Project Gallery

A family moved into a brand new home in Waterston North and found what most new builds in Gilbert come with, which is dirt. The house was finished. The front was graded ground running to the sidewalk, and the back was open dirt with no surfaces, no shade and nowhere to sit.

This Mesa home in Sunland Village was built in the 1970s and the back yard had aged with it. Gravel, tired shrubs and old stepping pads filled the space without giving the family a single reason to walk out into it.

A husband and wife in San Sebastian at Valencia, one of the gated neighborhoods in south Chandler, had plenty of yard and very little reason to use it. Lots in there run large, and theirs was mostly open grass and tired travertine with an old built-in barbecue and a fire pit that no longer matched how they wanted to live. The pool had aged past the point where patching it made sense.

This homeowner already knew what Dream Retreats work looks like, because we built their backyard back in 2020. Five years later the front yard was the part letting the house down. It was sod on a border, thinned out by the heat, patchy in the shade and never quite green no matter how much water went into it.

What once felt like a worn-out backyard with a 25-year-old pool and aging landscape had become more of a burden than a retreat. The space didn’t invite relaxation or connection. It felt outdated, inefficient, and disconnected from how the homeowners wanted to live and entertain.

The backyard felt incomplete. It didn’t have a clear purpose, and there wasn’t a comfortable space where the family could relax or spend time together. It was just there, without anything that made it enjoyable or worth using.

The front yard didn’t make much of a first impression. It felt plain, a bit lifeless, and didn’t reflect the home or the family living in it. There was no real structure, no standout features, and nothing that made it feel welcoming.

The backyard had potential, but it didn’t feel inviting. It lacked a clear layout, had no real gathering space, and didn’t give the family a reason to spend time outside. It was more of a pass-through than a place to actually enjoy.

The backyard felt like wasted space. It had the basics, but nothing that made you want to step outside and stay awhile. No real place to entertain, no flow, and definitely no “this is where we hang out” kind of energy.