Outdoor Entertaining Guide: How to Host a Beautiful and Comfortable Party Outside

Over the past year and a half we’ve seen at-home entertaining move outside—from front yard baby showers to backyard Thanksgivings. Hosting outside does have its challenges, but when thoughtfully designed, there is nothing like an alfresco soiree. Here are our top tips for hosting an outdoor affair, including expert tips from our design team.

For more outdoor party ideas, check out our blog posts about Backyard Camping, Tailgating in Your Yard, and How to Create a Warm & Inviting Yard.

Get started on designing your outdoor entertaining space today!

Choose a Theme

The homeowners of this Yardzen yard were gearing up for an outdoor Christmas party in 2020, so we decided to come in and help them decorate their yard. Just like with the interior of your home, don’t be shy about picking a theme and running with it! On the table, we added candy canes, sparkling apple cider, a seasonal garland, and pops of red and green throughout. Plus, a Christmas tree next to the fire pit!

Expert tip: Always opt for organic, functional, or reusable decor so that your theme doesn’t end up in landfill. 

Set the Table

There’s nothing like creating a tablescape to get you in the mood for an event. Oftentimes, it’s the table and how it’s decorated that sets the tone for the party. We love combining a mix of natural elements, like in-season produce and yard-harvested plants and flowers. Just like hosting inside, take care selecting plates, silverware, napkins, candles, and placemats.

Expert tip: Use hurricanes for your outdoor candles to ensure that the breeze doesn’t blow them out.

A couple of our favorite outdoor tables right now: Rejuvenation’s Ronde Teak Dining Table, Skagerak Picnic Table, and CB2’s Matera Grey Outdoor Dining Table.

Shop Your Yard

One of our favorite ways to add decor to your outdoor entertaining “room” is to play up the natural elements of your yard. Bringing potted plants over to where you are gathering is a great way to define the space. Additionally, adding a couple of fresh, in-ground plants to your planter beds is another way to bring the area to life. And, as mentioned above, collecting leaves, flowers, stems, and branches from your yard for your tabletop is a beautiful way to tie the whole event together.

Expert tip: For an elegant, sophisticated look, try using just one plant variety, like olive or maple, for your on-table arrangement.

Incorporate an Activity

One of the benefits of outdoor entertaining is the luxury of space, which means there’s room to incorporate games and activities to keep guests engaged. One of our top choices is cornhole. Why? It’s easy to store, it allows for conversation, and it’s easy enough for everyone to understand (even kids). It can also be fun to include a yard-inspired craft, like these foraged wreaths.

Protect Against the Elements

It goes without saying that one of the challenges of hosting outdoors is weather, but the good news is that there are a lot of creative solutions for staying comfortable. During the warm season, we rely heavily on built elements like pergolas, which we include in our full yard package, and umbrellas. In the cool season, a fire pit, heat lamps, and blankets make all of the difference (there is even heated furniture!).

Expert tip: For entertaining outdoors in the fall and winter, it’s always fun to play up the cozy factor with blankets, pillows, and hot apple cider. Check out our guide to creating a warm and cozy yard.

Consider the Front Yard

Most outdoor entertaining happens in the backyard, but we encourage our clients to think about all of their yard, including the front, as functional, livable space.

Expert Tip: We say, “the more the merrier,” but prepare for neighbor party crashers. Thoughtfully planted trees and hedges are a great way to keep the front of your home welcoming while still protecting some privacy for more intimate affairs.

Don’t Forget the Front Porch!

Your front porch sets the tone for your home and your outdoor spaces. When hosting an alfresco event, be sure that your entry signals what your guests can expect. Depending on the season, consider potted, seasonal plants, displaying pumpkins, or hanging a yard-harvested wreath. We always recommend pulling from nature instead of investing in inexpensive decor that will likely end up in the trash.

Expert tip: Consider Yardzen’s new Exterior Design services to help you create a welcoming front entry with new paint, windows, doors, lighting, a mailbox, and house numbers.

Outdoor Kitchen Guide: Cost and Design Ideas

A Yardzen landscape design with a pergola-covered kitchen and outdoor entertaining spaces with fire pit

At Yardzen, many of our landscape design clients request an outdoor kitchen in some form. In this guide we’ll cover the types of outdoor kitchens, common amenities, appliances, and cost estimates from the hundreds of outdoor kitchens we’ve designed across the country.

What is an outdoor kitchen?

Outdoor kitchens come in all shapes and sizes. For most people, an outdoor kitchen is an accessory space meant for entertaining, which means that an outdoor grill, sink, and counter space are more than enough. Some homeowners are more interested in an alfresco chef-style kitchen including high-end appliances like an outdoor refrigerator, pizza oven, beer tap, or bbq smoker, and ample outdoor kitchen cabinets, countertops and other material finishes. Our design team has seen (and created) it all.

