Garden Outdoor Room

What is a garden outdoor room?
A garden outdoor room is an outdoor room that directly connects to the back of a home. Many of these rooms are built with wings that connect on either side to the walls of the house itself. A custom stone, concrete, or brick patio provides a surface area for people to gather, relax, recline, and relish moments of conversation. A glass sliding door is almost always installed between the garden and the home interior.

What type of feeling should a garden outdoor room have?
Your garden outdoor room should look comfortable and inviting to those inside your house. This is why we almost always connect the two areas with a sliding glass door so people can see everything in the garden and eventually be drawn outside. It blurs the boundaries of interior and exterior space. People in the garden can see kitchens and living areas inside, and people in the house can see outdoor furniture, greenery and custom hardscape, and lighted fountains.

Is a garden outdoor room an important part of landscape design?
Yes. Adding a landscaped place so close to the house does several things for your yard. It brings nature right up to window, so to speak, with a convenience and immediacy that are literally only a few steps away. It also creates a transition area where indoor living turns into outdoor living. When you hold engagements at your home, your guests will appreciate being able to shift so quickly between the two without having to walk that far outside.

How do you determine how large a garden outdoor room should be?
The most important consideration we pay attention to is home architecture. The garden should be built to scale with the size of the house and the size of the yard.

What types of furniture do you put in a garden outdoor room?
That depends on what you plan to use the room for. If you want it to be more of a gathering place where people stand around and mingle, then a few stone benches are apropos. If this is going to be a central hub of conversation, you will certainly need more of a living room effect and a lot more comfort than stone seating provides.

Our design team will help you accessorize and color coordinate any number of outdoor furniture sets with the surroundings of the courtyard. Decorations can be a blend of indoor and outdoor motifs, including flowers, flower pots, planters, lighted fountains, and fine statuary. Patio design is always custom and made to support decorative themes without diminishing human comfort.

Can a garden outdoor room improve my property value?
Yes. The fusion of indoor and outdoor space creates a synergy between personal lifestyle and luxury outdoor living. Prospective buyers will immediately see the advantage of buying a home that already has extended living space, organic vitality, a connection to Nature, and personalized entertainment.

Small Garden Walls

Size does matter, so the saying goes. Yet Exterior Worlds has found that small garden walls can carry a big wallop, so don’t let the use of the word “small” here mislead you.

A classic concept within the landscaping lexicon, the small garden wall—so called due to its short height—lends its strong, clean lines to bring order and structure to a garden landscape. Short walls create zones. They direct traffic from one area to another. They divide a space. We prize the short wall in our landscape design work, particularly in the way they can bring interest to otherwise flat and uninspired terrain.

Some of ways we have used short walls for our clients:

• We have built small garden walls in entertainment areas to provide de facto seating or table space.
• They have been used as lines of demarcation, specifying areas to be highlighted—a custom swimming pool, rose garden or outdoor room.
• When built to enclose flower beds, these walls can protect the plants from wind and other elements.
• They can serve as retaining walls when constructed with proper engineering.
• With a subtle but sophisticated touch, a small wall can delineate a property line to give it clear distinction. A small wall used in this way is particularly apt for a front yard, since it creates a visual barrier rather than an actual one, thus preserving a welcoming look for your home.
• Conversely, we have used a small wall in combination with a wrought iron fence. The results—a finely crafted fence that is built for durability, longevity and beauty. These combination fences convey an open ambiance and elegance while also providing protection.

If you are working within a particular theme for your landscape design—maybe a French garden or a Southern garden—small garden walls can further underscore that choice. With a classic theme like a French garden, all you need to do is visualize the structured gardens of Versailles to understand the impact of short walls. For romantic designs like a Southern garden, a small wall builds on the sense of intimacy and enclosure.

In general, walls are versatile tools for any custom landscaping project done by Exterior Worlds. For instance, living garden walls—in which we sculpt tall plants such as a lantana, cherry laurel (both of which are drought-resistant and have the added benefit of flowering), or reedy bamboo and turn them into green and living walls—add form, interest and texture to your yard. A glass garden wall that uses architectural glass within a sturdy framework provides both definition and privacy. You even get a hint of mystery when the sun shines through it and back-lights the plants on the other side.

