Artists Tell Their Stories: Dave & Lisa Burns, Outdoor Living Artisans, Tell Their Story

Dave & Lisa Burns, Outdoor Living Artisans, Tell Their Story

Until recently, I had not thought of what we do as “art” in the traditional sense of the word. However, through our years of creating inspirational outdoor living spaces, I have come to see that art is something you create to bring joy and happiness to others. We are continually inspired by our customers and enjoy creating artistic spaces for them to escape to without leaving their homes.

Dave and I work as a team, we share ideas, I sketch it out on paper and Dave brings it to life in our customer’s backyards. Of all the projects we have created I think the one we both enjoyed the most was the Backyard Makeover Contest.

Dave had always wanted to do a landscape makeover like you see on those DIY shows. We decided to hold a contest where local people sent in pictures of their ugly backyard and the public voted on who would win the makeover. The winner received a complete backyard makeover, which included goods and services donated by 18 local businesses, including ourselves, and 11 manufacturers.

What made this project fun was that the homeowners had no idea what their outdoor space would look like. We asked questions about how they wanted to use the space but ultimately we had complete control over the finished space.

We created a small tropical water garden with a bench and sandy beach area, a flagstone walk leading from the back door to the water feature, a small Zen garden tucked in a corner of the yard, a gaming area with horseshoes and xeriscape borders edging the backyard. There was also an arbor; a paver patio with seating, a fire pit, lighting and a shade sail; a handcrafted wood shed adjacent to hydroponic planters; a hand painted rain barrel, and a few decorative pieces donated from local artists.

When we’re not working on other people’s backyards we enjoy our own retreat, our farm “Fort Getaway”, where we live with our rescue animals. When we moved to the country five years ago, we started volunteering at a local wildlife rescue helping with behind-the-scenes marketing and handyman duties. This is where we adopted our first horse and ponies. All of our pets, including our horses, goats, tortoises, dogs, cats, birds and bunnies, have been adopted or fostered through local animal rescues.