It takes a certain amount of imagination to do what we do. Some landscapes are so overgrown and overwhelming that many homeowners can’t visualize the finished result – much less where to begin! That was certainly the case with this bluestone patio installation in Rye, NH.
Our initial consultation with new clients is more like a “meet and greet” – we want to know what they like, what they don’t, and what their lifestyle is. This gives us a starting point to come up with a design style, material choices, and certain landscape elements that complement their lifestyle.
During our “meet and greet” with this couple, we discovered they lived a very active lifestyle – they were avid cyclists and enjoyed jogging along the beach in Rye. They remarked how much they admired the natural stone on the New Hampshire seacoast and would spend as much time outside as possible.
As you can see, the end result was completely different than what we started with!
We had our mission for this Rye NH patio project!
The challenge to design and build a patio that would meet these three important goals for the client:
- Natural stone materials
- Extended time outdoors
- Active lifestyle
Natural Stone
Natural Stone. For the patio, we installed bluestone flagging with radial cuts and tight seams for the most natural look. Stone seat walls made from reclaimed granite flanked both ends of the patio. The old-world style of this type of stone wall construction gives you the sense that this patio could have stood for centuries!
Extended Time Outdoors
Extended Time Outdoors. To provide shade from the hot midafternoon sun, we designed and built an arbor straight off the back of the house. This took some planning because we had to install concrete footings 4 feet deep prior to building the bluestone patio. A fire pit was a must for extending their patio enjoyment into the evening and later into the season.
Active Lifestyle
Active Lifestyle. When customers say things like “we wish we didn’t even have to go inside after a run” it gets you thinking, “what if we installed an outdoor shower?” And that’s exactly what we did! Not completely unusual for a patio on the New Hampshire seacoast – but this landscape element was designed with our client’s lifestyle in mind. We installed the drain flush with the patio, built the cedar enclosure, and contracted a plumber to provide a showerhead with hot and cold water.