When we assess the inside of our homes, it’s easy to identify where space may be underutilized. But when it comes to the backyard… it can be more difficult to see the plentiful opportunities to get more use out of the space!
In fact, we’d argue that the backyard is the most underutilized space in the American home. Across the United States, there are roughly 90 million single-family homes, and the vast majority include some form of outdoor space. Collectively, that represents tens of millions of acres of residential land sitting just beyond the back door. In many cases, the backyard is several times larger than the home itself… yet it’s often left as little more than grass.
That creates a massive, overlooked opportunity. Homeowners invest heavily in optimizing their interior: kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms… while the largest portion of their property remains underdeveloped. Not because it lacks potential, but because it feels overwhelming to start. Where do you begin? Who do you trust? How much will it cost? How long will it take?
At RTA Outdoor Living, it’s a story we see over and over again. A homeowner has an overgrown, unintentionally designed, and underutilized backyard… and they just don’t know how to get it into a functional place. Where do you even begin with such a task?
Recently, we put special care into a backyard project just like this: the Health Haven. Owned by an entrepreneurial duo, their overgrown backyard was overflowing with potential. In this article, you’ll get a full project recap of how we transformed this underutilized backyard into a full-fledged wellness sanctuary.
What is the Health Haven?
Justin and Alyse Roethlingshoefer from Own It first conceived of the Health Haven concept soon after they purchased their home in late 2023. This property was a rare gem to find in the Miami area, complete with a full 1 acre lot! With a brand-new, overgrown, underutilized backyard space, Justin and Alyse wanted to take this as an opportunity to create a wellness haven.
Through their coaching business, Own It helps thousands of business owners reclaim, restore, and redeem their health to ultimately live different. The Health Haven is a project designed to reflect the goals and philosophy of Own It in a tangible way… by creating an outdoor haven of health, wellness, connection, and vitality.
Health Haven Scope & Vision
A core concept of the Health Haven is to demonstrate that health is more than just the food you take in every day, or the exercise you do. Your health is equally impacted by the environment you live in. We all know that living in a toxic environment can lead to poor health outcomes… but the way your home environment is designed also directly impacts your mental and emotional state.
As Justin says himself:
“Environments change everything. It’s how you feel, it’s the emotions you have, it’s the memories you create.”
By creating a well-optimized outdoor environment, you relax your nervous system, which creates the proper state for the body to heal and repair. The Health Haven is a fully-optimized outdoor space that supports healing and human connection at all levels.
Health Haven Key Features & Purpose
Below are all the features involved in the Health Haven transformation, with each one bringing an important impact on the final space.
Perimeter Fencing
Justin and Alyse’s backyard is framed with tasteful perimeter fencing. Of course, this fencing maintains privacy and keeps out prying eyes… but it also provides visual framing to the space. By defining and enclosing the space, this privacy fencing allows you feel like you are in your own personal escape
Paver Patio, Walkway, and Turf
Well-designed patios, walkways, and turf are always pleasing to the eye, helping to reduce stress… but there’s even more than meets the eye, here. This feature provides obstruction-free walking throughout the backyard, and these smooth surfaces are perfectly safe for barefoot grounding. You can keep your feet solidly grounded to the earth, without having to worry about accidentally stepping on a rock or something sharp. Additionally, turf is a no-maintenance feature that also reduces the water demand of caring for traditional grass.
Outdoor Kitchen
We all know that the kitchen is the heart of every home… and the outdoor kitchen is the focal point of every backyard. Where there’s food, people will gather, and especially when there’s a healthy spread on the menu! Justin and Alyse’s outdoor kitchen setup is designed to foster social connection and create delicious, healthy meals for themselves and their clients.
Two Functional Pergolas
Well-designed patios, walkways, and turf are always pleasing to the eye, helping to reduce stress… but there’s even more than meets the eye, here. This feature provides obstruction-free walking throughout the backyard, and these smooth surfaces are perfectly safe for barefoot grounding. You can keep your feet solidly grounded to the earth, without having to worry about accidentally stepping on a rock or something sharp. Additionally, turf is a no-maintenance feature that also reduces the water demand of caring for traditional grass.
Sauna and Cold Plunge
As health coaches for business owners, Justin and Alyse knew they needed a dedicated space for a sauna and cold plunges. This combination of a sauna and cold plunge (also known as contrast therapy) is excellent for workout recovery, stimulating healing, natural energy, and stress relief.
Podcast and Recovery Studio
While not every backyard is necessarily in need of a podcast studio, this was a must-have feature for Justin and Alyse’s Health Haven! This dynamic duo also produce a podcast, and being able to work directly within a properly optimized backyard environment is a great boost to their productivity.
This space also doubles as a dedicated recovery studio, complete with red light therapy, hyperbaric chamber, and other cutting edge tools to maximize your health and post-workout recovery.
Outdoor Gym
Could you truly have a Health Haven without an outdoor gym? With all the equipment needed right outside… Justin and Alyse’s clients can make the most of their workouts in the sun and fresh air. This outdoor gym was made from a converted sea container, and an outdoor gym is a great way to see this unit get a second life!
Full Backyard Sound Bathing with Breathwork and Yoga Area
A particularly unique feature of the Health Haven is the backyard sound experience. There are speakers throughout the entire space, playing relaxing and meditative music to help calm the nervous system. While this tranquil music can be heard throughout the entire backyard, this sound bathing experience pairs particularly well with their breathwork and yoga area… so you can listen to calming tunes while working through a meditation or yoga session.
