📍 Case Study · Arvada, Colorado
Buff Flagstone Steps & Boulders: From Bare Slope to Sunset Showpiece
When we arrived, this Arvada side yard was a graded dirt slope with survey flags â steep, unplanted, and unusable. The homeowners wanted a way to actually move through the space, and they wanted it to feel like Colorado: real stone, native plants, and no thirsty turf.
The scope
- Buff flagstone steps with timber landings, set for an easy, natural walking rhythm
- Granite boulders placed as structure and seating â anchored, not scattered
- Crushed gravel pathways connecting the side yard to the front entry
- Native and drought-tolerant plantings threaded between the stonework
How we built it
Design came first: we walked the grade, set the step rhythm on paper, and chose stone that would hold its color through Colorado freeze-thaw. Then one owner-led crew handled everything — excavation and base prep, boulder placement, flagstone setting, gravel paths, and planting — in the right order, so nothing had to be torn up twice.
The result
A side yard that was dead space is now the walk the owners take every evening — warm stone underfoot, boulders that look like they’ve always been there, and plantings that thrive on Colorado’s water rules instead of fighting them.
Complete outdoor living projects like this one begin around $35,000. If you have a slope, a side yard, or an entry that isn’t working, we design and build the whole thing — from first sketch to final stone.