Newly constructed homes rarely come with a thought-out front yard design. In this case, this stunning Rye, NY home had a path to the front door made of 18” bluestone squares in a footprint that was very close to the house. A row of boxwoods along the front porch was the extent of the landscaping. In the backyard, a bizarre array of bluestone squares was meant to serve as the patio. Both masonry choices underline a lack of design and budget spent by the builder. Why put a $1,000 walkway on a multimillion-dollar house? We designed a new walkway and patio that repurposed some of the existing bluestone but added more grandeur and functional space. In the backyard, removing the existing hedge and grading the lawn created enough additional level space to install a playset. In the front yard, an evergreen hedge became the living fence and expanded planting beds softened the hardscape angles. The front yard courtyard reclaims the front lawn as a desirable space to relax or play ball (it’s the flattest part of the lot, after all).
This blog is part of our Best of 2025 Landscape Designs. This project is number three in our top design-build projects of the year!
Planning Circulation & Designing a Front Walkway
Front walkways should be far enough away from the front foundation to take in the home’s architecture. Often, they are installed too close to the house to keep an overall smaller and less expensive footprint. In this case, we moved the front walk five feet out from its original footprint, allowing us to expand the planting area in front of the existing boxwoods. We opted for a four-foot-wide rectilinear walkway that flares out to create a landing at the porch. Landings like this allow space for larger groups to gather. Walkways, as opposed to stepping stone or gravel paths, are the smoothest, safest surface to walk on, and are more accommodating to wheelchairs and strollers.
The client wanted privacy from the road, and together we landed on an evergreen hedge of the native ilex glabra or inkberry. Since the new front walkway would be originating in the driveway, we decided a gate in the hedge, directly across from the front door, would be a good circulation path for visitors entering from the street. We coordinated with Salem Fence for the gate installation.
Front Yard Courtyard Design
The scale of this front yard is small, and since it is the flattest area of the yard, we knew we had to preserve some lawn area for play space. The new planting beds create a curved border around the lawn, lending the courtyard feel. The planting design was kept dwarf to not overwhelm the scale or disrupt views of the home. A playful plant palette including blue grama grass, coreopsis, eastern bee balm, geranium, and penstemon offered textural contrast and a long bloom season. A crepe myrtle tree added some architectural interest and height.
Backyard Grading for Play Space
The backyard of this property is also small and slopes down. A generator off the corner of the house was placed on a berm that has a steep slope around it down to the existing patio. The height of the berm creates an odd feeling of enclosure from the patio. The client wanted a play set for their young family and there was only one possible spot it could fit – in the corner of the property, and only if we removed the hedge, installed a fence and graded the area to level.
We constructed a rip rap boulder wall as a base for the new fence and grade. For the playset base, we installed 4-6” of certified playground mulch, or milled cedar wood chips. We cut into one side of the generator berm, to create more space to walk around from the side yard and then graded that material into the other side of the berm so the slope next to the patio is dramatically less steep. Planting the berm to screen the generator and soften the appearance of the slope helped reclaim it as a feature of the yard. It was all a lesson in how grading can maximize space, especially in a small-scale backyard.
There were some unique complications with this project: the neighbors had a driveway directly behind the lot, and our client had to coordinate getting permission and cost sharing with them. We again used Salem Fence for the fence construction. Altogether there were more stakeholders to coordinate and communicate with than usual on this project, but it was all executed smoothly and timely.
The backyard patio was reconstructed in an irregular bluestone pattern with a half circle border on one side, echoing the landing in the front walk and maximizing patio space and ease of transitions from the side yard. We were able to repurpose much of the existing stone, which is why we always prefer to work with natural stone over concrete products.
The backyard has a large under deck area that needed to be addressed. We opted to fill the area with gravel, adding more rectilinear bluestone pathways through it off the existing sliding doors. We also placed some sitting boulders which are large and sculptural, and serve as fun seats for children.
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Does your yard feel underutilized because of challenging site conditions or topography? Let us help you design your dream yard, so spending time outside is easy and rewarding. Fill out our contact form to get in touch, or call us at 914-629-5240.
