River Oaks couple contracted Exterior Worlds to design a contemporary garden behind the gym in their two-story home. The original garden was very traditional in both style and function, and was used exclusively as an area to plant foliage and various species of flowers. Its only ornamentation was a three-tiered fountain, which looked outdated and made noise throughout the night due to failing pumps. Our clients asked us to convert a portion of this space into something more functional, and to create a more contemporary garden design throughout the remainder of the property. They also requested we replace the fountain with a more contemporary water feature.
Because the garden had previously been designed in the shape of a near-perfect rectangle, we already had the basic geometry necessary for the development of a new, more contemporary style. We developed our landscaping plan by breaking this area up into proportional quadrilateral sections of varying size. Some of these would later be used as patio space, others as garden space, and the last and largest section would be converted into a far more sophisticated water feature and fountain.
We began the project by building a red brick patio over the first section just outside the window of the home gym. Rather than placing the bricks in a standard, linear fashion, we took a more eclectic approach. We laid the bricks in alternating diagonal rows that created a sense of immediate movement the moment you stepped onto the patio. This had the effect of drawing both the feet and the eyes toward the center of the property, and it also served to immediately establish the garden’s new, contemporary design.
