- Clients: Don and Cathy Carruth
- Project: Landscaping, pavers, sod, garden beds
- Why: They wanted a low-maintenance look and also wanted their entire home and yard to be more cohesive.
- Extreme Exteriors services used: Design, construction, retail
Don and Cathy’s last name “Carruth” is synonymous with “adventurous”! It’s not often that you meet someone whose driveway is a runway but for Don and Cathy it’s part of everyday life. Don and Cathy can fly just about anywhere only steps away from their front door. Home has been Midland for 26 years, with the exception of two years they spent as newlyweds in the U.S. Virgin Islands, sailing the seas together. Talk about romantic! I would have loved to stay and listen to their many adventures, but I had a brief window of time to catch up with them before they hopped on the plane again.
The Extreme Exteriors team recently completed a full-scale renovation on both the front and backyards, extending to guest quarters behind the main residence. The area that looks most different is the front yard, which is pleasing to Cathy. What was once just dirt has been transformed to include a variety of plants and shrubs giving the front yard a more welcoming appearance. “It’s inviting to come home to,” she said. Cathy is also aware that curb appeal helps with resale value, so if she and Don ever need to sell their home, people will be more interested in it.
In both the front and back yards, easy maintenance was a key element of the design. Xeriscaped beds in both locations with drought-tolerant plants were critical to the Carruths, as they are frequently away and don’t want to worry about plants dying because no one is home to water them. A few unique projects that the Carruths requested were a gated dog run in the backyard, raised flower beds in the garden, and pavers beneath the windows. Cathy was especially happy with how she was able to work with the design team on the pavers. 
She had suggested pouring concrete so that she or Don would have a stable place to set up a ladder for washing the windows. The design team recommended using the same pavers that we used to extend their back patio. Cathy said the pavers are both helpful and attractive and that it was a good collaboration. Cathy and Don were also happy that the designers recommended a stucco finish over their existing fence. This was done to accentuate the color of the new Austin stone used in their portico. Cathy said the original portico arches failed and they couldn’t rebuild it using brick because their brick color was no longer in production. Thus, white Austin stone was used for the arches. The Extreme Exteriors design team also used Austin stone for border edging, giving their home and property a cohesive look.
When they are home, Cathy and Don enjoy the extension of their patio, where they like to relax in the new 
Adirondack chairs. “It’s our favorite place to sit and read the paper, have coffee, or enjoy breakfast together.” Cathy also enjoys the sound of the water bubbling nearby in the fountain that the Extreme Exteriors team installed. In describing their experience working with the team, Cathy was very complimentary, commenting on the team’s politeness. “There was an ease about speaking to people, and it was evident that they wanted to do their very best.”