Just like with indoor kitchen renovation projects, outdoor kitchens come with a comparatively heavy price tag due to the cost of materials and specialized labor they often require. But, the good news is that there are several ways to achieve a functional outdoor cooking or grill space for almost any budget.

How do I build an outdoor kitchen?

Full Outdoor Kitchen

Full outdoor kitchens usually include (depending on need) some combination of cooking spaces like a burner cooktop or griddle, grill, smoker, and pizza oven, as well as a refrigerator, sink, kitchen storage, and plenty of countertop space. These are the most expensive to build.

This full yard design for our client in Millburn, NJ includes a full outdoor kitchen with pizza oven, refrigerator, grill, sink, outdoor bar seating, and adjacent dining area.

A modern outdoor kitchen design with a smoker, outdoor pizza oven, and grill—why not be prepared for anything?

Partial Outdoor Kitchen

Partial outdoor kitchens are great for a mid-range budget, or if you’re a grill master or host looking for a few kitchen elements. The example below is a design for our client in Santa Rosa Beach, FL and has a kitchen tucked behind an outdoor fireplace that includes only the essential elements including a grill, cabinetry for storage, sink, and plenty of counter space, but excludes a refrigerator or accessory cooking appliances.

Basic Outdoor Kitchen

Basic outdoor kitchens are usually primarily utilized for grilling. The example below shows a nice built-in that is cohesive with the rest of the design. There’s just enough counter space to set down your drink or food and to store your tools.

A finished Yardzen yard for a client in Los Gatos, CA with a basic outdoor kitchen including a built-in grill and counter space.

Modular Outdoor Kitchen

Unlike previous options, the simple modular outdoor kitchen and entertaining space pictured below doesn’t have any built-in elements, which brings the price down significantly. The Weber gas grill paired with a rolling countertop (great options from Pottery Barn) create an affordable, easy, and attractive space for prep, cooking, and gathering. 

This Yardzen family skipped the fuss and expense of a custom built-in or fancy by placing a portable high-end grill and refrigerator close to outdoor dining surfaces.

Another type of modular outdoor kitchen is what’s called a “prefab” outdoor kitchen which are turnkey outdoor kitchen products like a grill island or bbq island  that are partially built before shipping or shipped as kits and can generally be assembled and installed by a handy homeowner. However, in the case of prefab kitchens, modular doesn’t necessarily mean cheaper than custom or built-in outdoor kitchens.

Photo courtesy of RTA Outdoor Living

Prefab outdoor kitchens like this one from our retail partner RTA Outdoor Living are now available in high-quality stainless steel, concrete, and stone finishes—and can run close to $10,000.

Some of these prefab outdoor kitchens are decked out with amenities and comparable in look and feel (and price) to a custom built-in outdoor kitchen. The benefits of going modular in this case would be the potential cost savings if you find contractor estimates for labor and individually ordering components is high, especially if you don’t mind being limited by the configurations available in a prefab setup.

This landscape design for our client in Oak Bluffs, MA includes a prefab outdoor kitchen from G7, which suited the homeowner’s budget and needs.

What Does an Outdoor Kitchen Cost?

A basic outdoor kitchen, which includes a built-in gas grill station, with a gas line installed, and 3 feet of counter space, has typically cost our clients about $15,000.

Other add ons include:

• Sink: $5,000

• Small refrigerator: $5,000

• Gas cooktop: $5,000

• Pizza oven: $10,000

• Additional 8' of counter space (perhaps for a bar or island): $7,000

Keep in mind that adding a sink requires a water supply and connection to a sewer, adding a refrigerator requires an electrical power supply, and of course gas grills and cooktops need… gas. So if you’re adding these amenities you need to also budget for the utility installation cost if this isn’t already in place.

Typical utility install costs:

• Gas line: $2,500

• Sewer line: $3,500

• Electrical: $2,000

Utility install costs vary widely and can be much more expensive depending on the run and point of connection.

To increase the functionality of your outdoor kitchens, you can opt to add additional countertops or a bar for people to sit at.

This is an ideal solution for smaller yards that don't have room for a regular dining area, but is also an enjoyable feature addition if you’re looking for a high-end design.

The example below shows a U-shaped kitchen with a wrap-around bar. This design is an entertainer’s dream and keeps the chef included while hosting. Adding this wrap-around bar would cost about $7,000.

There are a few low-budget alternatives that offer the functionality and feel of a professionally built outdoor kitchen, but at a fraction of the price.

