Delay only heightens contest winner's enjoyment of new backyard
It wasn't quick or easy but Jenny Kendall of Palatine, the winner of our 2013 backyard makeover contest, finally has her new patio, a package worth $10,000.
Kendall had written to us about how a flooded basement and a family illness prevented her and her husband from having either the time or the money to indulge themselves with a new patio after purchasing their Palatine home three years previously.
She recalled being excited about having a blank canvas with which to work in their relatively empty backyard, hoping for a pond, a lovely garden and a fireplace around which to gather in the cooler weather.
None of that had happened, however, so she entered our Get Your Summer On contest in the spring of 2013 and won one of two grand prizes.
“The last couple of years have been really rough for us and when you go through bad times, it makes you look around and realize how important it is to relax and spend time with family and friends in a nice place,” Kendall, a Kimball Hill School program assistant, explained at the time.
“Because I work in education, summer is my time to relax. So I entered the contest because I wanted to get some ideas about what we could do in our yard and the design they gave us just make me say 'wow,' ” she added.
The original design, provided by RYCO Landscaping of Lake in the Hills, involved adding on to their existing concrete patio, creating seat walls and adding a fire pit and extra plantings.
But when RYCO went to the village of Palatine to obtain the necessary permits, it discovered the Kendalls' property already exceeded the limit for “impervious” surfaces because they have an extra large driveway, said Mike Sander, senior landscape designer for RYCO.
The design had to be scrapped and reworked. Then the Kendalls and RYCO representatives had to go before the Palatine variance board to seek permission for a small increase in the size of the existing patio to accommodate a fire pit.
“We ended up putting Belgard Mega-Libre pavers (that look like irregular flagstone) over the top of the existing concrete patio and stoop because they were in good shape,” Sander said. “Then we built two seat walls of Belgard retaining wall blocks along the perimeter of the patio. In addition, we constructed a small rounded bump-out for the fire pit, which completely matches the main patio. There is no seam. You cannot even tell where the new area begins.”
The pavers have a reddish tone while the walls are made of beige-tone blocks.
The RYCO crew also planted a new garden between the patio and the corner of the house, using plants, sand, gravel and mulch provided by Lurvey's Garden Center in Des Plaines. They even used a couple of leftover paver bricks to create steppingstones so that the Kendalls can easily reach the water spigot.
Pathway lights and under-lip lights were installed on the steps and walls. Provided by NorthWest Lighting and Accents of Mount Prospect, the lights were installed jointly by RYCO and an electrician from Upgrade Electric Inc. of Elk Grove Village, Sander said.
“It took a lot of patience but, in the end, we pulled it off. I am very happy with how it turned out and the Kendalls were very nice throughout the process,” he said.
Jenny Kendall is even more thrilled.
“It is gorgeous. The transformation has been awesome. It seems like I am at a spa or on vacation every time I look out the window,” she said. “It even looks pretty on rainy days. I am already planning a patio-warming party.”
“RYCO not only covered our old patio with pavers and built a fire pit, they tore out old trees and bushes that weren't doing well and put in a new garden filled with perennials and they put in beautiful lighting, which isn't bright but it lets you see who you are talking to and gives a comfortable feeling to the yard,” Kendall said. “Before this we only had sensor-activated flood lights back there.
“I cannot say enough about the people from RYCO and the Daily Herald. They saw the project through until the end and did an awesome job. Once we finally got the permit, RYCO was here working for three solid days. The (company's) owners even came out to help and so did people from the office. It really made us feel special,” she said.
To furnish the space, the Kendall family still has a gift certificate from Northwest Metalcraft of Arlington Heights to use now that their project is complete.
“I had planned to buy a new patio set, but this new patio has even made our old patio dining set look better. So, I am thinking that maybe we will buy a nice grill or one of those new smokers instead,” Kendall said.