As a lover of patios and people-watching, I'm already cringing at the imminent onslaught of winter. Every passing day I feel a sun-kissed chill in the air, while crumpled leaves scatter about my outdoor refuge.
Whaa!
For the next few weeks, there's a good chance you'll see me perched on my pleasure patio savouring each outdoor moment, especially given my days at my Movie House Loft are imminently ending as I tackle the transformation of a 1960s purpose-built duplex in Riverdale called The Tales From Tennis Crescent.
I LOVE my patio! Just 11×11 feet square, this bijou space is cocooned by a canopy of Maple trees planted 17 years ago. Located next to the residential lobby of The Movie House – and just steps from the action on College Street in Little Italy – with Starbucks and Kalendar Cafe in the building – I knew I needed to create a veil of privacy but not so much that it would detract from my ability to watch passers-by.
So I contacted Thingmaker Dave Hind – who made this sensational ten foot high Hand Sculpture for me back in 2000 shown in my former Button Factory Loft in the photo below – to make some privacy screens for my patio.
While I've built my real estate career expressing my creative self in the shelter industry, most of my success is the result of collaborating with artists and designers who can take my domestic vision and elevate it. Which is exactly what Dave did with my garden screens. Limited only by my prescribed dimensions, Dave created three visually arresting screens using recycled wood and aluminum siding, achieving just the right balance of peek-a-boo privacy.
Rifting on this, my dear friend and landscape architect extraordinaire Dan Nuttall, optimized my outdoor space with some stellar plantings. Here's his synopsis:
The end result?
Check out my Pinch Me Patio!
Isn't this dreamy?
Have you elevated your outdoor space?
As realtors operating in both the freehold and condominium markets, one common shortfall Sellers often make is investing insufficient capital and landscape design elements into their outdoor space. Whether you have a small patio or a private backyard, we recommend homeowners capitalize on the selling opportunities present in their outdoor living space. Be it seating, a barbecue, water feature or lush plantings to soften the hard surfaces of most urban settings, we suggest maximizing your outdoor space is key to generating Top Dollar.
Plus you'll enjoy the outdoors even more!
~ Steven and the urbaneer team
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Renovating The Movie House Loft