AUGUST 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 65
INSIDE JOB
OUTDOOR SPACES
CREATING THE SPACE
The key to building out exterior
rooms is connecting the landscape
(plantings and gardens) and hardscapes
(patios, etc.) with the home’s
architecture, concurs Craig Donley,
a landscape designer at Hicks Nurseries
of Westbury.
First, advises Donley, consider the
exterior space’s adjacencies to the
house, the location of doors and
rooms which connect to the outside.
Typically, the main outdoor
entertaining and dining areas are
positioned outside the kitchen and
a terrace or patio off a living room
or bedroom would call for a more
intimate space, such as a small sitting
area or reading nook.
“So you’re looking at the functionality
of it first, the easiest and most
functional from inside to outside the
house,” explains Donley.
Another consideration is what views
you have from inside the house.
“You’re always thinking about
catching the eye and making a nice
vignette or view outside of those
major views,” Donley says.
Avoid any jarring contrast by matching
paving materials, colors, textures
and styles from the interior’s adjacent
interior room to the outside setting.
“If you have a home which has very
contemporary materials on the inside
and is very clean lined and sleek, you
don’t want to walk outside and have
(Photo by Matt
Riccoboni, Laurel Group
Fine Landscapes)
a very rustic patio of natural irregular
paving,” Donley says, adding,
“You might want to use some sort of
stone that blends clean lines from the
inside to the outside.”
In lieu of actual outdoor walls, hedges,
trellises or pergolas will help establish
clearly defined spaces, notes
Donley. Potted plants, he advises,
should be an integral part of your
decorating scheme.
Set off from the
brick walkway, a
rainbow stone patio
serves as a platform to
view the rest of the
backyard
Blue & white
hydrangea and
other plantings
form an intimate
space for fire pit
seating.
Create beautiful
views with
carefully considered
landscaping and
materials that match
the house
Travertine
paving stones
separated by grass
convey an outdoor
tile effect
Fire pit with teak seating (Photo by Matt Riccoboni, Laurel Group Fine Landscapes)
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
