Patio of the Week: Easy Flow Between Casual Gathering Spaces

A landscape design-build pro turns a Bay Area backyard with a rotting deck and sloping patio into an inviting retreat

Annie Thornton August 8, 2020

Houzz Editorial Staff

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For a family of five in Piedmont, California, time at home during the pandemic has been a lot more enjoyable than it might have been, thanks to their newly renovated backyard. “It’s one of those [projects] where it really has changed how they use the space,” landscape designer Barry Sacher says. “The husband is out working on the deck every day, while the kids play pingpong. They’ve been able to spread out a little.”

The clients had recently relocated from Buffalo, New York, when they contacted Sacher’s firm, Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build, to reimagine their home’s failing outdoor space, which included a deck that leaked water into the house and a sloping, cracking patio. The redesigned yard features a new deck, patio and area for sports play.

Before Photo

“After” photos by Caroline Johnson Photography

Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with three teenage kids
Location: Piedmont, California
Size: Lawn: 360 square feet (33 square meters); deck: 308 square feet (29 square meters); patio: 192 square feet (18 square meters); gravel area: 120 square feet (11 square meters)
Designer and builder: Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build

Before: The back of the home featured a two-level deck before the renovation, with the upper deck connecting to the bedrooms and the lower deck connecting to the family room and dining area. You couldn’t move from one deck to the other. The decks were rotting and leaking water into the back of the house, meaning that new framing, windows, doors and stucco had to be installed before the landscape work could start.

When designing the space with the clients, Sacher focused on how they wanted to use the yard and if any existing elements worked for them. “There were a few things that were great,” she says. They liked and wanted to maintain the overall layout and flow of the yard.

Additionally, they wanted a dining area, room for lounging and enough green space for growing veggies and for the kids to be able to practice lacrosse. “Moving from a place where you cannot be outside for six months of the year, they wanted to take advantage of having a yard and being out there for much of the year,” Sacher says.

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Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build

After: Sacher and the homeowners chose not to rebuild the upper-level deck after the deck structure came down; they replaced what had been doors with windows. Though the decision removed permanent shade cover for the lower deck, it opened up the space in a way the homeowners preferred. “They’re really glad they did it,” Sacher says. They bought a couple of patio umbrellas to pull out when needed.

The deck is used for dining and lounging — with the pandemic, it also has become a home office. The homeowners decided not to add an outdoor kitchen or a built-in grill, as they had recently remodeled their kitchen and were perfectly happy to use that space for cooking and then carry prepared food outside. (They store a portable grill around the corner of the house out of view when not in use.)

Sacher used batu wood (also known as red balau), a tropical hardwood known for its beauty and longevity, for the decking. “It’s not as expensive as ipe,” she says. “If it’s in the budget, I’ll often suggest it as a decking option.” The wood has been stained to maintain the warm, rich color.

The cedar arbor overhead partially shades the deck and living room, and also adds interest to the exterior. The wood is mounted to a reinforced wall, and stainless steel cables also support the structure. The star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) planted in the pot next to the doors will eventually grow upward and cover the arbor, further enhancing and shading the space.

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Before Photo

Before: Stairs connected the original lower deck to a patio off the lower family room area. The staircase hugged the side of the house, encroaching on the doorway to the family room and restricting access under the deck. The patio itself was sloping and cracked.

Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build

After: The reimagined deck connects to a new lower patio area. The design team pulled the staircase away from the house, opening up access to the underdeck area (now used for storage and a potting station) and improving the usability of the deck.

The yard continues down to a lower gravel area with a built-in bluestone bench. “If I can, I want to work with the landscape to some degree,” Sacher says. “We don’t live in an area that’s flat.” A veggie garden and lawn where the dog can play and the kids can practice lacrosse sits to the right side of the area in this photo.

Billowy ‘Sugar Plum’ cranesbill (Geranium ‘Sugar Plum’) frames the bench, with orange sedge (Carex testacea) growing behind.

Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build

This view from the deck shows the new lower patio area with its “full-range” bluestone pavers (which includes a range of hues). It took some time for the homeowners to choose the paver color, but they made sure not to rush the process. “We had a bunch of samples out there for a while,” the designer says.

A freestanding gas fire pit anchors the corner and invites the family out from the house. Originally the design team had envisioned a custom built-in fire pit, but the splurge for the batu decking meant that adjustments had to be made elsewhere in the budget.

Overhead string lights encourage nighttime lingering, with path lights next to the stairs guiding the way.

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Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build

Bluestone-topped steps with mortared Napa basalt risers take a gradual journey down to the lower gravel area. The designer pushed the planting bed between the patio and gravel area farther out into the yard, softening the grade change enough so that she didn’t have to add railings. “She really wanted to avoid that,” the designer says of one of the homeowners.

Now, instead of one 4-foot-tall wall, there are two 2-foot-tall walls, also creating additional room for terraced plantings. “It’s a more comfortable transition,” Sacher says.

Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build

The retaining walls are dry-stacked, so water drains through them. Using the dry-stack method also allowed Sacher to plant small succulents, including these gray stonecrop (Sedum pachyclados), in the wall’s crevices.

Rock Paper Scissors Landscape Design Build

The homeowners kept the fence, hedge and mature magnolia trees from the previous design, being “very conscious about not changing things just to change things,” Sacher says.

One of the homeowners loves grasses, so the team brought in a variety of those, including the ‘Karl Foerster’ feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’) shown here. They also planted succulents, salvia and geranium, in addition to other low-water plants that offer year-round and seasonal interest. The homeowner was aware of having moved to a place without summer rain, Sacher says. One ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’) tree grows in the background. The yard runs on drip irrigation. Now that the garden is established, the homeowners use the irrigation system only a few times a week and turn it off in winter. “Water was definitely a consideration,” Sacher says. “We wanted plants that could fit within that framework.”

General contractor: Carlen & Co. (replaced doors with windows and did structural and stucco repairs to house)
Electrical contractor: Lopez Electric

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