Lisa Schmitz, principal of Lisa Schmitz Interior Design, and senior designer Kristyn Iman protected that balance between polish and practicality at the home of a Prairie Village-based client for seven years, where they’ve gradually updated spaces to introduce openness, natural light and connectivity. The client’s latest project: a complete refresh of the backyard.

What was originally envisioned as a smaller-scale outdoor update quickly morphed into a more extensive renovation of the space—approximately 2,500 square feet total.

For this technical aspect, Lisa tapped Kara Bouillette, Dan Brown and Jacob Littrell, cofounders of architectural firm SixTwentyOne.

“Their vision exceeded what we or the client expected,” Lisa says.

As the project progressed, the team kept uncovering opportunities to make the spaces better.

“The outdoor project started as a deck remodel,” Dan says. “There were smaller, disparate spaces that created these small pockets of hard-to-use space. The client wanted someone to come out and reimagine how the spaces could work better together while also providing additional functionality, such as covered space to help decrease some of the area’s direct sun exposure.”

The redesign offers a number of individual spaces for dining, sitting by the fire, relaxing with a cocktail, or watching the grandkids play on the sport court, yet, as Dan explains, “even though those spaces have individual uses, they’re all connected to each other. We spent a lot of time sitting and standing to make sure we could see each other. The client wanted that connection maintained.”

That feeling of connection extends inside the home, too, minimizing the typical barriers between indoors and out.

“We paid attention to the views inside because there’s so much glass,” Lisa says. “In the great room, you can look through the windows into the new outdoor lounge space. You can also stand at one end of the house and look out of the windows at the other end.”