Contemporary Mountain Retreat—Washington State

Project Summary

Located in the mountains of Washington State, this contemporary home needed a landscape to complement the new architecture and surrounding mountain views. Home Outside designed a landscape that fulfilled the homeowner’s need for privacy screening, outdoor dining, and room for her dogs to run, while making the most of the stunning views.

Check out the plan notes below to learn more about Home Outside’s design solutions!

Base Plan

Draft Design

Final Design

Landscape Design Plan Notes

Front entry fence, 42” tall. Entry gate positioned for easy access from guest parking and driveway, and convenient orientation for walker’s approach to house. Gate centered on walkway’s first slab.

Walkway created by shifting rectangular slabs of poured concrete, generously sized to allow 2 people to walk side by side. Joints between slabs filled with aggregate and could be topped with a layer of ornamental river stones within path to prevent smaller aggregate from traveling when walked over.

Aggregate extends from sides of walkway to house perimeter as a walkway/drip edge. Garden bed edged with metal edge to separate aggregate from garden soil.

Simple, low-maintenance planting palette in front garden features perennials and small or medium-sized shrubs. Include boulders for year-round visual interest and structure in the garden. Keep boulders away from fence line as this could make it possible for pets to breach fence.

Gate between front and back yard meets house set back from corner, gate swings against house wall.

Planting area helps hold slope and screens dining terrace from driveway. Could include small tree, 4-6ft shrubs, and vigorous groundcover. Poured concrete curb extending from dining terrace to hold slope, or line of boulders to help retain slope.

Dining and Grilling terrace steps down to fire pit area. Poured concrete steps. Repeat long concrete slab shapes as thresholds at gates.

Peastone terrace for fire pit. Above-ground steel bowl set in peastone for wood fire, or extend propane line to fire pit terrace for propane fire table. Existing propane line stub could alternately be used as a hardline to barbecue grill at dining terrace.

Small fixture landscape lighting to illuminate area outside ambient house light. Recommend low-voltage standard path lights for soft, downward-facing light that will have a minimal impact on the landscape beyond the path.

Double gate leads to new 10’x20′ accessory building.

Single level deck accessed from house by double-wide exterior door. Approximately 5 steps from deck to aggregate courtyard level. Horizontal slats or lattice between exterior posts to hide underside of deck and prevent animal access.

Deck extends along facade of master wing, creating a space for lounging and star-gazing. Container plants along deck railing. Consider modern cable railing style to preserve visibility from master bedroom to courtyard space.

Concrete slab under hot tub, surrounded with loose aggregate. Wooden slat walkway around hot tub hovers atop aggregate. Plant shrub mass to hold slope and provide additional screening, such as Winterberry or Red Twig Dogwood. Path lights along slat walkway.

Driveway hammerhead allows turn-around from garage and keeps cars out of sight from backyard areas.

Add evergreen shrubs to screen electric box, adjacent road, and neighboring house.

Cast wildflower seeds in all disturbed areas along driveway for a naturalized, carefree seasonal interest. Allow areas outside the fenced-in areas to be wild, retaining existing landscape.

Home Outside Pinterest Board

“Because my new home is in a rural area with no access to local landscape designers, it was going to cost a fortune to bring one here due to all the travel expense. Home Outside solved that problem for me. I provided a site plan, some photos, and a detailed description of what I was hoping to achieve, and a couple of weeks later I had a beautiful, well-thought out design for both front and rear yards.
"My designer was fantastic. She paid careful attention to both the aesthetics of her design as well as the functional aspects, and I have to say that she ‘nailed it.’ She listened to what I wanted, and then took it up a notch (or ten!) with her recommendations. I have a beautiful design for a price that did not break the bank. We could not be happier with the result.”