Grill-only Built-in: If you really only need a grill and want it to be built in, Yardzen designers can create just that. A small built-in for just a gas grill, with no counter space, typically costs around $8,000.

Freestanding Grill: If you have a gas or bbq grill already, designers can create the feeling of a built-in by designing a kitchen with an empty space for the grill. This is usually the lowest budget option that still requires construction: $6,000.

Create More Counter Space with Furniture: There are many furniture pieces that can function as extra counter space. If you are simply trying to create more surface area for setting out food and drinks, you may want to add a bar table, a bar cart (like this popular cart from Crate & Barrel), or other dining furniture. An outdoor console table, for example, can function as a drink or food station.

Outdoor Kitchen Ideas: Designs and Budgets

To help get a better sense of the cost of outdoor kitchens, we’ve included the rough price for each kitchen in the example landscape designs below. All examples include the average price for their respective utility hookups, but do not include the price for footing surfaces (such as poured concrete).

OUTDOOR KITCHEN BUDGET: $16,000

This outdoor kitchen design includes a prefab refrigeration island with a grill, trash and recycling receptacle, and a few extra feet of counter space. Electric and gas hookups were required.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN BUDGET: $21,000

This outdoor kitchen is a custom built-in, but what really changes the cost is the additional counter-space created by the l-shaped design.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN BUDGET: $22,000

Believe it or not, this kitchen is another prefab option decked out with outdoor kitchen appliances including a pizza oven, grill, fridge, and smoker and smoker stand.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN BUDGET: $29,000

This outdoor kitchen is a custom built-in and required electrical, sewer, and gas hookups to accommodate the trifecta of grill, fridge, and sink in this outdoor kitchen.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN BUDGET: $29,000

Prefab outdoor kitchens are also available in l-shaped configurations like this one, which ended up costing less than a custom built-in with the same amenities.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN BUDGET: $31,000

Although this outdoor kitchen doesn’t include electrical or sewer because it skips a sink and fridge, the ample custom concrete counters take up a significant portion of the budget.

OUTDOOR KITCHEN BUDGET: $34,000

This modern custom outdoor kitchen includes multiple appliances, features, and finishes that account for the price including a smoker and stand, modern black appliances including a refrigerator, range cooktop, and gas grill, and ample counter space due to the L-shaped configuration made with stone and concrete.

DESIGNING AN OUTDOOR LIVING SPACE TAILORED TO YOUR NEEDS AND BUDGET

Yardzen's award-winning online exterior and landscape design service is tailored to homeowners across the U.S.. Our design process begins with understanding your outdoor space and style—and a discussion of your budget and vision to minimize surprises when it comes time to build. 

Our top-notch designers then develop a personalized vision for your yard, shared through 3D renderings, 2D plan drawings, and plant and material lists. Your design will capture the look, feel, and function you are hoping for, and will be outfitted with materials and elements for the custom outdoor kitchen of your dreams.

Once your design is complete, we'll help you connect with a local contractor from our Pro Network of vetted professional contractors to install your new design (if you don’t plan to diy).

Ready to bring your dream yard to life? Create your design profile or explore our professional exterior, side yard, front yard, and back yard landscaping design packages today!

10 Olive Trees to Grow in Your Yard

A Yardzen design featuring olive trees

Olive trees are one of the most versatile trees in our talented design team’s toolbox here at Yardzen. They can be both fruiting and fruitless, and their elegant form and muted colors adapt to many yard styles, from old world to ultra modern.

Olive trees thrive in a range of climates and conditions. We’ve included varieties here that work well in cool climates, drought conditions, and very poor soil and difficult terrain. Plus, they are extremely low-water, making them a perfect solution for sustainability-minded homeowners. We’ve also included olive trees of different sizes here, from small bushes to very large varieties, making inclusion of an olive tree attainable for any size yard. Plus, if size is an issue, always remember that olives are easily pruned to maintain desired shape and height.

Dreaming of adding an olive tree to your yard? Here are our top recommendations for homeowners based on location, yard size, maintenance requirements, and yard size. 

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Image via One Kind Design

Types of Olive Trees

Generally, most olive tree varieties bear fruit, but some are fruitless (Wilsoni and Montra) and don’t release pollen, which makes them an attractive option for folks interested in the beauty of an olive tree without the mess (they can be messy during harvest time!). For homeowners interested in making their own olive oils and cured olives, there are several tasty varieties that work beautifully in the yard.