Whether small, glass, brick, stone, or living, exterior walls allow you to take advantage of the strength inherent in geometric lines. Your garden will bloom, grow and flourish by putting this concept to work in your landscape design. It is such design consciousness that brings distinction to a landscape, so let Exterior Worlds seamlessly integrate walls into your landscape plan.

Call Exterior Worlds at 713-827-2255 or visit www.exteriorworlds.com for more information on this topic. Providing the greater Houston area with high-end landscaping design and services since 1987.

Arbor Living Room & Landscape Design

An arbor can be something simple you sit in under the trees, or it can be the high point of your outdoor landscape design. Many arbors are nothing more than vantage points beneath large trees from which homeowners can quiet moments of the Houston landscape. Others, however, are outdoor living rooms that can only be described as monuments of residential outdoor architecture.

The arbor living room we built for the Friedman family was just such a structure. It was constructed in the form of a formal, outdoor luxury living room. It was built at the end of a long, three-level sandstone patio. Its axial location in relationship made it the second most significant structure on the landscape, and the terminus of the pool and hardscape design.

When you leave the summer kitchen that is adjoined to the home interior, you suddenly find yourself standing at the end of a patio that stretches past the length of a luxury pool and culminates in the grand finale of an outdoor luxury living space decked out with the finest furnishings and a crystal chandelier.

The arbor itself is designed with a traditional style of architecture and a touch of classicism. Four large pillars support a glass roof that shelters the fine furnishings beneath. A chandelier hangs from the roof’s interior. This adds a sense of drama, richness, and tone to the moment. Red curtains frame your view of the Houston landscape when you sit inside the arbor, and they also attract you from a distance when you look at the room from other vantage points in the yard.

The beams are made of solid steal and surrounded by pressure treated pine. They are stained to match the rest of the room’s interior. The roof is pitched slightly to run water backward to an organic wall of Japanese yew trees. This exposes the underbelly of the ceiling just a bit, making it appear to slope upwards. This gives you a better view of the stars and the traditional-style house looming majestically up from the Houston landscape and nighttime skyline.

The floor of the arbor living room is made from the same sandstone that was used to build the pool patio. Limestone inlays are cut into it, which create decoration and scaling. These look superb under chandelier light.

A few other features near the arbor enhance its preeminence position on the Houston landscape. The first of these are sandstone steps leading up to its interior. Every step is set on a concrete base hidden in the grass. Sandstone risers support the 18-inch treads that measure two inches each in thickness.

The treads are cut and thermal finished in order to give them a rich texture and sophisticated look. The generous width of every tread allows for a generous step and allows for a gradual descent to the upper pool terrace. Dwarf mondo grass grows between the risers to compliment the back wall of Japanese yew.

On either side we find additional softscape elements that lend vitality and décor to the sophisticated and complex hardscape designs that delineate this massive Houston landscape into gathering points of interest and activity. On one side we find a formal parterre garden, which runs parallel to the pool. Boxwoods frame the arbor on sides to provide scaling, organic complimentary framing, and structure, and a decorative planter housing Cyclamens adds color and vitality to the scene.

Outdoor Gazebo

I want to give my landscape some “pop”—any suggestions?
One idea is a garden structure such as an outdoor gazebo, something we at Exterior Worlds have been building for years. First of all, gazebos are beautiful to look at. Kids love them and, with their young imaginations, can turn a gazebo into a castle, a fortress or a stage. But, because of their versatility, they can be quite functional. You can outfit them with built-in benches and screen them in to provide an artist get-away. Or you can create another entertainment center by installing a fire pit or outdoor fireplace.

What are the best construction materials to use for an outdoor gazebo?
You have a wide range of construction materials for an outdoor gazebo. Over the years, we have used treated wood, which is one of the most traditional choices. It looks good whether painted or stained and sealed. If you have an English garden design, a white, wooden gazebo makes an impactful visual statement. You can combine it with other landscape elements like a trellis, garden arbor or garden arches, covered in honeysuckle or climbing roses. A substantial material like stone or brick makes a lovely gazebo, especially in a Japanese garden. You can further enhance the look by choosing a pagoda roof style (a smaller roof on top of a larger one).

