Beechwood Courtyard

This Summit, New Jersey, home presented us with a few very unique challenges. The rear yard was very small in area and the usable space for their patio was alongside the parking area in the driveway on one side, had views of the street on the other side and was below a large home that sat close to their property line. The client also wanted a play area for their small children and as much of a level lawn area for recreation as well. We decided to create a courtyard for the patio with plantings for screening the neighbor’s house and some beautiful wood arbors and a trellis to screen the driveway and street (which also provide a safe area for the children to play in). A low stone wall around the patio doubles as seating for larger gatherings. The natural play area was created as part of a rock garden with multilevel boulders surrounding the sand play space that you can sit on or work great for the young children to climb on! A small level lawn area adjoins this play space just across the bluestone path. It has turned out to be a charming addition to their home with providing all the uses they desired.