Not-so Interior Design

Redesigned outdoor living space in Valencia, CA

Often I'm asked to help out a client who is stumped at what to do with their back yard.  In this particular case, the interior of the house was beautiful but the outside spaces were unusable. When building their almost-zero lot line house, they opted to install large planting beds along the entire perimeter of their spartan yard. This left little to no space to enjoy the fabulous Southern California weather without feeling cramped.

Before

Oversized planting beds take up pricey real estate in a Valencia back yard

My plan was radical, but my clients were up to the challenge. I proposed ripping out everything...planting beds, plants and all hardscape.  The hardscape planters took up way too much precious real estate and they wanted an easy care back yard, so their removal would help conserve water as well.

 Once the yard was cleared of debris, you could see that there really was a decent amount of usable space. I designed areas for seating, gas lines for a fire pit, water lines for a fountain and free standing planters for dwarf fruit trees. Next, we poured dark stamped concrete in a cobblestone pattern that complemented the Tudor architecture of the home. Finally we painted the grey concrete walls a neutral creme color to elicit a feeling of space and light, the perfect backdrop for what was to come.

All that was left was to furnish the areas, utilizing the yard's full potential. Now the family has a spacious and comfortable seating area with a fire pit for those cooler nights, a beautiful fountain to drown out any neighborhood noise and clean lined urns housing dwarf fruit trees that will supply them with lemons and oranges next season. Also, by leaving some of the side yard open, it gives a feeling of spaciousness and allows for crowd flow if they decide on having a large party. And when you live in Southern California, isn't every day a reason for a party?

After

Less is more. The backyard now feels spacious with just a few key pieces that allow traffic flow for entertaining