Our Top Picks

• Arbequina

• Wilsoni

• Chemlali

• Hojiblanca

• Frantoio

• Coratina

• Leccino

• Kalamata

• Mission

• Montra

Best Olive Trees for Your Yard

Fruitless olive tree (Wilsoni) via Gardenista

Wilsoni

One of our favorite olive trees is the fruitless olive tree. With the same beautiful trunk and leaves as fruiting varieties, these are the perfect option for homeowners who prefer to avoid the maintenance required of fruiting trees. The Wilsoni loves the heat and thrives in drought conditions, so it is especially suited to low-water yards. Zones 8-11.

Beautiful fruit on the Tunisian olive tree variety, Chemlali

Chemlali

The lesser-known Chemlali olive tree is the most compact variety here, making it a great option for smaller yards. This species from Tunisia requires full sun, but it is more cold hardy than most, tolerating zone seven temperatures. The Chemlali is primarily used for olive oil, but it also makes a beautiful addition to the yard. Zones: 7-10.

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Montra

Also known as the “Little Ollie” or Dwarf Olive, this species is a fruitless, bush variety perfect for achieving a mediterranean look in a small yard or in pots. The Montra can grow up to eight feet tall, but most people keep them pruned lower to the ground to create hedges and natural borders. This variety is cold hardy down to fifteen degrees, requires full sun, and is drought-tolerant. Zones 8-10.

Hojiblanca

A Spanish variety named for the white backs of the leaves which appear almost iridescent as they flutter in the wind. Culinary enthusiasts revere the Hojiblanca for its fruit, making both wonderful olive oil and table olives. Zones 8-10.

A young Frantoio olive tree via fastgrowingtrees.com

Frantoio

This Italian olive tree is the classic variety you will see throughout Tuscany. This medium-large variety is happy in full or partial sun and tolerates cooler conditions than most, down to 10 degrees, making it a great olive tree for the Pacific Northwest. Zones 7-10.

Mission

First developed in California in the 1700s, the Mission Olive is a historic species and the oldest olive tree variety from the United States. This large variety thrives along the west coast and can be seen in many yards throughout California. It is a high-yield producer, so it is best suited for a homeowner that is interested in using the olives (or is OK with cleaning up after the tree). This variety requires full sun and well-drained soil, although this variety holds up to rocky, poor conditions. This tree is hardy down to 20 degrees. Zones 8-11.

Kalamata

This Greek variety is a classic ingredient in Mediterranean dishes and is an ancient symbol for peace. (“An olive branch.”) This variety is medium-large and requires full sun. Zones 7-10.

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Arbequina

The Arbequina olive tree is one of the larger varieties, although it can be kept smaller by pruning. The Arbequina requires full or partial sun. Similar to the climate in Spain, where this species originated, the Arbequina prefers well-drained, alkaline-rich soil. Zones: 8-10.

Leccino

The Italian Leccino is prized for both its large, delicious fruit and its beautiful form with weeping bows and a gnarled trunk. It is a medium-sized variety that likes full, but it is hardy down to 12 degrees. This tree starts to bear fruit soon after planting-- in the first year or two--making it a great variety for those who are excited about getting underway with pressing and brining. Zones 8-10.

Coratina

This Italian variety grows well under many soil conditions, including even the most unforgiving terrains. Pressing for olive oil is the most common use for these trees, although they are a great option for yards with very poor soil. Zones 8-11.

How to harvest olives

Once the olives are ripe, picking them is fairly straightforward and can be done by hand. Depending on the type you plant, olive tree harvests run from late August through November. When you pick the olive depends on what you plan to do with the fruit. Mid-season olives are best for oils while late-season harvests are best for brining.

DESIGNING A LANDSCAPE TAILORED TO YOUR NEEDS

Yardzen's award-winning online landscaping design is tailored to each of our client's local climate and design preferences. Our design process begins with understanding your space, aesthetic preferences, and a discussion of your budget and vision to minimize surprises when it comes time to build. We want to make sure our top-notch designers can personalize your yard, delivering 3D and CAD renders that reflect what’s most important for your outdoor life and unique environment, while keeping costs within range. We do this by utilizing our in-house Build Team made up of former contractors and our Pro Network of vetted professional landscapers across the country.

Ready to level up your home improvement with a professional landscape design? Create your design profile or explore our design packages today!

Designing a Minimalist Yard with Professional Organizer Shira Gill

Shira Gill in her minimalist yard. Photo by Vivian Johnson

One of Yardzen’s early projects was with organization guru Shira Gill for her Berkeley, California home. In her words, Yardzen was exactly what she was looking for: “a simple and transparent process'', which fits well with her brand of minimalism (read the makeover story on Yardzen and a review on her blog). No mess of blueprints, samples, and swatches, or the challenges of mid-day meetups—Shira could visualize her outdoor space all online with Yardzen’s photorealistic renders. And, when it came to installing her yard, Shira loved our design team’s minimal approach: “I didn’t want a ton of stuff or messy plants to maintain. I wanted an open, easy-to-care-for space where we could host family and friends.” Over a year later, the yard still looks fantastic and is one of the family’s favorite rooms at home.

