The clients were concerned about privacy from all of the nearby neighbors – the level part of the yard meant their gathering space was high enough to see over the fence, and the lower parts were sloped and hard to use. They needed help organizing the space in order to entertain, eat outside as a family, and use the area behind their house. They have a toddler and wanted a place that is both fun and safe for her, but also interesting and modern. We came up with a dining area on a deck and a pergola for shade by the house, connecting with a boardwalk to a steel-planter-enclosed decomposed limestone open space. The pergola protects from sun and rain, has strand lights, and an outdoor fan. Vegetation is drought-tolerant and requires minimal maintenance once established. The steeply-sloping yard is graded so that runoff is sent to a dry creek bed edged with bunch grasses to help with water permeation.