Deck / Stage
Outdoor decks are extremely functional, and this one is no different! In addition to fostering social connection, the Health Haven deck area is also used as an event space and worship stage. In addition to this dedicated area, decking was also used outside of the container gym and podcast studio.
Pool Deck and Paver Area
Although Justin and Alyse did have an existing pool and pool room… it was in desperate need of an update in order to become functional again. This new pool deck and paver area has been transformed into an inviting outdoor living room. And of course, swimming a few laps serves as great, low-impact cardio.
Seating Area with Dining and Fire Pit
Wrapping up the features, no backyard space is complete without a seating area and a fire pit. After a day filled with productivity, workouts, and recovery sessions… there’s nothing better than to wind down by relaxing with good company around a fire pit. This space is designed for social connection and deep conversation, a purpose it serves well.
Challenges & Snags
Although the final Health Haven turned out to be an impressive space… the project wasn’t without hang-ups. Here’s just a few of the challenges Justin and Alyse encountered as they embarked upon this project:
- Justin and Alyse bought their home in late 2023, with the goal of transforming their backyard into the Health Haven. Unfortunately, they had a difficult time figuring out where to begin. Reaching out to local contractors was a frustrating experience and they couldn’t find a way to get the project started. In late summer of 2024, Justin and Alyse got connected with RTA Outdoor Living, and a direction for the Health Haven was formed. Around this time, an in-house RTA designer created an initial design concept for the outdoor kitchen.
- When it came time to get quotes from local contractors about other aspects of the Health Haven project, another snag was hit. The quotes that rolled in were astronomical in price, and it seemed this project might never get off the ground. Upon hearing this, RTA stepped in with a group of national brands and brand partners who bought into the vision of the Health Haven and helped to bring material costs down.
- Costs were brought down, but Justin and Alyse were still in need of some local contractors to help get the job done. Unfortunately, two false starts with local contractors delayed the start of the project even further. It wasn’t until Bernardo and Michelle from Sunshine Landscaping came into the picture that the project could officially begin in May of 2025.
- Even though the project was finally underway, challenges still continued to ensue during South Florida’s wet season. One day, Justin and Alyse lost water, internet, and electricity due to the lines getting accidentally dug up. There were also several periods of multi-day rain storms, further delaying progress. All these delays and challenges created a long-term mess in Justin and Alyse’s backyard, which was a large disruption in their everyday life. It was a messy middle, where it felt as though the end of the project would never come… but one day, it did!
Brand Partners
Below is a short description of all the brand partners that helped bring the Health Haven project to life, and what they offer. If you’ve been considering a backyard upgrade of some kind… all of these brands are worth your while to consider!
RTA Outdoor Living
RTA Outdoor Living provided the heart of the Health Haven space: the outdoor kitchen. RTA specializes in fully customized outdoor kitchens that are durable in all climates… so you can enjoy a functional outdoor kitchen experience for decades to come! RTA outdoor kitchens are made from 100 year rated high-performance concrete, engineered for weather-resistance in all climates, and are fully personalized to your needs.
Coyote Outdoor Living
Coyote Outdoor Living provided premium grade built-in appliances for Justin and Alyse’s outdoor kitchen. These appliances are made with 304 stainless steel for durability in all climates and come with a lifetime warranty. Coyote offers a full suite of appliances for your outdoor kitchen project, including built-in grills, griddles, pellet grills, pizza ovens, refrigerators, and storage.
Sonance
Sonance provided the full-backyard sound bathing experience. Their indoor and outdoor-rated sound systems are often used in residential, professional, and marine settings. Sonance specializes in high-fidelity sound with low-impact fixtures so you can hear the sound, but the speakers are barely visible.
NewtechWood
Newtechwood provided privacy fencing and a deck for the Health Haven. Their unique composite decking material features UltraShield technology, which is a coating that protects the decking from weather-related and environmental damage. In addition to decking and fencing, Newtechwood offers siding cladding, deck railings, garden planters, and outdoor furniture.
Peacock Pavers
Peacock Pavers provided the pavers throughout Justin and Alyse’s backyard space. Peacock Pavers specializes in handcrafted concrete pavers, that are both meticulously crafted and unique to your space. A wide variety of interior and exterior paver options are offered.
Pergolux
Pergolux provided both the freestanding pergola, and the pergola that sits over Justin and Alyse’s outdoor kitchen. Pergolux is known as the most popular pergola brand worldwide, and for good reason! Their pergolas are easy to assemble and designed for all weather conditions, including high winds and heavy snow loads. Pergolux offers a variety of standard and custom pergolas, and a series of accessories to get more functionality out of your investment.
Chilly Dip
Chilly Dip provided both cold plunges in Justin and Alyse’s sauna and cold plunge recovery area. Their cold plunges are ergonomically designed, complete with an integrated bottom seat and step, so you can make the most of each cold plunge. In addition to different cold plunge models, Chilly Dip also offers a range of saunas and enhancements for your cold plunge.
Montana Fire Pits
Montana Fire Pits, of course, provided the fire pit that sits on Justin and Alyse’s deck. Montana Fire Pits offer a wide range of luxury propane and natural gas fire pits, all made in the US. In addition to fire pits, they also sell a variety of accessories to further enhance your fire pit.
Sunshine Landscaping and Design
Sunshine Landscaping and Design were the contractors that came to the rescue, helping get the Health Haven project officially off the ground! Located in Miami, Florida, the Sunshine Landscaping team brings 15 years of experience with both residential and commercial landscaping services.
