Road trip meets backyard design


The smartest design decision we ever made was hiring designer Evan Braun, general contractor Pat Kilroy, and landscape designer Craig Boelsen from Pacific Coast Landscape for a simple and smart backyard remodel.

When your house is a mere 1400 square feet, viable outdoor space becomes key. So about five years ago we embarked on the aforementioned remodel. We wanted to open up the backside of our house to the yard and increase the flow throughout. We live in a shotgun style California Ranch: the living room, dining area and kitchen are all on the west side of the home. The shotgun hallway heads east with three bedrooms and two baths rotating along both sides. I'm not sure what the original architect was thinking when he designed these track homes some 50 years ago because they can be somewhat claustrophobic. I'm sure he was thinking something but what it was exactly is unclear. Anyway, we needed more space and took the big plunge to push out.

The backyard's inspiration came from our annual Northern California road trip where, one year, we explored the downtown square of Healdsburg. I fell in love with this water feature at the Hotel Healdsburg. Somehow that over-sized trough reminded me of the hot San Fernando Valley summers we spent as kids horseback riding in Hansen Dam and Griffith Park. Originally I thought the water vessel was an old livestock trough converted into a fountain. Turns out the trough was actually fabricated for the hotel by Andrea Cochran Landscape Architects.



Below is the funky, more affordable version...which Craig designed for us and I love.


A view of the deck below, not quite finished.




And the final, final -- with plants growing in and olive trees taking over.




We spend a lot of time out here on sunny days. Sometimes I have my coffee on the bench before the morning ramps up. Thanks to this team, we have truly increased our living space.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Cutest House on the Street

Image
Friends and neighbors all agree that Melissa and Scott Williams' home is hands down one of the most stylish in the Hollywood Riviera. It's easy to understand why since Scott is a general contractor and Melissa, well, she was just born with the design gene. The Torrance, California ranch house they call home is actually the same house where Scott grew up. When Scott's father was ready to retire and relocate, Scott couldn't think of a better place to live. So a few years back he purchased his childhood home and began planning a remodel. Treading gently, the Williams updated the facade and interiors with deft hands and keen eyes. Changes started at the entrance, where sidelights were added to the old front door which was transformed via Scott's carpentry skills into a dutch door painted glossy black. dutch door front entrance Once inside, the house has a traditional yet beachy vibe with a color palette of white, cream, sand, sea foam, chocolate brown and slate bl...
Read more

Wallpaper Kandy

Image
Love this wallpaper from Elitis , appropriately named Kandy.  So pretty you'll want to lick your walls.(Ok, maybe not actually lick them, but you get the idea.) I first spotted it in a Nordstrom dressing room, and then again on display at the Donghia showroom in the PDC .  It's a little hard to see here but the design is beautiful in person.  The original pattern appears to be some type of Shibori, a Japanese dying process where one folds, crimps, ties and then dips paper or fabric into indigo.  Shibori is getting a lot of air time lately and can be seen in all market levels from the commercial application shown below, to pillows at Pottery Barn, all the way to  poufs at Target. If you'd like more information on this particular wallpaper, Lauren Park at Donghia, Los Angeles, can provide all the specs.  There are eight designs in this Elitis line some of which appear to be done in a similar process.  I've highlighted the Brit Pop design but che...
Read more

Martyn Lawrence Bullard Fabric

Image
While searching through the Carolina Irving fabrics at Hollywood at Home , I came across this fun fabric designed by Martyn Lawrence Bullard. It's called Sultan's Suzanni. Unfortunately, my scanner bed is too small to show the entire print but it is fabulous in person. Shannon Marks, one of the welcoming designers at Hollywood at Home, pulled out this photo of the fabric at work. This sofa was created by her next door neighbors at Harbinger . You can see the entire print here. The fabric below, Sultan's Garden, was a contrast pattern from the same collection. Love it too. You can learn more about Martyn Lawrence Bullard by visiting Cote de Texas . Joni always has the scoop! Two other inspiring stores to visit in this enclave of shops are Claremont and Nathan Turner . UPDATE 4/16/09: Martyn Lawrence Bullard now has a website. You can view it by clicking here .
Read more