Wrought iron, metal, or painted aluminum are all durable material choices, especially here in Houston with our challenging Gulf Coast weather. We have also had good luck with Hardiplank™, a fiber cement plank product made by the James Hardie Company. It is resistant to our varying temperatures and humidity levels because it is made of stone, quartz, sand and fiber.

Who can help me build an outdoor gazebo?
A competent landscape designer or landscape architect will work all the elements of your landscape into a seamless whole. They will walk you through your design decisions such as the shape you want for your gazebo—octagonal, square, oval and rectangular. You can also add flair to a gazebo with the roof style you choose: a curved upsweep or pagoda-style, steep or flat, open lattice or wooden shakes. Your architect or designer will also help you coordinate these choices with the architecture of your home and what works best with it. We have a list of such professionals with whom we have longstanding relationships.

The different sections of a major landscape design and installation need to be interwoven, very similar to how a dance is choreographed. We try to be frank with our clients as to where we can be most valuable. If a customer only wants a simple garden structure, we may refer them to one of our artisan contractors. But if they want, say, a gazebo wired for lighting and integrated into the irrigation system and drainage system—that’s another matter. The more sophisticated the design, the more important a partner like Exterior Worlds becomes. In these cases, we become a necessity, not a luxury.

Memorial Villages Landscaping

You can make your Memorial Villages landscaping great—and Exterior Worlds can help you do it. Memorial Villages landscaping is ripe with creative opportunity. You can turn your landscape into a haven—or, in popular lingo, turn it into a staycation vacation spot. You might be thinking of upgrading your property in order to do more entertaining. Or maybe you’re simply tired of the same-ole, same-ole and want to perk up your yards.

For more than 20 years, Exterior Worlds has been transforming Memorial Villages landscaping from the mundane to the memorable. We tailor our landscape solutions specifically to your needs and desires. For example:

• Outdoor kitchens. Outdoor kitchens provide a gathering place that people naturally gravitate to, just as they do inside the house. When planning an outdoor kitchen, we can give you advice regarding integrating it with any other existing structures, including easy access to the indoor kitchen. Lots of electrical outlets should be included in plans for the cooking and dining areas. Summer kitchens also need proper lighting for general and task lighting purposes and accent lighting as well, such as mounted in nearby trees or attached to the grill.
• Custom swimming pools. Pools create a natural extension of your indoor living space. Additionally, luxury swimming pools are great for business entertaining, informal family gatherings and as hang-outs for the kids. Add-on options include underwater benches, a spa, waterfalls, negative edges, and a sun shelf (a specially-built feature for sunning). Exterior Worlds works with expert landscape architect or landscape designer who can turn your dreams for a pool into reality.
• Outdoor rooms. Outdoor rooms also extend your living area. They can be designed so that you don’t have to depend on Houston’s mercurial weather in order to enjoy the outdoors. Examples: screened-in porch, mist system, overhead fans. Perhaps you have under-utilized spaces on the side of your home, an area just waiting to be converted to an outdoor room. Or you can play off other structures on your property such as a detached garage or pool cabana. Pergolas and garden arbors help create lovely spaces and provide a venue to show off your green thumb when they are covered with vines.
• Drainage systems. While not as sexy as the above landscape elements, drainage systems can make the difference between enjoying every square foot of your property and being a prisoner in your own home. A well-designed yard drainage system provides proper grading, which creates positive drainage away from your structures while being respectful of your neighbors’ properties and not draining onto them. In recent years, the Memorial Villages have set the standard in drainage requirements and ordinances, something Exterior Worlds has become expert at complying with and navigating through.

Comprehensive landscape services are our specialty, especially Memorial Villages landscaping. We pride ourselves on our commitment to the customer and to excellence. And this pride in craftsmanship includes everything from custom-made outdoor water fountains to doing mulch installation by hand. Our skilled staff is ready to work with you to develop a singular style of landscape that fits the singular style of your life.