Backyard with Belgard

I can hardly believe I'm saying this but our backyard kitchen/patio glow up with Belgard is DONE!!! Not only is the final product more than we hoped for, but the entire process has been such a dream.

We’ve been planning out a backyard design for a few years now- we actually had everything all ready to go when Covid hit and we decided it wasn’t the best time. Fast forward to the beginning of this year and we decided to go ahead and make it happen! We spend so much time in our backyard that we wanted to create a space to watch the boys play, cook, and enjoy time with family and friends.

Last year when I visited the HGTV Dream Home in Stowe, Vermont, I fell in love with Belgard‘s pavers and the kitchen they installed so we decided to check out one of the suppliers in Houston.

This kitchen was built by Belgard using all of their products! So stunning isn’t it!?

They have all sorts of outdoor products- Crew loved this fireplace with a pizza oven!

These are all the samples we came home with.

This is the design we ended up going with!

We came home with a few options and I loved that we could bring home samples- after seeing the pavers against our home at all times of day I realized that our top choice was too ‘cool’ and not what I was going for. We landed on the Dimensions18 Line in Lueders Gray which is this chunky concrete paver that comes pre-sealed in a variety of sizes. Instead of a ‘random‘ layout we went for a more modern look. For the border we chose the 6x9 Charcoal pavers. The color of the Lueders Gray on the website look much different than in person so I highly recommend checking out a supplier in your area!

After we chose the pavers, we had Belgard help with the kitchen concept- after some back and forth they came up with a final design that was exactly what I wanted. Actually, somehow better! We have these huge columns in our backyard and I really wanted the kitchen to wrap around them. I also didn’t want a 90 degree angle at the corner which made figuring out angles a little trickier than it could have been, but once we got the design figured out it was ready to begin!

Belgard’s Artforms line is unique in that they use large-format concrete panels connected by stainless steel hardware to create a modular kitchen design. The final product looks amazing and of course, is also structurally sound!

We had an existing patio made out of concrete and we also wanted to extend the patio around all sides, but they didn’t add any concrete prior to installing the pavers besides where the kitchen was. The kitchen is so heavy that if they installed half on concrete and the other half on soil, it would settle crack eventually.

It looks very DIY friendly and I’d have LOVED to do this myself, however, our design being complicated by wrapping around the columns and the sheer weight of each of the panels ruled out that option. We are SO glad we hired the job out And there truly are some things that are better left to a professional. Belgard also supplies stainless appliances (their Elements line) and we chose to add a grill, sink, double burner, refrigerator and one set of drawers/2 sets of doors. The quality of everything is incredible!

If you don’t want to go completely custom, they have a TON of designs to choose from that list exactly what products/how many are needed for the job.

It only took about 4-5 days to lay the pavers from start to finish and then another 5 days to install the kitchen. A free-standing kitchen would have been MUCH quicker to install but because of the columns and angled cuts it was a bit longer of a job.

We are SO happy with our kitchen and have already spent many nights out here- Phil’s in love with his new grill and we’ve all benefitted from him using it. :)

If I’ve missed anything be sure to leave a comment or send me an email- I’m happy to help if you’re looking at having this done to your own backyard!