Your Backyard Design
Prepared for Heather & Cory Boyer · about a 2-minute review
Hi Heather & Cory 👋
Following up on the recap I sent 6/15/26 — I know it was a lot to take in, so I pulled the key decisions into this quick tap-through. No need to write back a long reply: just tap your reaction to each point below, add a note if you like, and hit send. It all comes straight to me. (Everything here matches that recap — this is just the easy-response version.)
What I heard as your priorities
- 1 · Pergola & sitting space — the wow factor, a cozy spot, a 65–70-inch TV
- 2 · The hammock area and a beautiful landscape plan
I’m designing around these. The notes and recommendations below are worth weighing now rather than becoming an expensive surprise or afterthought later.
Where we’re aligned
- Three zones — the fire pit, the hammock relaxation space, and the entertainment area (location under review)
- Planter boxes around the perimeter of the yard (color, texture, and depth)
- The hammock-zone planting plan, plus a new walkway path linking it to the main patio
- Landscape lighting in the final plan — a resort feel at dusk and evening that adds to the cozy mood
- Budget around $50K, with the pergola as the main cost driver
Preliminary design plan revisions
- Hammock zone: the gravel area will now be a paved space for an outdoor dining table and chairs (hammock stays)
- Pergola location: considering the right side of the existing pavers, rather than the left (back door to AC unit) — or possibly spanning the full back of the house (see below)
- Outdoor kitchen: not in phase one; that area stays untouched in the revised plan for now
My recommendations — tap how you’d like to respond to each:
Power lines
If you’re thinking about burying the overhead power lines, now’s a good moment to explore the cost and process — it’s far easier to fold in before the rest of the work begins.
The pergola — the big one
You’re leaning toward the right side of the existing pavers. I’d encourage you to consider a full-length pergola across the entire back brow of the house (cost will be a factor). It keeps the yard balanced — otherwise the stretch in front of the AC unit and along the left sits bare and unused — gives that cohesive “wow” look when you glance back from inside, makes the most of pavers you’re already investing in, and future-proofs for a built-in BBQ later. This is the one I’d really hate to see scaled back — it shapes everything else.
The office-window brow
Before we lock the pergola location, the existing brow over the office window will likely conflict with how the pergola attaches. We’ll want to assess whether it can stay or should come off for a clean look (and what that costs). Better to catch this early — it affects the pergola’s design and placement.
The TV & cozy seating spot
The cozy seating and retractable TV (65–70-inch) currently sit just right of the back door, close to the gate and main entrance. Two flags: (1) foot traffic — that’s the main way everyone comes and goes, so during a party or a game guests pass right through your relaxing spot; and (2) future access — if it’s finished and you later add the BBQ/kitchen, crews would move materials through that same entrance. A full-length pergola gives the flexibility to tuck it somewhere more protected.
The paved hammock & dining table
Happy to pave the hammock zone for the dining table and chairs as you decided — the hammock stays. One note for the record: another block of pavers there can make the yard feel heavy, especially on the right. An alternative is moving the dining table and chairs to the open paved area where the outdoor kitchen was suggested in the preliminary design — it puts an otherwise-empty spot to use and keeps better balance. Either way I’ll make it beautiful; just wanted you to have the full picture.
Sequencing the kitchen
Holding the built-in kitchen for a later phase is completely reasonable — just the construction trade-off: ideally the pergola and kitchen are built at the same time with one contractor. If you split them, I’d do the kitchen first, then the pergola — both need concrete footers, and building the kitchen after the pavers and pergola are in often means pulling up pavers and hauling equipment through a finished space.
What happens next
On my end
- Refine the 2D layout once you’ve reviewed and confirmed — tell me if I’ve missed anything
- Research the electrical run for the TV and pergola area
- Look into the StruXure pergola system and reach out to Erdmann Outdoor Living for vendor info and official measurements
On your end, when you have a chance
- Heather — talk to the neighbor about the leaning tree affecting the side yard
- Think on the power lines
- Grab a few measurements: the playground area, the paver patio perimeter and its distance from the house, the full length of the house end to end, and the planter box depth (~2 ft)
- Hold off on buying any furniture (hammock, seating) until the design is locked