The Easy-Care Yard

More privacy, more areas for outdoor living designer Nicole Lopez tamed the front-yard slope with a wide walkway with four steps that takes two turns as it leads to the front door. Garden beds flow down to the street; a fence with driveway gates establishes the home's privacy zone. Keeping a mature sycamore tree helped soften the hardscape. In back, outdoor-living areas are delineated with different materials underfoot, from tile to turf grass.