For this Upper West Side townhouse, the young family in residence wanted an extension of their living room to serve as a casual dining, recreation, and work space. The project began with an extensive excavation of the yard and the removal of 20 cubic yards of rubble and clay. Once clear, we laid a new sub-base for proper drainage with gravel and stone dust. For the new surface we chose natural cleft Pennsylvania bluestone and Himalayan white pebblestones for accents to brighten the shady back corner of the yard. Curved beds were added with custom lighting to create visual flow and choreograph movement through the space. As a final touch, we revitalized the fence surrounding the yard with a plant-based, environmentally friendly hemp shield and custom stain.
For the plantings we had two goals. The first was to ensure that the space itself remained the primary feature. With a beautiful mature tree already hanging over the yard, we only had to add a simple understory with a shade heavy palette of astilbes, rhododendrons, hellebores, loniceras and hydrangeas. Our second goal was to reduce the habitat for pests such as mosquitoes and rats that often find a comfortable home in these shady townhouse yards. To that end we kept the beds small and lined the fence with a rodent-proof barrier that extends a foot below the surface. The end result is a highly functional living space that should serve this family for generations to come.