3 min read

Self Expression

Picture of Mary Kate Carson Mary Kate Carson : Feb 16, 2023 6:27:05 PM

Mid West North East South West

Kansas City Home with Tulips

Project Details: Cost: $750,000 | Build Time: 6 months | Size: Half Acre Lot

High Prairie Landscape group | Kansas City Homeowner
Turns Her Landscape into an Art Canvas

Art is a way each human being reflects their inner thoughts and emotions. Sounds, colors, words, movements; all things that bring to life who we are and who we hope to be. Many showcase that art in and around their homes using items like furniture, curtains, entertainment pieces, even dishes. Self expression is what inspired a Kansas City homeowner to completely transform her outdoor spaces with a landscape with as much personality as she had. That is what she got. “It was unorthodox. Most people look at inspirational photos for ideas, but this wasn’t a situation where she wanted to find some pictures on Pinterest. She went about it in a super cool and unique way.”

When owner Robyn Schmitz, Senior Designer Joe Lyon, and the rest of the High Prairie Landscape Group crew began working on this $750,000 landscaping project they were given clear instructions. The client wanted a showstopping outdoor space designed for entertaining and impressing. To bring the vision to life though, she said the team needed to get to know her. Before any work began, the client invited the High Prairie Landscaping team to spend some time with her in her home. She chatted with the group, showed them her artwork, color schemes, even her curtains and floorboards. She explained her incredible attention to detail, eclectic style, and desire to be unique. The client wanted a home unlike any others, and wanted the team to catch her vision.

Plants at Kansas City Home

“It’s the first time a homeowner ever pointed out curtains. It helped us understand what she expected though. She said, ``this who I am, can you imitate this outdoors somehow;”, said Robyn, High Prairie’s owner and CEO.

It took a lot of time and problem solving to create this dream home though. The land behind the home drastically sloped into a dark and muddy wooded area and the architectural styles of the front and back of the home did not match. The front had a formal, antebellum look. The back was more naturalized and rustic. The clients also wanted a larger driveway leading into the street, so High Prairie had to solve all sorts of code and zoning struggles. The team found a solution though hardscaping. They expanded the front car space by adding in a full scale circle drive, using a custom designed stone color scheme. Then they used the colors to install more natural looking stone in the back. This helped blend the opposing looks. Hardscaping also helped balance the 16 foot grade change in the backyard, and was a foundation for stone retaining walls, a fire feature and an eyebrow pergola. The team even helped the homeowners add sculptures and other work from local artists to the backyard.

Kansas City Home Paving Detail

Paving Detail

“We had a lot of fun with it. Art is kind of a perception thing, so what one person sees, another person doesn’t. This made it a challenge. She wanted something special and unique, and even though people interpret things differently, it was a very neat process”, says Robyn.

Backyard Before Kansas City Home Backyard at Night

(Left) Before pictures of the Backyard, (Right) Renovated Backyard at Night

High Prairie chose equipment carefully, and planned out when it could be used. With such a large backyard slope they focused heavily on traction control, picking machines that could manage slippery mud or gravel without potentially damaging the project or hurt staff members. They also used paver placing machines to lay more than 4,500 square feet of stone in a matter of days.

UniLyft

UniLyft at Work

“Tackling the large square footage while cutting labor were the main game changers. We dealt with a lot of weather changes too. It was a multi-month project and we went through the midwest see-saw. Extremely wet patterns followed by dry weeks. We worked through it all. The saving graces were the equipment we started testing”, says Robyn.

Kansas City Home Aerial View

High Prairie still maintains the home and maintains a close relationship to the customers. Robyn says the finished product not only impressed the homeowners and their friends, but it also captures attention from total strangers. People often knock on the door just to comment on the property and it is well known by everyone who lives nearby. They admire the unique, artistic, and eye-catching landscape envisioned from the beginning.

Firepit

This property is one of the many luxury sites they manage in Kansas City. Robyn founded the business in 2010. For three years she was a one woman show, then began to grow her business to what it is today.