Is there a technique to discover sufficient area to suit an outside kitchen when your yard area is proscribed? That was the query Chad and Denise Tillbrook have been initially making an attempt to reply once they thought of altering up their yard panorama.
There was no room to spare on this shallow Bethesda yard. A lot of the area was taken up with hardscaping and plantings the owners described as “raggedy.” It was a yard that had gone properly previous its expiration date.
After taking a stroll across the property, their panorama architect, Howard Cohen of Surrounds, beneficial a whole do-over. There may be actually some aid when one accepts the thought of beginning over from scratch, however there are numerous choices to make. The place does one begin? Right here is how one household did it.

Beginning With a Clear Slate
“Initially, all we’d thought of was the outside kitchen. We hadn’t actually conceptualized it,” Denise remembers. “And we didn’t consider combining all the again and facet yards within the design, that’s for positive.” That was the panorama architect’s concept.
We hadn’t considered combining the again and facet yards into one design.
The challenges of designing this small yard panorama have been many. At the start was a Norwegian Maple 60 ft excessive and standing proper in the midst of the yard. The roots branched out in each course, stopping grass and different flowers from taking maintain. And there have been the imposing concrete pads, at the very least 20 x 20 every, that the Tillbrooks by no means fairly discovered a very good use for.
It was not a straightforward resolution to take the tree down. However their architect cautioned them that the roots would finally push by way of and break something that they tried to construct out within the yard. “It was dwelling to birds and different wildlife, so we actually wrestled with whether or not or not it ought to keep,” says Denise. However for the aim of reclaiming the yard into usable area for each the native wildlife and for the Tillbrooks, it was a sacrifice that needed to be made.
“Your entire yard was utterly torn out right down to the filth itself, redesigned and rebuilt, from the property boundary on one facet to the opposite,” Chad says. “We began with a clear slate.”

A lot Greater than an Out of doors Kitchen
With the domineering maple tree, underperforming shrubs, and mysterious concrete pads taken out of the equation, there immediately gave the impression to be much more area to fill. How do you wrangle all that clean area into an natural, cohesive panorama design?
When planning an outside kitchen, the preliminary goal is all the time to find out the best location. As soon as that was determined, the probabilities appeared limitless.
Their panorama architect inspired the Tillbrooks to see the outside from all angles from inside the home. The location and composition of particular person panorama parts in the entire image are essential to have in mind. “We love how they used completely different hardscapes and different supplies to transition from one area to a different,” says Denise, “and the way colours are repeated in several methods as you progress by way of the panorama.”



Listed below are among the core options the Tillbrooks landed on:
- Three raised beds for greens line the fence and walkway to the again. These present stunning vegetation whereas cleverly concealing the AC models, basement home windows, and drain basins.
- Extra planting beds filled with perennials of various colours and textures alongside the fence on either side.
- A privateness fence close to the facet entrance and flagstone walkway from the storage to the fence gate.
- A 20 x 12 space for synthetic turf. “We needed to keep away from coping with injury from the canines,” Chad says. “It’s an additional place to lounge round, a sunny location the place actual grass wouldn’t thrive.
- A big seating space with a hearth desk bordered by a half circle wall about 2-3 ft excessive backed by tall perennials. “For the hearth desk, a big boulder was minimize and hollowed out. It appears to be like wonderful,” Denise says.
- The outside kitchen space is a 3rd of a circle in form. One facet has a wood-fired oven with a fuel starter and storage. There may be additionally a ceramic egg smoker, essential for Chad. The kitchen sink is carved of stone just like the hearth desk, with a fridge and elevated island connected to it. The counter tops are blue granite.


Having fun with a Model New Panorama
Did utterly beginning over make a distinction? “There is no such thing as a comparability,” Chad and Denise say.
Earlier than the renovation, the Tillbrooks didn’t use the yard. They ate outside a few times within the two years that they had lived there earlier than they determined to modernize the panorama with a whole renovation. “Now, we eat exterior and chill out outside each likelihood we get,” Chad says.
Chad’s mother lives in an house connected to the property and now makes use of the area repeatedly as properly. “It’s pretty and nice and personal in the midst of a busy space the place homes are fairly shut collectively,” Denise says. “I attempted a backyard earlier than, nevertheless it was no enjoyable being on the market. Now I’ll come out with my cup of espresso to look issues over alongside the raised beds. It looks like a pleasure fairly than a chore.”