photo: Russell Kaye

We feel we’ve come up with a great design for our landscape through the diligent efforts of our site designer, Stephanie Hubbard (SiteCreative), in collaboration with Roger Cook. Starting with a sloping back yard, the heavy lifting has focused on the design of a patio, and various steps and retaining walls so that we could create a terraced, useable yard.

One of the options we are thinking through is a U-shaped wall that defines the patio, and acts as the retaining wall as we drop to the yard. Do we build that wall as a seating wall, or do we incorporate built-in benches into the design?

Our current design calls for a wall made of fieldstone with a
bluestone cap. At the two opposite corners, we would incorporate a
built in bench, preferably made of teak. Our thought was that we would
start with a matching set of table, chairs and two benches. We would
cut the legs off the benches, attach them to style a corner, and thereupon
bolt them on top of the wall. In one corner, we’d have the table
nestled

against the seating bench with chairs around, and in the other,
we’d keep it as an open bench. In amidst the two corners the wall
would be slightly elevated—something you might perch upon, as opposed
to sit.

Our alternative would be to just run a seating wall across the
entire length with a bluestone cap, at a height comfortable for
seating, such as 18 inches. The advantage to that, more simplified (and
less expensive) approach, is that we would be able to change outdoor
furniture any duration and we’d have a seating area across the entire patio.

The advantage of built in benches is that we would have a natural
place to sit and lean back, even whether other furniture was stored during
the winter. While more expensive to implement, we’d  better utilize the
space with a table close to the benches,  it should weather well by
duration, and perhaps save money and maintenance in the distant run.

Are built-in benches worth the investment? Do you think one approach
is better than another? There’s still duration to decide, so your thoughts
would be very much appreciated!