Our fellow renovators at So We’re Buying a House inspired us to write this last post for BrickUnderground when we read about their decision to not put grass in their backyard.
Our dog Karma got to enjoy lounging in the grass during her last summer before passing.
All photos courtesy of Angela Tiffin and Angela Nichols.
The finished product.
Longtime New Yorkers Angela Tiffin and Andrew Nichols bought their first brownstone in South Park Slope in May 2012, and have spent two years renovating—first, their own duplex apartment and, in recent months, a third-floor rental unit—much of it with their own hands. You can read more about the project at their blog, Brownstone Cyclone.
When it came time to think about landscaping our own backyard, we considered all our options. There’s no question that a finished backyard will add value to your home, but on the flip side, people will tell you that a patch of grass, no matter how small, is expensive and labor-intensive. After a cost-benefit analysis, we quickly came to the decision that the benefits of having a small lawn for our daughter and dog to play on far outweighed the inconvenience and cost—which is really pretty reasonable.
Brownstone Cyclone 