Beulah, MI, Crystal Hills Project
Nuñez Outdoor Living Services
Crystal Hills Project
Location: Beulah, MI.
This client reached out to us looking to install a retaining wall for their home in Beulah, MI. When we started working with this client they came looking a retaining wall for severe soil erosion problems, however plans soon expanded to include a full outdoor living space with patio, walkways, & tiered garden area!
Where We Started
When this Beulah couple bought their home the year before, they inherited a hillside that was doing everything a hillside shouldn’t. It was overgrown with large weeds, washing out with every rain, and the only way down was a set of wooden steps so rotten that when our team walked the site to take measurements, a foot went straight through the deck.
Design & Process
When we started on the design, our client knew the wanted a couple off essential things. They had already met with several contractors. Some flaked. The ones who showed up pitched versions of the same thing: a big patio, a wall, done. Nothing captured what they were actually picturing, and nothing felt designed. They wanted to enjoy their outdoor space, not feel like they were risking a fall just to get down the hill.
Their vision was specific, which made the project a joy to design:
- Safe, solid steps down the hill — the rotten ones had to go first
- Tiered retaining walls that turned a washing-out slope into usable, plantable space
- A flower garden the wife could tend and walk through easily, with steppers to get her there
- A patio at the top with room for a hot tub area and a fire pit area
- Walkways connecting it all
- And the part that stumped everyone else: it couldn’t look like one giant patio. It had to feel designed, with natural landscaping woven through the whole project.
Planning Stages
When we start a project we often divide it into individual work areas. This is often done when a project is completed in parts then as a whole. Our client decided it would be better to complete it at once since they were on a short timeframe to move in. Below we'll go into more detail about how we completed this project from start to finish!
The Retaining Wall
We don’t start with a product list. We start with the hillside. We went through several design revisions with the clients, adjusting the layout of the tiers. The rotten steps came out first. Then the slope was reshaped and held in place with tiered walls, which stopped the washout and created level beds for planting. New steps and steppers link the upper patio to the garden tiers below, so the whole hillside is walkable.
Flip through the photo gallery below to see start to finish:
The Patio Space
Up top, the hot tub and fire pit each have their own defined area, with plantings and natural landscaping softening the hardscape so the space feels like it grew there instead of being dropped in. We extensively planned out the flow of the walkways, and how the hot tub and fire pit areas sat on the upper patio. We wanted the area to read as distinct spaces rather than one slab. With our skilled builders & designers we were able to create something that matched the picture in their heads.
Front Door Pad & Walkways
In addition to the upper patio, our client also asked we add a stepper walkways on the 2nd teir of the retaining wall, and on other side of the home. They also asked for an addition of a small paver pad by their front door. We often make some change orders, or additions such as this while building a project. Building is always a process, but when we landed on the final version, and the last brick was laid, they knew it was everything they ever wanted.
Flip through the photo gallery below to see start to finish:
The Transformation
When we first came to this property in Beulah, MI, what started as some rotted steps, turned in to a hillside they actually use. The clients went from avoiding their hillside to living on it. The garden is planted and tended. The steps are solid underfoot. The hot tub and fire pit areas get used, and the view down the tiers is the first thing guests notice. In their words, they’re in love with it.
Thinking about your own hillside?
A slope that’s eroding, overgrown, or unsafe to walk is a design opportunity, not a lost cause. If you’ve had contractors miss what you’re picturing, we’d love to hear what you see when you look at your yard.
Locations
Serving Traverse City, Ludington, Manistee & Surrounding Areas Of Grand Traverse, Manistee & Oceana County, Michigan (MI)
Contact us if you don't see your town listed.Traverse City, Ludington, Manistee, Bear Lake, Beulah, Benzonia, Frankfort, Pentwater, Scottville, Fountain, Shelby, Filer Twp, East Lake, Pierport, Crystal Lake, Honor, Empire, Glen Arbor, Glen Lake, Maple City, Lake Leelanau, Interlochen, Leland, Suttons Bay, Northport, Thompsonville, Hart, Kalkaska Twp, Cadillac, Big Rapids