Our team recently caught up with Shira to see how she was enjoying her yard— “we love it” —and talk about her forthcoming book, Minimalista, which is available for to order now! The gorgeous coffee table book is a download of everything she’s learned as a professional organizer over the last decade. The book is broken up into two sections, 1) Shira’s Five-Step Organization Process and 2) Room-by-room hacks and projects, and will help any reader “clarify their goals, values, and priorities to create a home that reflects what is important to them.”

Five-Step Process for Organizing Your Yard

Our big question (surprise, surprise) is how to bring Shira’s streamlined approach to the interior to your outdoor spaces. The minimalista breaks down her five-step organizing process, which she describes as a strategy to “shift your relationship to your space and feel less overwhelmed.” Here’s how to apply that process to your yard.

Clarify

Figure out the function you want the space to perform. How you want it to look, feel, and function.

Any successful project starts with a solid plan, which is why the Yardzen process begins with questions about how you want to live in your outdoor space. In Shira’s yard, she knew that her two goals were creating space for the kids to play and an area to entertain, including seating for a couple of families. 

Shira’s home before the outdoor transformation

Edit

Strip away the clutter and excess and everything that doesn’t support your vision.

In the yard, this could mean old furniture, broken pots, long-forgotten sports equipment, or that dreaded pile of cardboard. Be sure to donate or recycle anything you can!

Organize

Come up with a simple storage solution that is easy to maintain.

In Shira’s yard, they had a large emergency kit that still had plenty of storage room. She now uses that to store pillows and throws along with the emergency items. In other yards, we’ve seen people build out shelving, including open shelving for plants and weather-proof pieces, to keep things organized. Weatherproof trunks, which can double as seating, and long-lasting garden sheds are also fantastic solutions that your Yardzen design team can help you source and work into your plans.

Shira’s backyard, which adds functional ands stylish touches, like a hammock and a rug, to a timeless, neutral palette. Photo by Vivian Johnson

Elevate

This is the fun part! This is all about adding decor and styling so that you love your space.

In Shira’s yard, she chose a palette of neutrals to ensure a timeless look. She also chose high-quality furniture that her family would use for years to come. To add personality to the yard, she adds pillows, throws, and rugs. The hammock in the backyard is also a functional favorite that brings style to the space and is her pre-teen’s favorite place to hang.

Maintain

The hardest part of any organization or yard project.

One of Shira’s best pieces of advice for maintaining your space is shifting your habits. For example, using the one-in-one-out method, always cleaning up before heading inside, or finding a better solution for cast-off cardboard and furniture that often ends up outside. Shira practices what she calls the “15-Minute Win.” Instead of letting your yard accumulate waste, spend 15 minutes clearing the space of unwanted items to ensure that you love being in your space every time you step outside.

Get started on your minimalist yard today with a Yardzen design package, and don’t forget to order your copy of Minimalista today! 

How Your Yard Can Beat the Heat This Summer

As unprecedented heatwaves sweep the nation this summer, it’s critical to consider how to make the most of our outdoor spaces to beat the heat and conserve energy. Strategic landscaping choices, involving the placement of trees and shrubs, can help your household cope with the scorching summer sun by shading and circulating cool air on your property. 

Certain landscaping tricks transform your summertime experience and can provide cost-effective solutions to high electric bills due to home cooling systems. Not only beneficial to individual homeowners and households, this strategic landscaping promotes the mitigation of climate change and atmospheric warming. By opting to preserve existing plants and increase vegetation and greenery on our properties, we encourage the natural processes of plants including carbon sequestration, air purification and water filtration. 

When kicking off your Summer landscaping, remember to choose & place plants with intention.

When deciding between deciduous or evergreen trees to include in your landscape, it is important to take into consideration the climate of your property, the location of your home, and the features of the tree. Deciduous trees, such as maple and elm trees, are ideal for temperate climates where during the summer months foliage can block the sun’s rays and provide shade, yet in the winter the shedding of the leaves will allow sunlight onto the property. Evergreen trees, including hemlock, pine and fir trees, provide shade year-round and can be especially beneficial for shading properties in hotter climates. Additionally, adding shrubs, vines and groundcovers to your landscape can help cool surfaces in your yard and provide shade where desired. This may include planting vines near pergolas to provide colorful coverage over areas designated for outdoor relaxation or opting for low-water groundcovers rather than pavements for areas of recreation and play.

