Before & After

Tired Patio Converted Into Custom Entertaining Space

When homeowners in Great Falls, Va., wanted to replace their worn-out pergola with an expanded pavilion and outdoor kitchen, they turned to Rossen Landscape. Discover how our design team brought their outdoor vision to life with expert design insight and stand-out landscaping in Great Falls.

The Vision

The clients entertain frequently and are big sports fans, so they wanted a large, covered space with a kitchen, fireplace and television.

The existing hardscape included a small patio and a pergola that was covered with overgrown wisteria — and the resulting carpenter bees and a bird’s nest — which made it hard to enjoy the space, according to Sam Eashum, Design & Sales Consultant for Rossen Landscape.

“The wisteria probably hadn’t been maintained for 10 years or so; it was not a very fun place to sit,” he said. “The clients just wanted to get rid of that pergola and replace it with something that would allow them to sit outside almost year-round.”

The solution turned out to be a covered pavilion spanning a poolside patio that is almost twice the size of the original one. The addition of a fireplace, TV and bar created the ultimate entertaining lounge for watching football and hosting parties.

Overcoming Challenges

The experts at Rossen worked with the couple to design and construct their dream entertaining space, despite some challenges along the way.

The project’s budget offered flexibility, but ultimately didn’t cover everything the clients wanted.

“We made some design changes in order to get everything that they wanted within budget,” Eashum said. “It was especially challenging when prices were much higher than before due to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic.”

For example, the pavilion’s tongue and groove cedar ceiling became very difficult to source, causing a delay on the project’s finishing touches.

“The project manager really had to stay on top of that,” Eashum said. I think they had about 75 percent of what they needed and had the ceiling nearly finished, but there was a three-week delay just waiting for the rest of that material.”

Aside from the budget, the large yard meant most of the work was a few hundred feet off the home’s driveway, on the far side of an existing pool. A massive oak tree had to be removed in order to make space for the expanded patio.

“The tree was probably 60 feet tall and it was right where the fireplace was going to go, so we had to remove the stump and prep the ground in order to pour the footer around top of that,” Eashum said.

In addition to removing the pergola, the Rossen team performed extensive repairs to the original patio and built the new, expanded patio around it to create the desired footprint — resulting in a structure that is at least double the size of the original patio.

The End Result

Despite supply issues and some last-minute changes requested by the clients, the roughly six-month project ended just in time to meet the deadline: the start of football season.

“The client really wanted everything to be ready for college football season to start,” Eashum said. “He wanted to sit out there and watch football on the TV while sitting by the fireplace. I think we still had a little bit of work to do on the bar, but the roof was up, the pavilion was together, and the patio was in.”

The project — which earned a bronze award in Residential Design/Build from the National Association of Landscape Professionals — features a traditional style patio and pavilion that houses a natural stone fireplace with a flagstone cap on the seat wall and the wood storage. The mantle is a Pennsylvania bluestone thermal, while the patio itself is a Pennsylvania bluestone in full color range. The bar features an upgraded granite and a custom-made gaucho grill requested by the client. The pavilion is adjacent to the pool, offering a dazzling poolside lounge and protection from rain or sun.

“I think what makes it really stand out is the pavilion with cedar ceiling, the fireplace with the wing walls and mounted TV, and the gaucho grill,” Eashum said. “The bar was built around that, since it was one of the main features they had to have. The patio extends out beyond the pavilion so that when the grill is in use, they can pull it from under the pavilion since it creates a lot of smoke. When it’s not in use, they can pull it into the shelter of the pavilion.”

Stand-Out Landscaping in Great Falls Starts with Rossen Landscape

Rossen Landscape is proud to have our home office here in Great Falls. We have nurtured long-standing relationships with homeowners here since 2003 — and are always here to help you with your next outdoor project. Whether it be modernizing your outdoor space with new patio pavers, upgrading with stacked stone fire pits, or incorporating new water features, our landscape architects can design the right plan for you.

Get inspired to make a change in your Great Falls home with landscaping ideas from our blog. Whatever your dream backyard space entails, our team can help bring your vision to life. Design your dream backyard with our team today.

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