When Betsy and Lloyd Lockhart decided to renovate and update the backyard space of their Delta home, all they saw was the opportunity it presented, instead of its lacklustre, unappealing setup. Prior to the renovation, the south-facing yard that receives tons of sun consisted of a cement slab with an in-ground pool and a very tall cedar hedge surrounding the perimetre of the property.
In order to completely re-do the landscape with areas for gathering, entertaining and relaxing, the couple hired award-winning interior designer, Sarah Gallop, principal at Sarah Gallop Design Inc. She was eager to bring to life the Lockhart’s vision for a seamless indoor-outdoor connection to create harmony and make entertaining a breeze.
Working with a large canvas
With such an expansive area to work with, Gallop had plenty of room to create an impact. First off, the huge, lone hedge was removed, giving the backyard an extra six feet of square footage. Working with the clients’ vision in mind, she created designated vignettes throughout the backyard that in part included adding a two-level patio with a covered deck area for shade.
“There’s a bit of everything – space for sun, space for shade, more intimate casual entertaining with the firepit, and more protected entertaining with the covered area with the heaters,” says Gallop.
Various focal points of interest
While many backyards feature a swimming pool as the visual focal point, this renovation offers several highlights that arguably compete for attention. Firstly, there is the stunning Pennsylvania blue stone rock used throughout the yard. Next, the second patio off the master bedroom is now something the couple uses almost daily during nice weather. Finally, the thoughtfully designed landscaping includes a beautiful wood fence to create more interest and as an area to add more colour with hanging flower baskets.
Bringing the outdoors inside
To truly connect the beauty of the outdoors with the interior of the home, Nano doors lead from the inside to the outside and are equipped with a unique pass-through bar for easy hosting. This is one of the homeowners’ favourite spots in their newly renovated outdoor sanctuary.
“The Nano glass door system brings so much light into the house and makes a great open house feeling in the summer when we open it all up,” says Betsy. “Outdoor dining is so convenient bringing food from the kitchen inside to the outside. By adding the side yard patio, we feel like we get to utilize more of our outdoor property space.”
Attaching ceiling heaters as well as outdoor speakers in the covered area has allowed the Lockharts to extend the seasons and their time outside, adding plenty of ambience for both day and nighttime enjoyment.
A few challenges
However, like most renovations, the project had a number of challenges.
“We started our project prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and because of the pandemic, there were some delays in materials, labour and construction, making our project take much longer than we anticipated,” says Betsy.
For Gallop, she admits the project was trickier for a few reasons – mostly due to the site constraints, setbacks and access.
“The pool was existing and the location for that needed to be kept, but we were wanting to improve the flow and functionality of the house and the connection to the yard, so we ended up opening it up quite a bit more,” she says.
The perfect retreat
Today, the beautifully landscaped backyard, with its thoughtfully curated living areas, gives this once drab outdoor space a new purpose as a retreat for the many parties and family gatherings the couple loves to host.
“We love our new home and yard so much we have hired Sarah to design a renovation for our newly purchased older house in Osoyoos that we hope to get underway soon,” says Betsy.