Mike and Jeanette Preston’s wish list for redesigning the back yard of their charming Tudor-style home was short: Mike favored a water feature and a replacement for an outdated awning off the back of the house with a more permanent structure that could withstand heavy snow. Jeanette desired a fireplace. Both wanted Dan Dureiko, president of Dureiko Construction Inc., who had previously remodeled their kitchen, to oversee this extensive project.
Beyond that, the couple didn’t realize the hidden potential of their Bratenahl property. “It was amazing to see the amount of effort and detail that went into making this,” Mike says, as he gestures toward the inviting gardens and seating areas. “Dan didn’t let me go in any direction I shouldn’t go. I’m proud of it. Now I don’t walk out of an extensively decorated interior to a bland and uninviting exterior.”
The Prestons entertain often in a variety of styles—formal, informal, large, intimate, for business or strictly for pleasure. It was important to create a design that would comfortably accommodate many occasions.
Dureiko began by replacing a tiny balcony—located off already-existing, second-floor doors—with a much larger one. “It afforded us the opportunity to make a greater space off there,” Mike points out.
It also provided a roof for the newly created patio, a comfortable space that functions as an outdoor family room. Buff sandstone block floors anchor a yellow Tropitone couch and two chairs, as well as a round mosaic slate table in shades of brown, gray and turquoise. The pieces are from Casual Home in Willoughby Hills. A copper sunburst sculpture, mounted on the home’s exterior brick, adds a touch of artistic whimsy.
Mike further enlivened the area with decorative pots that he filled with help from Megan Kesegich of Suncrest Gardens in Peninsula. Among the colorful plants decorating the space are palms, ferns, coleus, blue fescue and red sensations.
Jeanette’s request for a fireplace has pleased Mike as well as his wife. “Even in the winter, I can sit inside at my computer and enjoy it,” he says, explaining that he runs outside in the snow to light the fireplace so he can gaze at it from the comfort of his house.
The freestanding structure with a brick surround features a keystone and mantle fashioned from stone that was recycled from the home’s former porch. The Prestons and their friends enjoy roasting marshmallows in the fireplace as well as warming up near it on crisp evenings. “I’ll sit here for hours on end,” Mike admits.
The yard’s focal point is a tranquil water feature located just steps away from the fireplace. “I love the sound of running water,” Mike says.
Water gently cascades over decoratively designed rocks into a small pond stocked with goldfish and three types of koi. Tulips, dwarf cattails, decorative grasses and other plants add color and texture to the area.
“At night I dim the lights on the patio and there’s the fire off to the side,” Mike says. “It’s so gorgeous. The fish are on the surface at that time of night.”
“The most humorous part of this was shopping for rocks for the water feature,” he continues, laughing. “Who’d a thought I’d be shopping for rocks?”
Strategically placed in close proximity to both the fireplace and water feature is a large Tropitone dining table shaded by an orange umbrella from Treasure Garden, Inc. Surrounded by six metal-frame Tropitone chairs covered with orange-, beige- and brown-striped Meadowcraft cushions, it provides an elegant setting for both formal and informal meals.
“What makes this yard unique is the combination of the water feature, the fireplace and the porch,” says Dureiko. “You can move from one area to the next, but still see everything. It’s multiple living spaces. I consider this a four-season area. In the winter, you can sit under (the covered porch) and have the fire going.”
Mike says that not only are he and Jeanette enjoying their outdoor space, but “the neighbors love it, too. The neighbors gifted me a corkscrew that’s mounted in the garage,” he says, grinning.