Rooms with A View

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When Todd Richards and I decided to purchase a home, landscaping was the last thing on our minds. We were young and living it up in a spacious apartment a few blocks from Cathedral Square. Adulting came calling, however, and soon we wanted dogs, a yard and all the Martha-Stewart-inspired charm we could muster.

It was time to buy a house, and the moment we walked into a 1931 English Tudor in West Allis, we knew we found our home. We quickly started painting, decorating and setting things up room by room. I loved the idea of giving each room its own flair yet creating a cohesive feel throughout the house. Little did I know how well this concept worked outdoors. As a first-time homeowner landscaping overwhelmed me, but by thinking of outdoor spaces as “rooms,” backyard design seemed doable (and fun!).

Take It Outside

We wanted to carve out areas of the backyard for entertaining, dining, gardening and relaxing. We started by tearing down the house’s small deck and building a much larger outdoor living space. Our new deck is big enough for two spaces. Half the deck is for dining, the other half, a relaxing sitting area.

We also took the tiny balcony off the primary bedroom and replaced with a balcony that stretched across the back of the entire house. Adding planters and a bistro set made it a spacious “room” to enjoy morning coffee or relax at sunset.

The side of the house was perfect for a garden. This area has changed over the years—from a salsa garden to a cut-flower garden. Today, the hideaway features yellow roses, flowering bushes and low-maintenance greenery. I added a Hosta-lined walkway, leading to a charming gate. Even though the area has a “secret garden” appeal, we call it Rocco’s Garden because our West Highland Terrier, Rocco, loves spending time in this quiet, private area of the yard.

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Our unattached one-car garage had a significant presence in the backyard, so when the time came to expand it into a 2-car space, Todd worked closely with the builder to design the back of the garage (that faced the backyard). Featuring double doors, coach lights and a decorative window, it looks less like a garage and more like a quant guesthouse.

The team at Emerald Gardens Landscape and Garden Design installed a flagstone patio at the back of the lot. The perfect spot to entertain a small group of friends, it’s surrounded by black-eyed Susans, coral bells, Astilbe, hydrangeas and Golden Spirea. It truly stands on its own as a separate space. 

Tying It All Together

To me, it’s key to tie outdoor “rooms” together visually. You can do this several ways but accenting the yard with a cohesive color pallet makes things easy. For example, every summer I plant several container gardens and hanging baskets, and I try to maintain a color pallet in the flowers I choose. This year, I focused on yellow, red and orange blooms with a few bursts of deep blue. Similarly, nearly all of my containers are the same color—brick red—with a few blue pots that carry the eye from spot to spot.

Texture is also a great way to create consistency between areas of a yard. I use a lot of outdoor pillows that match the yard’s color pallet, but you could do the same with throws, outdoor carpets, and garden knick-knacks.

Outdoor lighting is also a smart way to keep backyard areas cohesive. My back patio is accented with cream and purple lights, the deck features golden hues and the side garden is subtly lit in emerald green. Because the entire backyard has accent lighting it all works together while visually sectioning off each area. Guests love it and so do we … and that includes little Rocco.