Backyard Project Spotlight: A South Hills Outdoor Living Space

Where We Started

Every once in a while a property comes together so well it's worth talking about. This South Hills backyard is one of those. The homeowners came to us wanting more than a patch-up — they wanted a real outdoor living space, the kind you actually use from spring through fall, not just walk past on the way to the grill.

The yard had good bones but no real anchor. No dedicated place to sit. Tired beds along the foundation. A grade that didn't quite work. The plan was straightforward on paper: build the structure first, then bring the landscape back around it.

The Build: Deck and Patio

The deck and patio were handled by Integrated Contracting & Renovations. They built the elevated deck off the back of the house and laid the patio that steps down off it into the yard. Clean lines, solid framing, the kind of work that makes the rest of the project easy to design around.

That's the part of these jobs people don't always think about. When the hardscape is set right — proper grading off the patio, finished edges, a deck that lands where it should — the landscaping has something to push against. When it isn't, you spend the rest of the project working around problems instead of building on top of solid work.

The Landscape

Our part started once the hardscape was in. A few things mattered most:

• Tying the patio into the yard. A patio that sits in the middle of bare grass always looks unfinished. We softened the edges with planting beds that wrap from the foundation around toward the patio, so the eye moves naturally from the house out into the space instead of stopping cold at the slab.
• Plant selection for this site. South Hills clay, partial sun along the back of the house, full sun out toward the open yard. We mixed flowering shrubs for color through the season with evergreens for structure in winter, so the beds don't disappear from October to April.
• Clean edges and fresh mulch. The unglamorous part of every good landscape. Crisp bed lines, properly cut and edged, with hardwood mulch laid at the right depth.
• Regrade and lawn repair. Any time heavy equipment moves through a yard there's clean-up to do. We regraded the disturbed areas, brought the lawn back, and made sure water runs away from the new patio instead of pooling against it.

Working Alongside Another Trade

Most outdoor projects of any size involve more than one crew. Decks and covered structures often pull in a contractor like Integrated, and at some point the landscaping has to come in behind them. The projects that go smoothly are the ones where everyone shows up on time, communicates, and respects the work that came before. This was one of those. Their crew handed off a clean site, and we picked it up from there.

If you're planning a project that involves both a deck or covered patio and the landscaping around it, that handoff is worth thinking about up front. It usually saves time and avoids the awkward "now what" gap between trades.

The Finished Space

The finished yard does what the homeowners wanted it to do. There's a place to sit, a place to eat, a place to walk, and a planted edge that makes all of it feel like one space instead of three separate projects bolted together. That's what we mean when we talk about a yard "coming together" — every part of it has a reason to be where it is.

If you're thinking about a project like this — a new patio or deck with the landscaping built around it, or just a backyard that needs a real plan — reach out for a free estimate. We'll come out, walk the property, and talk through what's possible.