their two daughters to enjoy. The homeowners wanted a fire element, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, a water feature and some lawn space.

1. Fieldstone was split by hand on site for the pizza oven and fireplace. The surrounding walls and kitchen area were faced with a natural stone veneer, which was mortared onto the concrete block.

2. A cedar pergola frames the square cut Pennsylvania bluestone patio to bring the eye back toward the focal point of the custom split fieldstone pizza oven and fireplace. The pergola was installed using pressure-treated posts with cedar facing and simple custom cut cedar beams to compliment the architecture of the house and stained in walnut to match the beams on the interior of the house.

3. The outdoor kitchen is enhanced with a leathered granite counter top which has a matte finish that compliments the texture of the natural stone on the walls and fireplace. The counter top also has a chiseled rock face to match the bluestone caps on the walls and fireplace.

4. Anchoring this feature is a pondless waterfall, which features a 6-foot wide sheet of water that recirculates and is fitted with an autofill to keep the feature as low maintenance as possible for the homeowner.