Pittsburgh Landscape Architect Chris Roma Suggests Turning Your Backyard into a Vacation Home Not So Far Away from Home
Pittsburgh Landscape Architect Chris Roma offers practical tips on how to achieve big change with small outdoor spaces, and how to extend outdoor living beyond the summer season.

PITTSBURGH, PA, April 22, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- As stock portfolios drop in value, expectations regarding a second vacation home adjust accordingly. Pittsburgh landscape architect Chris Roma offers this affordable alternative to the long-planned-for Shangri-La: transform your backyard into a multi-season outdoor retreat. Welcome to the latest trend—alfresco living.

"Sometimes it takes a recession for people to take stock of what they do have," says Roma, a thought leader among Pittsburgh landscape architects. "Hidden within many landscapes is the potential for transformation. A home within the home, if you will."

Outdoor Living Rises
Multi-season outdoor living has become one of the more popular ways to improve a home. Old notions of "cooking out" have evolved into something more complex — with full-service outdoor kitchens and flexible space for quiet retreat, intimate family dining or entertaining on a larger scale.

As a Pittsburgh landscape architect, Roma knows the urgency that people feel to make the best use of good weather. "In some markets, morning sunshine and warm nights might be taken for granted," he says. "In a colder climate such as Pittsburgh, the landscape architect can introduce subtle hardscape elements that can extend the outdoor living seasons by a few weeks on either end." See examples at: http://www.romadesign-buildinc.com/home.htm

In colder climates, bringing hearth-like warmth outside makes all of the difference.

Small Spaces the Next Big Thing
Like many older cities, Pittsburgh gives landscape architects another challenge — achieving big change with small outdoor spaces.

In other words, it doesn't require an acre of land to realize your dream of extending your living space. Amenities and comfort can be made to fit the space at hand. This Pittsburgh landscape architect likes the challenge that small spaces present. "Anyone can imagine the wide-open space," Roma says. "But when the canvas is small and tight, and when the considerations of neighbors and neighborhoods get factored in, then you really need all of your problem solving skills."

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