Front yard

Five ways to create your own outdoor luxury retreat

megan

With a seemingly endless number of possibilities available to create your custom outdoor living space, homeowners often need some guidance on how to choose features in line with their goals for the project, and how they plan to use their outdoor space. The key, they say, is investing in what’s right for you and your family.

Here are the top five ways to create your own outdoor luxury retreat:

1. Outdoor kitchens:

Do you love to entertain? An outdoor kitchen is a wonderful addition for any homeowners who often host friends and family for meals and parties. By creating an outdoor space complete with a sink, BBQ, smoker, pizza oven, stovetop, wood-burning oven, fridge, bar area, full size dining table, and more, your parties will take on a whole new life. Moreover, thanks to strategically positioned heaters, you’ll be able to use your outdoor kitchen and dining area well into the cooler months. If your home is already party-central for friends and family, adding an outdoor kitchen might be the perfect way to kick off the season this year.

2. Pools and spas:

If you love swimming, lounging, and soaking, then a pool and spa feature is well worth exploring. What’s more, if you have kids, the addition of a pool can mean summers of endless fun for years to come. Quebec actually leads the way nation-wide in this category; each year 70 percent of all new in-ground pools in Canada are installed in Quebec! If you love the water and are looking to revamp your outdoor space, adding a pool and/or spa feature to your backyard is a no-brainer.

3. Gardens:

Whether you enjoy gardening yourself, or simply want to be surrounded by lush greenery and flowers, adding a garden – or garden complex – to your property can help to create a calming, beautiful space. In addition, a well-manicured garden can go a long way in boosting your home’s curb appeal. January through March is a great time to start planning for the upcoming growing season, so if greenery is a priority for you, we can help create a custom garden system for your entire property.

4. Uni-stone walkways, steps, and patios:

With a huge range of available materials, textures, and colours to choose from, adding a uni-stone walkway and patio to your backyard goes a long way in creating a polished, up-to-date look. From natural ledgerock and hammered limestone – a favourite in Quebec – to manmade Techo-Bloc, Permacon, Rocvale or Rhinox options, the sky is the limit when it comes to achieving the custom design you’re seeking. If you’re looking to tweak your yard as opposed to doing a total overhaul, updating the stone is a great way to invest and instantly boost the appeal and functionality of your space.

5. Bonus features:

Whether you’d like a resort-like lounging area, a built-in custom stone and glass fireplace, or specialized lighting throughout your whole yard, our experts can help bring your inspirations to life, and even offer ideas you may never have thought possible.

A Front Yard Makeover in Beaconsfield

Tara

This gorgeous Beaconsfield home is a great example of how to use your landscape to compliment the structure and colour of your home, making sure it stands out just enough without losing its modest touch. The large driveway is made with Techo-Bloc’s smooth Industria in Onyx Black, a new product introduced in 2012.

A front yard makeover created by Groupe Paramount, featuring Techo Bloc stone and St. Marc natural stoneThe walkway has two large planters built into the sides to create a two tiered elevation, which we used to correct a terrible slope in the front yard. The walkway, planters and porch are covered in all-natural, Québec quarried St. Marc stone. Tall grasses and different shades of plants were used in the planters to give it a modern layered look. The plantings are a great contrast to the light St. Marc stone.

Want to see more projects? Head over to our main site.

Using a Planter Box and a Redesigned Driveway to Transform a Kirkland Home’s Front Lawn

Tara
Groupe Paramont kirkland Driveway-Walkway-Planters box project using Techo-Bloc's 80mm smooth StoneThis Kirkland home had a short and narrow driveway, barely allowing two cars to be parked, and a huge slope problem in their front yard.
We increased the width of the driveway on the left side and incorporated a walkway into the driveway that leads up to the entrance steps to give the driveway even more width and continuity of materials. This was all created using Techo-Bloc’s 80 mm Blu Smooth stones in Chestnut Brown colour. To correct the front yard slope issue, we built a huge planter box in front of the wide porch. The planter box was built with Techo-Bloc’s Semma stones which compliments the driveway, walkway and porch surfaces.
The huge planter box has a contemporary, tailored and layered look. We planted a Globe Boxwood hedge which has a rich dark green colour along the back and a Dwarf Golden Barberry hedge that has a bright lime colour in front of it to give it a layered look with contrasting colours. We left some space along the front of the box so the home owners can choose annual flowers so they can enjoy a different theme every year!
The work that was done to this front yard made such a dramatic difference to the curb appeal of this home.

Want to see more projects? Head over to our main site.