After selecting plants for your property, determining their placement is essential to maximize the shading and cooling of your home. According to the US Department of Energy, carefully positioned trees can save up to 25% of the energy a typical household uses! Deciduous trees should be placed to the south of your property as the sunlight will be shielded in the summer, yet will pass through the canopy in the winter. It is also important to consider your placement of trees in relation to the height and positioning of your home, especially if your home utilizes solar panels. Including trees of varying sizes and crown heights can also maximize the shading of your home, as this variety will account for differences in angle and positioning of the sun’s rays throughout the day. Planting trees on either side of your home will also result in cool winds being directed towards your home in the summer, allowing refreshing breezes to flow through your windows and circulate through your house. 

Out of the many benefits that strategic landscaping can bring to your property, the most valuable is the ability to curate an environment that allows you to enjoy the outdoors regardless of the heat. By incorporating these elements into your landscape design you can transform your outdoor-living experience into one of carefree comfort and leisure. Don’t let a little sun ruin the fun- grab some eco-friendly SPF to protect your skin and remember to stay hydrated as you live your best life outdoors this summer!

Transform Your Home With These High-Impact Exterior Design Ideas

Yardzen Exterior Design

Yardzen’s Exterior Design practice helps homeowners reimagine the facade of their home. Changes to your home’s paint, siding, roof, windows, front door, lighting, garage door, mailbox, and house numbers are transformative. Bundled with our online landscaping offerings, Yardzen’s Curb Appeal and Outdoor Transformation packages are how homeowners across the country are creating beautiful, functional, and sustainable outdoor spaces.

If your home and yard need a refresh, but you don’t know where to start, our talented team of designers share their list of high-impact changes to your home’s landscaping and exterior.

Before

For this home in Seattle, the homeowners purchased Yardzen’s Curb Appeal package, which bundles our landscaping design services with an exterior design for the front of your home. Their vision: to reimagine this tract home into a modern farmhouse inspired by Magnolia. But, how to achieve the look? Yardzen’s team set to work on reimagining this home with high-impact exterior design decisions, including paint, windows, doors, garage doors, stone accents, and lighting. The result: the homeowner’s dream home and a significant increase in their property value (exterior and landscaping improvements combined can increase your home value by 20% or more).

Paint

Paint is transformative. A fresh coat can make you fall in love with your house again. In the above, our design team reimagined this outdated facade into a fresh, bright home with Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace, our top choice for an exterior white. Changing the home’s color was the single most impactful decision they could make, although it is the rest of the exterior design elements that really tie it all together.

Garage Doors

For those of us with a garage at the front of our homes, garage doors make a huge difference on the overall appearance of the property. There is so much that we love about this Yardzen transformation in Seattle, including the paint, stone accents, and fresh new landscaping, but the garage doors are such a statement. The mix of woods and whites achieves the homeowner’s vision for a modern farmhouse exterior.

Windows

White houses with black trim are a trend that we’re seeing everywhere these days, but also, it’s a timeless look that recalls the elegance of colonial homes. Here, our designers added black windows to achieve the modern farmhouse aesthetic.

In partnership with our window and door partner Marvin, our design team can help you select new, high-quality, energy-efficient windows perfectly suited to your style.

Front DooR

The front door sets the tone for the rest of the house. Front doors do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to curb appeal. There are an endless array of front doors on the market, from stately wood doors to elegant glass doors to detailed craftsmanship doors to ultra-modern metal doors, to rustic pass-through doors, and Yardzen’s design team is here to help you pick which type of door best suits your home. Or, what color to paint your existing door (one of our favorite front door hacks).

The front door in this transformation ties the whole front facade together, blending the garage doors with the bright exterior and black windows. Plus, the new mailboxes and house numbers, both included in Yardzen’s exterior packages, really make the front door shine.

Landscaping

Over the past couple of years, we’ve realized that you can’t decouple landscaping and exterior design. It is the plants, hardscaping, furniture, paint, windows, doors that make a yard and a home’s facade. We recommend pairing the two practices whenever possible to ensure the most impactful transformation and the creation of your dream outdoor space.

Lighting

We love exterior lighting for many reasons. One, it looks great and helps to define your exterior’s aesthetic. Second, they are incredibly functional. In the words of Yardzen’s co-founder and CEO, Allison Messner, exterior lights are a “game changer,” enabling outdoor living into the evening. Pictured here: Exterior lights from Yardzen’s exterior partner Rejuvenation.

