Before and After

“I think most people would choose the kitchen,” says Mary, who has five children between 14 and 24. “But we don’t travel much. We really do stay at home, and we knew the backyard had potential.”

The Gigliottis hired Kanary’s Landscaping in Sheffield to address their backyard issues. The swimming pool was positioned close to the house, and the concrete and sandstone walkways bordering it allowed little clearance. Meanwhile, shrub beds and wrought-iron fencing that enclosed the area added to the claustrophobia. The family primarily wanted open space to enjoy their pool and hot tub.

They were also interested in recycling the old patio’s abundance of sandstone by incorporating it into the new plan. “I didn’t want it to look brand new,” Mary says.

Teardown took six days. Crews dug up concrete, removed fencing, disassembled retaining walls, tore out ground cover and recovered sandstone slabs from their mortared concrete base. “We used almost every bit of what was there,” Rich Kanary says.

Reusing the sandstone kept costs down, plus the older materials added character to the new brick pavers that Kanary chose for the backyard’s three distinct patio areas. Infusing sandstone square designs into the main patio space, and treating the material as a backsplash for the red brick pavers in the walkway surrounding the pool, resulted in a hardscape that blended with the 1940s home.

Removing a wrought-iron fence, which had separated the pool and hot tub areas, and building a step there created more open space. “We were going to work around the older fence,” Mary says, noting the plan change. “But I knew a step meant more seating. I could picture the kids and grandkids sitting there.”

The plan changed as it evolved, Kanary says. “We found more materials, we discovered new possibilities, and right on site, we were able to make adjustments.”

Not every client would agree to unexpected changes to the original plan or put such trust in their designer. But Gigliotti says the backyard’s best features were born from this sort of on-the-fly inspiration.

Another welcome element born from going with the flow is a path that leads to the far backyard, which runs up against the Black River. Maybe the best surprise, Mary says, is a water feature that Kanary made his pet project.

He took advantage of the grade of the yard and carved out a 30-foot-long stream that meanders into a river-stone bed. Blue Pacific junipers and hostas pop from outcroppings, and the path of the water feature suggests a new traffic pattern from the pool to the patio to the back door of the home.

“It just opens up that area so much more,” Kanary says. He noticed that the Gigliottis placed two chairs at the foot of the water stream. It is a favorite lounging spot. The entire setup also scores points with the children, who invite friends over and do far more entertaining than the adults, Mary jokes. “That’s the point —keep them at home, keep them near us.”