Getting Ready for Spring

Spring comes early in Tampa, and it seems to start a little earlier every year.  One of our clients recently took advantage of our "almost winter weather" to do a major outdoor project.

We viewed this project in a distant post, but the program changed pretty significantly since our last check in.  Here's what the "before" back yard looked like.  Though at a glance the area seems pretty and serene, there were some major issues with drainage, rotting deck, mosquitoes, aging trees...enough to make finding design solutions a necessity!

Though this very mature ficus tree had been a gift many years ago, the invasive roots made it's removal necessary to the design.

In this and the previous photo, you can see the green space that is necessitated by the need for drainage and air circulation under the house.

Portions of the deck were rotting due to contact with moisture from the ground and years of leaf debris collected under the decking.

These two oak trees in the middle of the deck were at the end of their life expectancy, and even posed a hazard to the home's roof.  The removal of the trees and stumps allowed an appropriate grade to be achieved for the patio-to-be.

Several design solutions were explored before the final idea was landed on.  These included a covered pavilion, a fountain, an elaborate pergola (which we saw drawings of in the previous post)....  But when the final idea percolated to the top, the homeowner was ecstatic!  And  a happy client makes for a happy designer.  Over the next couple of weeks we'll take a look at the final design and the process of getting there.  Spring here we come!