Siding

To help achieve the shiplap look of many modern farmhouses, we encouraged the homeowners to embrace their existing siding, which they had come to think of as outdated. With fresh white paint, the insulating panels add intrigue to the exterior of the home. When you sign up for an exterior package, Yardzen’s design team will help you choose the best siding for your home, whether that’s FSC-certified wood, composite, brick, stucco, or anything else!

Stone Accents

Since we know you’ll ask, yes, you can paint the stone outside your home. But, we do recommend consulting with your contractor, painter, or local paint store to ensure that you have the right type of paint. Here, our team recommended making the beautiful stonework more neutral, which still adds character to the house but isn’t as much of a contrast.

Stone accents add depth and character to many styles of homes, including craftsman houses, classic homes, ranchers, midcentury modern homes, mountain houses, and more. Our design team is happy to help you add a stone accent to the outside of your home, or help you reimagine existing stone accents.

Decor

As with any yard, styling makes a huge impact on your home’s exterior. That includes mailboxes, house numbers, wreaths, door decor, and planters. Yardzen’s design team can make recommendations about all of these elements when you purchase an exterior design package.

Get started on your exterior transformation today!

Farmhouse Exterior Renovation

Yardzen’s co-founders, husband-and-wife team Adam and Allison Messner, bought their dream property in 2017—an early 1900s farmhouse in California’s wine country. For over ten years, the two of them, and eventually four of them (kids Max and Coco), had spent weekends in Napa, dreaming about one day owning a piece of land where the kids could roam free and they could spend long summer days outside, enjoying everything the region has to offer.

When they eventually found this property, they knew this was “it.” A home with good bones, cute outbuildings, heritage trees, and plenty of space to play.

After purchasing the land, they set to work transforming the home into a welcoming space for family and friends. First the interior, and then, the farmhouse exterior. There was a lot that had to be done, including replacing the roof, new windows and doors, siding, lighting, and exterior paint (all elements included in Yardzen’s new exterior design packages). 

Throughout the renovation, Adam (a professional conservationist) and Allison, worked with their contractor to make sustainable choices throughout the interior and exterior. Their goals: use the most environmentally friendly materials available, preserve the historic character of the home, and create a property that encourages time outside.

Here are their top choices for sustainable, beautiful, and functional materials for your home’s exterior renovation.

Get started on your exterior renovation today!

Benjamin Moore “Chantilly Lace”

“For our farmhouse exterior we chose Benjamin Moore ‘Chantilly Lace,’ a classic white. We use long-lasting Benjamin Moore paints on all of our homes, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with them on our Exterior Design packages,” says Yardzen’s co-founder and CEO, Allison Messner.

FSC-Certified Wood Siding

“We always recommend FSC-certified wood for any renovation. FSC stands for Forest Stewardship Council and ensures that wood has been grown and harvested sustainably,” says Yardzen’s Design Director, Kevin Lenhart. (Learn more about sustainable choices in the yard.)

Composite Shingle Roof

Roofing directly impacts your home’s energy efficiency, keeping the interior cool in the summer and warm in the winter. When it comes to roofing types, composite shingle roofs are one of the more environmentally friendly options as they include recycled materials. They are also budget-friendly and durable.

Marvin’s Wood Double-Hung Windows

Windows

Heat gain and loss through windows are responsible for 30% of residential energy consumption, so ensuring that your home has energy efficient windows can have a huge impact on your carbon footprint. Yardzen’s window and door partner, Marvin, is certified by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) and Energy Star.

Rejuvenation’s Carson Collection

Lighting

“Adding lighting to the exterior of your home is a game-changer,” says Allison. “Outdoor lights enable our family to spend nights outside, reading and playing games. Plus, exterior lighting adds incredible ambiance to your yard.” When it comes to outdoor lighting brands, Allison loves our exterior design partner Rejuvenation. “We have Rejuvenation’s Carson Collection of gooseneck exterior lighting throughout the property, both on the garage and on the exterior of the home. We love the timelessness, craftsmanship, and quality of Rejuvenation’s lighting, plus the Carson comes in several fun colors and is made in their Portland factory.”

Adam and Allison outside of their Northern California farmhouse

Door

The front door sets the tone for the whole home. Here, Adam and Allison selected a black wood door with a glass panel, which adds contrast and depth to the white farmhouse exterior. Plus, it accents the property’s indoor-outdoor lifestyle. And, just like windows, doors are a crucial part of any energy-efficient home.

Get started on your exterior renovation today!

