Friday, October 28, 2011

Defining moments

Maybe you think it's cliche or overdone but I love the sense of space and boundary in gardens. I love garden rooms, I love screens, fences and hedges.  Veils, pergolas and allees all create interest in the garden.

In the backyard I have been trying to carve out a beautiful dining area.  Defining the space from the rest of the garden was important to me as much for the pure esthetics as it was to keep myself from filling yet another area with plants.  I have to be strict with myself ("no Dustin, NO, BAD"),  because you see even though I love the look of spare landscapes I have a NEED for plants.  I also have a need to cook and entertain for friends, so the priority of the dining area has been mounting.

For months and months I have been designing and sketching different permutations of walls and screens to define the outdoor eatery. I wanted it to be a bit contemporary but also fun.  Finally about two or three weeks ago I settled on a design that would not only define the space but would allow for views into the other areas of the garden.  Voids in the screen would frame various "pictures" of the adjacent gardens depending on where you might be standing. This allows me to have my plants and have order (at least in one area of the garden). And to extend the permeable feeling I decided to have spaces between the slats of wood so that the area didn't feel too closed in.  Upon finding a great mark down at "the box store which must not be named", I went from 1" x 6" cedar to 1" x 4" redwood planks.  Just nailing the slats took two people 3/4 of a day, and that's with the help of a nail-gun. My buddy Jay likes punishment.

Oh and before you ask... yes I am trying to kill that tree.

I'm toying with the idea of painting the panels different colors, but for now I will enjoy the natural hues of the redwood.



                                                   The design, a bit rough but it worked





                                             Here's a few shots of the screen going up....










Here's some other perspectives







And the final product! Hooray!






8 comments:

  1. Very very nice--how will you light the area? Hopw you'll post some evening shots sometime !

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  2. Love it! So in the end are both sides "finished"...meaning wood slats closing up each solid box?

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  3. My god, you've been busy. Such a struggle to keep the good/bad, plant-happy/spare landscape duality in balance, but this solution is genius!

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  4. Love the new fence/screen/divider, Dustin, and am totally envious!

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