Make Your Outdoor Living Space Cozier With Masonry in Portsmouth RI

Does your backyard feel like a fishbowl, or a bland featureless space? Adding a few masonry elements can completely transform it and make it a space you want to spend your time in. Here’s how to make your outdoor living space cozier with masonry in Portsmouth RI.

Seat Walls

Start with your patio. Whether your patio is on a hillside or on a flat lot, adding a perimeter wall immediately adds a sense of comfortable enclosure. The wall should be seat height, which makes it a multi-use feature — especially looking forward to the time when we can once again entertain and have large backyard parties. Finish the look using pillars wherever the wall has an opening. Seat walls are also a way to integrate outdoor lighting into the design without cluttering the landscape with stand-alone fixtures. The pillars can also house attractive light fixtures for an elegant look.

A Cozy Fire Nook

Fire draws people together like nothing else, providing warmth and just the perfect amount of light for conversation. Whether you’re a fan of fireplaces or fire pits, you can make the space even cozier by surrounding it with a masonry seat wall. The most comfortable option is a seat wall with a built-in backrest. This will encourage people to linger, and the higher backs will also reflect heat and keep the space cozy well into the colder months.

If you like the idea of a high-backed fireside seating area but worry that it will be too massive for your space, use regular backless seat walls instead. Or, if your backyard is sloped, consider carving out an amphitheater-style fire pit area into the hillside where one side of the seating area is tucked into the slope, and the other is open, preserving the view and allowing for the use of lounge furniture.

Embrace Curves

Straight retaining or seat walls look utilitarian. Straight lines can certainly be attractive, but to make them feel cozy, make them curved. A curve is softer and it’s a more natural and organic look than a straight wall. A straight wall can make a patio or fire area feel boxed in rather than cozy; but curved walls offer a warm embrace that is instantly appealing.

Raised plant beds made with masonry have a cleaner, more finished look than their wooden or corrugated metal counterparts. For maximum coziness, make your raised plant beds round rather than square or rectangular, and ensure that the cap stone is generously proportioned so you can sit comfortably while enjoying fragrant flowers or tending to your vegetables or herbs.

Add Privacy

A tall masonry privacy wall might make you think that you’re being boxed in; but think of it as a way to create a “secret garden” or private courtyard. This is a common practice in most parts of the world, and given the right details, the wall won’t look imposing at all. You can add planters to a masonry wall to create vertical gardens that soften the look and add greenery. Or, incorporate a water feature such as a fountain that empties into an attractive pond, or a chic water wall that finishes in a bed of river rock. Or, create niches for special artwork, or built-in benches, or even a few peek-a-boo grated windows like you would see in the courtyard of a Spanish villa.

These are just four ideas on how to use masonry to create an amazing backyard retreat you and your family will love to spend time in!

MasonryHalstead Media GroupApril 9, 2020outdoor living, backyard, landscaping, landscape design, masonry

Make Your Outdoor Living Space Cozier With Masonry in Portsmouth RI