This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I used to think a beautiful backyard required a landscape architect, a generous budget, and some kind of innate design talent I simply didn’t have. Turns out, I was wrong on all three counts. After … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I’ve spent more money on outdoor furniture than I care to admit. There was the flimsy steel set that started rusting by June, the “weather-resistant” wicker that turned brittle after two winters, and one memorably … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I’ve built six paver patios over the past decade — from a modest 120-square-foot side yard pad to a 600-square-foot entertainment space with a built-in fire pit area. Every single time, I come back to … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. I’ve lived with three different small backyards over the past fifteen years, and every single time I moved in, my first reaction was disappointment. Then, after a few weekends with a notepad and some honest … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. After transforming three backyards on tight budgets, I can tell you with complete confidence: you do not need $10,000 to have a gorgeous, functional outdoor space. The best patio I ever built cost me just … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Three years into my career, I built what I genuinely considered my best patio to date. Tumbled bluestone, perfectly tight joints, a gorgeous curved border. The homeowner called me eight months later — after the first winter — to tell me … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. A few years back, a homeowner called me in a panic. She had poured a beautiful 400-square-foot concrete patio the previous spring — smooth finish, clean edges, exactly what she asked for. By the following March, after one hard Wisconsin winter, … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. About eight years into my career, I was called out to look at a pathway a homeowner had installed themselves the previous spring. The stones were heaving, the edges were collapsing into the lawn, and weeds had completely consumed the gaps. … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Three years into my career, I ripped out a brand-new bluestone patio I had just installed six months earlier. The homeowner had spent around $14,000. The stone looked stunning in the yard showroom sample — deep blue-grey, smooth, elegant. By spring, … Read more
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I got a call a few years back from a homeowner in northern Ohio. She had hired a neighbor’s son to install a paver patio the previous spring — 400 square feet, decent pavers, not a bad layout. By October, the … Read more