The far corner of the backyard has the most sun exposure, so a custom Spool is carved into the hillside and accompanied by a cabana deck with floating stairs. A shade trellis runs up and over the deck.

A wall of clumping bamboo helps hide the view of the neighbor’s house (which sits in close proximity to the property line and towers over the backyard).

A six-foot linear fire pit in matching pool tile separates the patio from the planting area. Two large stumps were added to the “nature” side of the fire feature for overflow seating.

Long Beach has incentivized residents to capture storm water and decrease urban runoff. A 50-gallon dry well was installed below the middle of a dry creek bed. Run off from the yard and the rear gutter downspouts are collected in this area before dissipating into the water table.

Low voltage lighting throughout the space improves safety while highlighting clusters of statuary & potted plants.

A pathway of concrete pads cross a dry creek bed that strives for a natural, drought-tolerant California coastal look. Large stones that function as a stairway to the pool equipment have the appearance of a waterfall that runs down the slope to the creek bed. The rocks for this feature were rescued...