A Family Gathering Space
With more time spent working from home, this Wilmington family wanted their backyard to work as hard as the rest of the house. A lounge area sits just steps from the home office, close enough for a quick break outside without losing the flow of the workday.
The design also needed to handle a bigger job: a real gathering space connected to the kitchen, garage, and driveway, so family and friends could move easily between the home's most-used areas and the backyard. Privacy mattered too: the goal was a yard the family could actually relax in, not one that felt exposed to the neighborhood.
Location
Wilmington,
Delaware
Design/Install
GreenRoots
Design Firm
Photography
Mark Rutt
Creative
The Project Brief
- Lounge area positioned as a direct extension of the home office
- Circulation connecting the kitchen, garage, and driveway to the backyard
- Distinct zones for lounging and larger family gathering
- Gas fire pit with bluestone coping over a stacked stone base
- String lighting woven through mature trees for evening use
- Privacy built into the design without closing off the yard
The Experience
Step off the home office and you're already outside: an umbrella-shaded lounge area gives the workday a natural pause button, with string lights strung through the mature trees overhead for when the day runs into evening. Flagstone paths carry that same ease further into the yard, connecting toward the kitchen, garage, and driveway so the whole property moves together instead of in pieces.
Near the garage, a larger gathering space picks up where the lounge leaves off: an L-shaped sectional, a dining table for family meals, and a gas fire pit finished in bluestone that keeps the evenings going well after dinner. It's built for a quiet afternoon alone just as easily as a yard full of family.
A backyard shouldn't just look good from the office window. It should be where you actually go.
