We love bringing all of our landscape clients’ visions to reality. Sometimes those visions are so outside the box that we can’t help but be extraordinarily proud of the outcome and want to offer a closer look than a traditional landscaping project gallery walk through can offer. The “Whiskey Barrel Patio” is just such a project.
You can sure see why we were excited for this project, right? Whiskey bottle lighting, whiskey barrel seats, and barrel structural elements for the bar are design elements that really capture the true essence of this particular homeowner. There is even and integrated sound system and outdoor tv, so you can be outside and still catch the football game.
Stamped Concrete Patio & Integrated Seating
We worked with a local concrete contractor to build the perfect foundation for it all. The earth tone, natural looking stamped concrete really helped tie everything together. It’s low maintenance, will last for years, and provides a more budget-friendly approach than if natural stone were used for the entire project.
When it comes to entertaining on your patio, ample seating is a must. For The Whiskey Barrel Patio, we integrated as much seating as we could, utilizing Belgard Weston Universal Stone paver blocks, to create a paver retaining wall that serves double duty as additional seating.
Multi-functional, the retaining wall not only features integrated seating, at the patio level, but also provides a landscape bed transition to the lawn. The flexibility to have low-maintenance plantings, or the addition of bright, seasonal color, makes this multi-faced installation a win-win for the homeowner.
The Water Feature
Rather than terminating the seating wall at the house via a traditional approach, the homeowner loved the idea of incorporating a water feature as a transition. The water feature provides a calming and beautiful background sound, as well as a visually-striking piece of functional art + nature.
The Fire Pit
Extending a patio’s seasons of use is important to so many homeowners. With The Whiskey Barrel project, having a fire pit was a must have feature. Whether for the kids to make marshmallow S’mores, or the adults to cozy up with a glass of wine…or whiskey…,no one ever regrets adding a fire pit, or outdoor fireplace, to their backyard.
This particular natural gas fire pit features beautiful colored glass, which really enhances the way the flames dance. We also built a large enough seating area to accommodate the clients’ family and friends. This was really important to them and I think we all knocked it out of the park.
The Outdoor Kitchen & Pergola
The back of The Whiskey Bar is as functional as the front is beautiful. When you’re having friends over, the last thing you want to do is miss out on the conversation or spend all of your time running back and forth to the kitchen. This is why the bar also functions as an outdoor kitchen.
The patio really does have everything and the kitchen sink… This outdoor kitchen comes complete with paver block base, custom concrete counter top, built-in BBQ, via Fire Magic’s Echelon Diamond Series built-in gas grill, a stainless steel sink, stainless steel refrigerator, and it even has a built-in wine fridge! You’ll never miss out on another minute of your own parties or gatherings.
The integrated pergola is a gorgeous piece of craftsmanship, absolutely, but it also serves a great function. Not only does it provide cooling shade on those hot summer days, but it also provides warmth on those chilly football Saturdays, or once the sun has gone down. How is that possible?
Believe it or not, we incorporated a heating element above the bar, allowing it to keep your guests, and whoever’s behind the bar, cozy and comfortable. We might be more than a bit jealous of this idea and look forward to utilizing this for other projects and for our own home.
We really hope you enjoyed your closer look at The Whiskey Barrel Patio. If you have any questions about the materials used, or maybe you’d like to float your own ideas to us, we look forward to speaking to you. Please give us a call at 515-577-6903, or just send us a note via our Contact page, and we’ll be glad to schedule a time to discuss your landscaping project ideas.
