Creating Memories with Outdoor Rooms
Byline: Derek Stearns
My stone mason father created an outdoor space for our family that was used every weekend. Either with family or friends you always knew when we were having people over because hours before anyone showed up, we were getting everything ready. Dad was adamant about having his space look the best, so we all went to work – we edged planting beds, mulched, weeded, picked produce out of our Papa’s garden, prepared the grill and the food, and got the speakers connected outside with the radio set up (no Bluetooth back then). Those memories remind me of how it feels trying to get all the details right on a job site. Those details mean everything in how a space would look, feel, and how people would enjoy it.
One of our managers was watching us work on the outdoor room display and he said, “It looks like someone cares.” As a manager at Plymouth Quarries, where my father learned how to cut stone, it struck me that that was what my Dad was teaching us all those years ago – to care about our work. And that’s how we want to run our businesses. Of course, we want to make money and profit, but this attention to detail sets the tone for everyone around us. It sets the standard that someone cares. The one who always notices this care is the client. Through word of mouth, that client brings us more work. Good work begets more work.
Here are a few questions that I have found very useful in creating outdoor living spaces:
What is the function of the space? (How will you use it?)
When you have a get-together, what’s the average number of guests?
What don’t you like?
Have you made any decisions on furniture?
Anne Penniman Associates, Heather Conley Photography
The answers to these questions will start you off in the right direction to creating a space for the client to use for years to come. Our projects do just that – create memories. I was reminded of this when my daughter Julia and I drove by one of my father’s stone buildings where all of his attention to detail is apparent. As we drove by, she said, “Didn’t Papa Artie build that?” I said proudly, “Yes, he did.” That building is one of those memories for her.
Sponsor – Plymouth Quarries
https://plymouthquarries.com/
The Modern Living: Indoor Outdoor Spaces Symposium aims to equip landscape architects, architects, and custom builders with relevant data and innovative tools to approach their upcoming residential projects.
Industry experts from around the country will present lectures and hands-on learning labs tackling everything from climate change and erosion to biophilic design and AI design. AIA and ASLA continuing education credits will be available where specified.
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The Modern Living: Indoor Outdoor Spaces Symposium, presented by Paragon Landscape Construction, will take place September 17-18, 2024, for residential architects, designers, custom builders, and landscape architects. Register here today.