Current Projects: Water Feature Courtyard

In the design for Salem courtyard, a water feature was envisioned; a foci for the courtyard space as well as the living room and kitchen of the home. 

The new courtyard and planting behind, frame an outdoor space for entertaining and intimate get-togethers.   The planting proposed behind the water feature carries the eye to the impressive tree canopies to the north - providing a scenic backdrop for the dinner parties, barbeques and morning coffees that are sure to come. 

Current Projects: The Cocktail Party Courtyard

Gin Martini Please - Extra Dirty

Stemmler Design set out to design a front yard that would compliment the client's recently renovated, modern duplex. The client, a Portland entrepreneur and budding developer, had one main programmatic request: the landscape should accommodate all the necessities associated with an outdoor cocktail party.


The space needed to be flexible; accommodating the everyday uses associated with a front yard while also being able to transform into the occasional space for parties and informal get-togethers.

A open lawn area was proposed to accommodate various tables and chair configurations while a series of large steps create a sense of entry. Walls and complimentary plantings on two sides of the lawn create a courtyard feel while the west wall seconds as a seating area - a perfect place to perch and set down a martini (or two).

To assist in the transition from the landscape to the architecture, stone pavers set in the lawn were used in combination with an Ipe wood deck. The Ipe deck wraps the south and east portions of the duplex, "softening" the building while framing the south and west entries of the duplex.



With any luck the construction of this landscape will occur in time for summer and the parties that are sure to come.