The Grounds

Green front and back.

The lot is 5,000 square feet, and it shows on both sides: a planted garden in front, a raised deck stepping down to a tree-shaded yard out back.

Out front: the house set back behind a planted garden and a Japanese maple.

Out front, the house sits back from the street behind a planted garden. A low brick wall borders the raised beds, a walkway leads up through them to the door, and tall trees shade it from the street.

Around back, a raised deck off the rear of the house steps down to the yard, high enough to look out over it, good for morning coffee or a grill.

The rear yard is enclosed on all sides in white privacy fencing and ringed by mature trees, including a beech whose leaves run red and pink. Since the rear of the house faces the afternoon sun, this is where the day's last light lands.

Lot
5,000 sq ft
Front
Planted garden beds
Rear
Raised deck + lawn
Light
Afternoon sun, west rear

Out back, you could

Cookouts, a garden, or a quiet sit.

  • 01

    Cookouts and dinners

    Grill on the deck, a table set out below, good light well into the evening.

  • 02

    A garden

    The yard is deep enough for planting beds along the edges. Tomatoes on the sunny side, herbs closer to the deck.

  • 03

    A quiet place to sit

    Hammock under the beech, a chair on the deck. The fence and the trees keep it private.

  • 04

    Play space

    Swing set, sprinkler, kiddie pool. The fenced back yard has room for all of it.

A stone bench set among the front beds, under the trees.
The red-leaved beech in full color, catching the afternoon sun.
Out back, the yard is screened by trees on every side.
Another mature tree leaning over the back fence.
The west side of the house, peach against the sky.
The side of the house, a big tree leaning over the yard and the deck at the left.
The raised deck steps down to the yard and a flagstone path.
The rear of the house, warm in the late light.