2023 Front Yard Makeover - Finalists 1, 2, & 3 Preliminary Designs

Its been a hectic few weeks wrapping up our work season, spending time with family at Christmas and beginning preparations for he 2023 season, but have managed to complete preliminary designs for the 3 Finalists for our 2023 Front Yard Makeover.

We plan on meeting each finalists for an in person review these next 2 weeks and then Finalizing plans and opening the contest for Voting!!!

Finalist #1 - East Hill Heritage

Again the biggest challenge with this home is the Maples. We contacted Wise Wood Tree Care Ltd. for some additional advice on these trees. Planted beneath power lines it seems these will always be a nuisance for the owners, but some pruning and care over the next few years and these trees can shift back to an attractive focal point for this yard.

Main focus for us will be the hardscapes here. Replace the wall with a block wall and integrated steps while adding a Roman paver entry way with central intersection for 3 pathways - on meeting the driveway and one meeting the sidewalk. I would still advise greening this front yard up with a lawn area that is curvy similar to the walkway, and add a series of plantings that do well in part-shade while providing some winter interest with boxwoods and a slender evergreen against the house. a couple of Serviceberry tree to add to the understory of the maples and leaving the tidy hedge to delineate the property from the busy sidewalk. A lighting package here would be great to emphasize the hardscapes and show off the large Maples and new plantings.

Finalist #2 - Kal Road Contemporary

The Coldstream home is nearly a blank slate. Beyond the stucco, the owners are just awaiting the driveway completion, which we have recommended pouring some smooth or slightly broomed finished concrete. Segmented slabs could be a route they go for the entry details of the concrete, which would fit the style of the home and landscaping.

The main issue with this home is the location and exposure to the school across the street which leads to heave traffic twice a day. We have proposed a partial buffer between the home and the roadway to at least distract or interrupt the view from the house outward. With the width of the lot there is still plenty of visibility to the home from 50% of the frontage.

Design would include a free-standing block wall to help with this buffer. Owners could then place the address for both homes on this wall as it creates a focal point and division from the roadway. Barkman’s Architextures wall comes to mind as a suitable style and format for this 24” wall.

3 columnar oaks would then be placed on the house side of this wall. Oaks are great options for residential trees. Green Pillar Oaks are bred to not have acorns or drop anything but their leaves. They are in general aree of disease and pests and provide a nice glossy green leaf. Often Oaks can cling onto their leaves for the winter, which will help with screening in the winter months.

Beyond this buffer we would recommend some green area to help contrast against the soon to be light grey tones in the stucco. Due to the drainage from the street and elevation being a bit lower than the road with now ditch or storm drain, we would advise soil and sod here to make use of the available water in the spring time.

Low maintenance plantings throughout, irrigation, lighting accents on the wall and plant material, and grey crusher chips for all miscellaneous parking spots, roadways and a snow storage area against the roadway.

Finalist #3 - Northend Bungalow

This project feels a bit of a combination of the previous two. Entry to the home and size of job is similar to the East Hill Heritage House, but we’ve added a similar contemporary feel to this one vs a traditional landscape you might expect for this area of town.

Design all starts with the need to update and improve the hardscapes. Although this front yard could be completed without the need of a wall by working in some berms and slopes, I feel tiering the front yard with the use of two small walls adds some interest to this property.

We would remove the concrete wall that is heaving, cracking and a little awkward as a tall step up going toward the front door. We would replace with a new short wall with integrated steps both from the driveway and directly toward the street. And although the owners do not currently use this front yard as an area to relax, we would add some interest with a large landing space that may be the location for a unique bench, planters, or a couple of chairs. This will add some interest and make the frontyard a potential spot for an occasional sunny morning coffee, or quick pitstop while doing some saturday chores. The south facing spot could also feature 4-5 planters or pots that could be the home’s herb garden. In any event, its a bit more out-of-the-box than a straight pathway to a front door.

We have shown this deign as a contemporary, linear design but you could easily alter this to a curvy wall, curvy walkway and curvy plant beds.

Beyond the hardscapes, simple xeriscaping is in order, featuring some attractive accent trees like magnolia and Japanese maple, and groupings of grasses, lavender and ground covers. Additional irrigaiton and lighting will compliment this attractive front yard.

Quick thanks for all the interest with this Makeover Project. It has been a fun exercise for us meeting new people and showcasing our design process.

Next update will be in about 2 weeks after final plans are established and the voting process will commence!!!