Thanks to the wonderful landscape design clients we’ve worked with this year, Julie and I had a fantastic 2017 with Carex Design Group. Here’s a look at some of our favorite projects:

Soggy in West Knoxville

The client for this project in West Knoxville came to us after they discovered their house needed significant foundation work to fix a problem with water intrusion into their crawl space. Before the foundation repair company got to work, so did we, creating a landscape design that would not only fix the destruction that goes along with foundation repairs, but also further protect the crawl space from water intrusion. Take a look at what we did and how it turned out here.

Sequoya Hills (And Hills, Indeed)

In addition to the work we did for our own clients this year, we also helped other landscape design and construction companies in Knoxville by creating landscape designs for their clients. This year, we designed a backyard space in Sequoya Hills for the client of our friends at Hillside Lawn Care.

Sequoya Hills lived up to its name with this hilly space. The problem was that the homeowners had a huge area that was unusable because of the extreme grading change throughout the property.

To maximize the outdoor area, we designed a series of low retaining walls, creating more level space and making the entire backyard easily accessible.

My favorite part of this landscape design was that we mirrored the natural slope of the yard in the placement of the retaining walls.

We also incorporated an existing wall, pairing the old material with Belgard’s Castlemanor Grana Block and Dublin Cobble Pavers before adding Vista landscape lights to the new steps. (Note in the photo below that our landscaping trucks look much bigger in person.)

Company Culture in Downtown Maryville

Usually when we work in urban areas such as downtown Maryville, we’re working with tight balconies and patios. Check out how my wife Julie and I planted pots for our own small space in downtown Knoxville.

With this commercial project in downtown Maryville, we hit the space jackpot with an acre of land to design.

We started with a conceptual design to make sure the clients were on board with our vision for the space. The design features large sweeping planting beds highlighted with evergreen shrubs in the shape of butterflies, mimicking part of the company’s logo.

Then, we created the more technical drawings. To see the various types of landscape design plans we create for clients, check out this blog post.

Now, we’re getting our hands dirty with the help of our friends at The Lawn Butler as we manage the process of landscape construction.

The biggest element in this design is an expansive retaining wall that will eventually hold up a dog run for employees’ dogs. There’s also an employee patio with a gas fire pit adjacent to the dog run. With the tough terrain of this project, we’ve had some fun on site getting material where it needs to go. Take a look below:

Stay tuned in 2018 to see the big reveal of this project when it’s done!

Resolve to Have a Better Backyard in 2018

We do what we do at Carex Design Group because we love the outdoors. Whether you have a small space or an expansive estate, we hope you’ll resolve to enjoy your outdoor spaces more in 2018.

We’ll continue to provide advice, ideas and tips for creating a space you love. You can visit our website where we’ll post throughout the year. Or catch up with us socially on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Houzz.

And when you need one-on-one advice, reach out by filling out our online form or calling me at 865-765-5550 to schedule a free consultation. We’ll be ready!

Julie and I hope you have a happy new year!