Joie Inn Exterior Design Transformation by Yardzen

Joie Inn

Yardzen is proud to work with one of our favorite Instagrammers, Ashley Petrone (@arrowsandbow), on her newest venture—a boutique vacation rental called Joie Inn on Anna Maria Island, Florida. Learn more about our history working together, what she has taught us over the years, and how she worked with Yardzen’s incredible design team to transform her most recent projects.

Our First Project Together

Yardzen first started working with Ashley in 2019 at her home in Northern California. Nestled in the woods and bordered by a vineyard, we helped the Petrone family transform the neglected outdoor space into an oasis of good living.

A huge part of that outdoor transformation was actually transforming the exterior of the home. Ashley put into words what we had long known: “the power of paint” is transformative. To truly reimagine the yard, we had to start by changing the color of the house from a ruddy white that hadn’t been updated in over 20 years to a rich-hued black. It was changing the home’s color that unlocked the landscape design process. An entirely new backdrop on which our talented landscape design team could work.

Yardzen design for the Petrone’s home in Northern California

Progress on the Petrone’s Northern California home

Knowing the house would be black determined the direction of the plants and hardscaping. In keeping with one of our 2021 Design Trend, High-Contrast Yards, the design team opted for lightly colored hardscaping, including decomposed granite and Belgard pavers, alongside several native and climate-adapted plants, including olive, sage, salvia, lavenders, and grasses, all of which have a muted shade of green and purple and an iridescence that plays beautifully with the depth of the home’s facade.

Joie Inn

When it came time for Ashley’s newest venture with Joie Inn, we were thrilled when she tapped us to help with the landscaping and the total outdoor transformation. It was right around that time that we were formalizing plans for our exterior design package, and we knew that this partnership would focus equally on changes to the facade and the landscaping, creating the perfect opportunity to test our newest service.

Ashley went through the beta of our Outdoor Transformation package, working with our team to not only reimagine the overgrown landscaping on the property, but also, to make high-impact changes to the facade of the Inn, including paint, trim, siding, lighting, doors, railings, and reimagining an atrium into a coffee bar with a pass-through window.

“We knew that one of the biggest opportunities we had in transforming Joie Inn was working with Yardzen on reimagining the outdoor spaces. Just like our old home, the outdated exterior paint made the whole place look dingy. With a fresh coat of paint, we chose Simply White by Benjamin Moore, new furniture and decor, and landscaping updates, we knew that Joie Inn would be a showstopper! Yardzen made the whole process fun and affordable.” 

The facade of Joie Inn is white with black trim and embodies the immense “power of paint.” Many of the properties around Joie Inn are typically tropical, painted in blues, yellows, and pinks, but Ashley wanted to bring her design perspective to the Inn and add touches throughout, like lighting and furniture, that would make it feel a little more “Florida.” Yardzen’s designers proposed a white exterior with black windows and trim, and it was love at first sight—bright and inviting with the dark architectural touches that Ashley loved at her home in California.

The white we used is “Simply White” by Benjamin Moore (Yardzen’s official exterior paint partner) and the black is “Black” by Benjamin Moore. New windows weren’t in the budget, so instead, Yardzen’s contractors painted the window trim black to make them pop and look entirely brand new. Custom doors were added too, made by local artisans.

One of the exterior details that we especially love is the yellow gooseneck sconces throughout the exterior. These the brightly colored furniture into the exterior of the Inn and add a very cheery pop of color. You can find similar options at Rejuvenation, our exterior lighting partner.

Perhaps our favorite change to the exterior of Joie Inn is the reimagining of the courtyard at the front of the property. Previously an overgrown outcropping of plants, Yardzen’s design team repurposed the space into a coffee bar with a pass-through window and hammocks. Our team is always happy to rethink not only how your property looks, but also, how it functions.

Landscaping Joie Inn

The facade of the Inn is the backdrop to the incredible landscaping throughout the boutique property. When Ashley began her landscaping project with Yardzen, her big goals were beautification, privacy, and durability-- plants and hardscaping that would hold up to South Florida’s weather and the guests moving through the spaces.

To achieve these goals, we strategically added climate-adapted plantings throughout the property, including Natal Plum, Winterbourn Philodendron, Gardenia, Bamboo, Chinese Fan Palm, Julietta Bromeliad, Flax Lily, and Bird of Paradise. Underfoot, we added a light decomposed granite, which provides a satisfying “crunch” and recalls the sandy beach nearby, and black mulch around the plants to help with water absorption and to provide a contrast that mirrors the exterior of the Inn. Large boulders throughout add texture and add a slightly rustic feel.

Go Visit!

Joie Inn opens in September, and we can’t wait for the final reveal! In the meantime, follow along on our Instagram, @yardzen, and on @arrowsandbow and @joieinn to see more updates!