Recreation spaces in Atlantans’ backyards are as varied as the homes themselves. Some take a simple route, adding rope swings and soccer goals. Others are more elaborate, investing in personalized sports courts equipped with lights.
In more homes, though, Bocce ball (kind of like bowling), zip lines, lacrosse and even cornhole, the bean bag toss game often played among tailgaters and festivals, are popping up more often, landscape designers say.
From game-ready backyards to a haven for curious children, homeowners can turn their property into an area that reflects everyone’s interests and encourages being outside.
Creating a Kid Magnet
Whether the yard is part of a formal Buckhead estate, a small intown lot or has challenging terrain, landscapers and homeowners are carving out recreational spaces.
Although Kevin and Karen Green’s 1906 bungalow in Inman Park is on just about a quarter of an acre, its 50-foot tall swing has become a go-to spot for their kids and friends. Kevin Green looped 95 feet of black rope onto a black cherry tree for the swing, which he describes as a “pendulum with a seat designed for ages 3 to 103.”
“The only rule is: Hang on with both hands. It has absolutely become a magnet for my kids and kids in the neighborhood,” said Green, president and CEO of the Midtown Alliance whose home is on the April 26-29 Inman Park Tour of Homes.
With little yard space, the Greens and their neighbors chipped in during the mid ’90s to purchase an acre behind their homes. They made room for playing soccer and Frisbee and added a structure with a fireplace and grill. It’s become a “mini town square” where neighbors frequently gather, he said.
Backyards also can enhance a child’s sense of creativity. One of the most important things for younger children is unstructured playtime, said Eric King, owner of King Landscaping, based in Sandy Springs. King brings in boulders for climbing, adds water features, installs simple structures such as wood stages and creates trails and small bridges that invite kids into the outdoors.
“Parents want their kids to spend more time outdoors. The goal is to engage them and draw them outside,” King said.
When pathways are created, it encourages kids to explore the yard, said Danna Cain, a licensed landscape architect and co-owner of Home & Garden Design in Atlanta. She often tries to incorporate features such as arranging stepping stones in a hopscotch pattern.
In an intown Atlanta yard, King transformed an unusable part of a sloped back yard into a desirable area with a hammock, boulder trails, and a board and rope for climbing. For another Atlanta homeowner, he built a platform for the kids to play games and stage plays. Choosing plants with interesting colors and textures and fragrant flowers can stimulate kids’ senses, too. Adding a hammock, putting in a path and adding plants can be as cheap as $1,000, King estimates. If the yard requires terracing and other elements such as water features, the project cost could range from $10,000-$20,000.
Playing Field for Amateurs and Pros
Sports courts have grown from being a one-dimensional space used for only basketball or tennis to serve multiple purposes. Now, they’re used for tennis, basketball, volleyball, badminton, and even speed and agility training.
The courts can be installed on yards as small as a quarter of an acre, up to estate homes with multiple acres, said Jamie Sartin, president and CEO of CBA Sports, based in Norcross, which provided the floor for the NCAA Final Four in Atlanta and venues such as McCamish Pavilion at Georgia Tech. For homes, courts and installation range from $10,000-$30,000, on average. Next to sports courts, some homeowners are adding rebounders designed for practicing lacrosse or baseball.
Sartin said the typical driving motivation, in general, is for dads to spend more time with their kids outside and for mothers to know where their kids are playing.
“They want their house to be the entertainment center where all the other kids come to,” he said.
Some homeowners, such as former Pittsburgh Steeler and Georgia receiver Hines Ward, are personalizing their courts with favorite team and school logos (Ward’s court is Georgia themed), as well as family names.
The courts also are desirable for families who want children to play outdoors, but to keep clean and dry, said David Coleman, owner of Southwest Greens of Atlanta, which installs synthetic turf and putting greens.
Cain is finding that a few of her designs are making bocce ball the centerpiece of the landscaping, which also may have an outdoor dining area, fire pit and garden.
Breaking Out of the Play System Mold
Play sets abound in backyards, and for some, it’s the main purchase for outdoor recreation, costing up to thousands of dollars.
In the “discovery play gardens” that Cain creates, she customizes play structures with features that connect with the kids’ interests. For a home in Alpharetta, a play tower has a fireman’s pole and flip bar for the children, who enjoy gymnastics. Cain also added a climbing rope, telescope, and water bucket on a pulley were added. For another homeowner, she added a trap door. Cain estimates that custom play towers cost $5,000-$15,000, depending on the features and size.
“If I’m using a playset at all, I like developing it from pieces and parts. I can create something that’s different from your typical fort-type structure with three swings in a row with a sliding board coming out of it,” she said. “That just makes the kids feel like their yard is special. It tends to encourage other kids to come over and play.”
In a Buckhead home, Cain also custom-designed a play set, and added an organic vegetable garden and sand pit to the yard. She said homeowners can prepare for the future as children age. A sand pit can be converted into a fountain, for example.
She encourages homeowners to make sand pits deeper, so children can dig beyond just a few inches. Creating a 2-foot deep lined pit with bottom drains, beach sand and other features can cost around $2,000, depending on the size and unforeseen problems.
“The kids are always on a quest to find the bottom,” Cain said.
