Treehouse
Driveway | Privacy and Softscape Plan | Gas Firepit
This sweet little cottage embodies the quintessential Michigan vacation feel. Located minutes away from Lake Michigan, it hosts city getaways throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Much had been done to update the interior spaces, but it was time to move the focus to the front yard and build even more curb appeal.
Project Description
Besides a wraparound deck and a handful of plants, very little dressed the front yard from the start. A few mature existing trees were to remain. The vision was to remove the mess of brambles and volunteer brush along the east property line and establish privacy with a showier planting screen. To help establish privacy, the design solution built the side up into a low berm for added height. A mix of arborvitae, viburnum, rhododendron and inkberry create the living screen. The plantings extend into lower layers of color and texture brought by flowering dogwood, summersweet, ligularia, hellebore, fern and astilbe.
The front yard was a favorite spot to hang out because of a tree swing. But besides the deck, there wasn’t any other place for the adults to congregate and supervise. A fire pit space sits between the deck and swing providing that landing. The space is equipped with a gas fire pit for ease. It helps to extend the bookends of the season providing warmth on chilly evenings.