Entire Homes Sweeten Renovations

A Backyard Sprouts New Life in Brooklyn

by Shera Nuss July 12, 2012

A patch of dirt out back becomes green and comfortable

Homeowners: Ally and Vic posted their Brooklyn backyard renovation project on Sweeten
Where: Fort Greene neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York
Primary renovation: A remodel of the backyard to create an area for entertaining and relaxing
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Sweeten’s role: Sweeten matches home renovation projects with vetted general contractors, offering guidance, tools, and support—for free..

Transforming a plain dirt backyard

“[W]e essentially had a patch of dirt (blank slate) and wanted to create an area that we could enjoy and use to entertain during the warmer months, aka our own oasis within Brooklyn.” said Vic.

In the meantime, a short-term fencing solution had been put in place between the adjacent yards.

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Creating a Brooklyn oasis for entertaining

A new retaining wall construction wraps across two edges of the yard. The retaining wall intersecting with the home’s exterior wall grows bamboo plantings to reinforce the 30″ elevation difference between Ally & Vic’s yard and their neighbor’s. Without the new retaining wall in place, the neighbor’s yard would have eroded into Ally’s & Vic’s.

Their fieldstone retaining wall is planted with hydrangea, azalea, bamboo, forsythia & irises.

stone wall and flower bed along with black railing on metal gate before renovation
black gate with railing and green grass before renovation
green grass and stone wall and tree covering before renovation
covered barbeque grill in a backyard with green grass and white table before renovation

“Sweeten eliminated the need and hassle of checking and double checking contractor references as well as eliminating the worry of what type of quality work we would be receiving,” said Vic. “We were very comfortable with Sweeten’s vetting process for contractors, which enabled us to focus on what we wanted done,” said Vic.

“I cannot say enough good things about our Sweeten contractor. They were everything you would hope for out of a contractor. Honest, trustworthy, timely, efficient, communicative, helpful, competitively priced,” he concluded.

Many thanks to Ally & Vic for sharing their backyard with us!

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Outdoor spaces can transform into personal areas for lounging and entertaining.

Sweeten handpicks the best general contractors to match each project’s location, budget, scope, and style. Follow the blog, Sweeten Stories, for renovation ideas and inspiration and when you’re ready to renovate, start your renovation with Sweeten.