A tiered patio and sunken fire lounge
Hardscapes- Location
- Columbus, Ohio area
- Category
- Hardscapes
- Scope
- Hardscapes, Softscapes
A sloping back garden rebuilt as two connected levels: a dining terrace off the house, and a sunken lounge wrapped in seat walls around a linear fire pit.
One slope, rebuilt as two rooms that each know what they are for.
The ground behind the house fell away from the back door, which is the usual reason a big garden goes unused. Rather than fight the grade, the design takes it in two steps. A paver dining terrace sits level with the house and the outdoor kitchen, and a broad flight of stone treads drops to a second patio below it.
The framework
Retaining and seat walls do the structural work and the seating at the same time. They hold the upper terrace, define the lower lounge, and give the whole garden a finished edge where it meets the lawn. A linear gas fire pit anchors the lower level, with the seat walls turned to face it.
Planting and finish
Ornamental grasses run along the base of the walls to soften the stone, with mulched beds and young trees carrying the planting out to the lawn edge. Lighting is set into the walls and beds so the lower patio stays usable well after dark.
