Outdoor Living in Paramus, NJ
Backyard Paradiso plans and installs outdoor living in Paramus, New Jersey: patios, decks, pergolas, privacy fencing and screens, outdoor kitchens, and lighting and synthetic turf, built for the borough’s mid-century houses on the residential streets north of Route 4, on both sides of Route 17.
Paramus is in the Bergen & North Jersey market on the Markets We Serve roster. It’s an incorporated borough of Bergen County, formed in 1922 out of farm country that older routes such as Paramus Road and Spring Valley Road still cross. The borough plan divides Paramus into four broad areas at the crossing of Routes 4 and 17. Most homes are in the northern half, with the Saddle River park corridor along the west side and Van Saun County Park at part of the east. Paramus holds about 8,800 housing units (2024 ACS five-year estimates).
Why Backyard Paradiso in Paramus
The Backyard Paradiso team is a full-service Paramus contractor. Even a single feature, a patio or a pergola, is designed with the whole yard in view, so it leaves room to move around and connects to whatever might be added later. One team handles the design, the borough paperwork, and the installation. Site assessments scheduled by appointment.
Services in Paramus
Paramus projects can draw on the full Backyard Paradiso range:
- Turf, hardscape, and landscape: patios, walks, and synthetic lawn, often laid out so a dining area sits close to the kitchen door.
- Outdoor structures: pergolas, decks, awnings, motorized screens, railings, and fencing for privacy between neighboring yards.
- Outdoor entertaining: kitchens, fireplaces, and umbrellas.
- Seasonal and specialty: permanent and holiday lighting.
- Pools and recreation.
What Paramus' conditions mean for a project
Paramus sits on fairly level Bergen County ground crossed by brooks, with winters that freeze and thaw through the season. That shapes the build:
- Deck, pergola, and fence posts rest on footings below frost depth.
- Patio and walk bases are built with drainage that moves water toward the yard’s low side instead of toward the house.
- On lots near a brook, flood mapping comes into the plan early.
Wind, frost, and code specifics for the county are on the Bergen & North Jersey market page.
Borough bodies and rules a project will meet:
- Permits: the Paramus Building Department.
- Landscapers: the Borough requires a landscaping permit, issued through the Borough Clerk.
- Trees: the Shade Tree & Parks Commission.
- Water: Veolia Water New Jersey serves Paramus and publishes its own lawn sprinkler and irrigation policy.
- Historic properties: the Paramus Historic Preservation Commission reviews work on individually listed properties, many of them along Paramus Road, Spring Valley Road, Midland Avenue, and Ridgewood Avenue. Paramus lists properties one by one rather than drawing whole historic districts.
- Flood and stream mapping: FEMA and NJDEP map flood-hazard areas along the Saddle River and brooks including Herring, Sprout, and Van Saun Mill. NJDEP classifies Highland Brook and Soldier Brook as Category One waters.
Which of these reach a particular lot is sorted out on the first visit.
A mid-century borough
Paramus’s median home construction year is 1963 (B25035). The 1950s are the largest building decade, with 3,063 units, about 35 percent of the total. The 1950s and 1960s together account for 4,411 units, or half of the borough’s housing (B25034). Of 8,813 units, 7,517 are single-family detached homes, roughly 85 percent (B25024). On the same median, each neighboring borough checked is older: Oradell at 1956, River Edge at 1954, Glen Rock at 1952, Maywood at 1951, and Ridgewood at 1950 (2024 ACS five-year estimates).
The borough plan describes Paramus as essentially built out, with change coming through rehabilitation and replacement on existing lots rather than new subdivisions. For a mid-century house, the starting point is the yard already there: where the back door opens, which trees and views are worth keeping, and where a patio, a sitting area, and open lawn each belong. A well-planned project separates what’s needed now from what can come later.
Local names and the borough line
The state lists three local names inside the borough: Arcola, Bergen Place, and Spring Valley. Named developments include Holland Acres, a townhouse community on Midland Avenue.
Paramus borders eleven municipalities, and several shared names can mislead:
- Emerson, Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Hackensack, Maywood, Oradell, Ridgewood, River Edge, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook, and the Township of Washington each have their own governments.
- The Old Paramus Reformed Church and its historic district are in Ridgewood, despite the name.
- The Dunkerhook section of Saddle River County Park is shared with Fair Lawn, and Van Saun County Park is shared with River Edge.
Saddle River, Van Saun, and the borough parks
On the west side, the Dunkerhook section of Saddle River County Park has a waterfall area, picnic grounds, tennis, and a playground, and it connects to the county’s walking and bicycling paths along the river. On the east side, Van Saun County Park offers paths, lookouts over Walden Pond, picnic areas, athletic fields, and catch-and-release fishing.
Inside the borough, the Cliff Gennarelli–Paramus Sports-Plex on Paramus Road has fields, courts, a fitness walk, and picnic space, and Petruska Park on Farview Avenue adds ballfields and courts. The quieter parks are wooded. Constitution Grove has walkways through native woodland, Reid Park runs a nature path into adjoining natural areas, and Spring Valley Park keeps a greenbelt toward the Maywood line.
Each July, the Paramus 4th of July Committee runs three events:
- the Independence Day parade along Farview Avenue
- a fireworks show at the Paramus High School stadium
- the Frank “Dutch” Cleenput police-versus-fire softball game at the Sports-Plex
The older past shows in a handful of farmhouses, among them the early-nineteenth-century stone Van Dien–Paxton House on Paramus Road, with its Dutch-form gambrel roof.
Getting a Paramus project underway
The first visit looks at:
- the existing house and yard
- which features stay
- the way the household wants to use the space
- whether a listed historic property or mapped brook corridor is involved
- what to build now versus later
Photos of the current yard help when requesting the visit. Afterward, the team delivers a design concept with a project scope sized to the property.
Backyard Paradiso — the Paramus team
Phone: (551) 276-5853
Hours: By appointment
Email: [email protected]
Serving: Paramus, including the Arcola, Bergen Place, and Spring Valley localities