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Pergola-Covered Outdoor Room Sells a House

A modern take on Spanish Revival style adds enticing charm to a new home in Los Angeles

Becky Harris
Becky HarrisMay 25, 2019
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected." I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
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Blu and White
Photos by Adam Taylor Photos except where noted

Patio at a Glance
Who uses it: A husband and wife who both work from home
Location: Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles
Size: 325 square feet (30 square meters); 25 by 13 feet
Designers: Megan Blu and Alison White of Blu and White (interior design and development), Charles A. Samson (architecture) and Madison Modern Home (staging)

When selling a house, a well-designed patio can be the space that seals the deal. This stunning patio by the design-developing team Megan Blu and Alison White of Blu and White was the space that sold a couple on this modern Spanish Revival project in Los Angeles. The buyers are a couple whose kids are away at college and who both work from home. “They saw the patio and spent a lot of time sitting on the sofa and envisioning sitting out here with their laptops or watching games on a TV over the mantel,” White says. “The patio was the feature that sold them on the house.”

Find a local design-build firm on Houzz
Blu and White
Photo by Christopher Lee Foto

When helping the team site and design the house, architect Charles Samson proposed tucking the patio off to the side. “We both thought this was a great idea because it made the most of the lot — it didn’t take space away from the backyard,” White says.

The siting is important for several reasons. Backyard space is limited in L.A., and they wanted to leave room for a pool should their buyers want one. Placing it in a corner between two exterior walls and a fence also gave it an enclosed room-like feeling.

25 Ideas to Perk Up Your Side Yard
Blu and White
And lastly, the placement is part of an easy circular indoor-outdoor flow between the patio, the dining room and the great room. Three large sets of doors open up the house to this space. The dining room has a wet bar that’s easily accessed from the patio. And the great room’s fireplace is two-sided so people on the patio can enjoy the warm glow of the fire. The path of pavers leads to a gate to the front yard and also wraps the back corner to meet the large opening between the great room and the backyard.

Another clever move was adding a Douglas fir pergola overhead. Not only did it enhance the room-like feeling, provide shade and give the designers a place to hang a chandelier, it also provided some extra square footage within the building codes’ limited allowance for square footage.

“In L.A. if you cover a patio completely it counts toward the home’s total square footage, which is limited. This means you have to sacrifice another indoor space, like a bedroom,” White says. With the open pergola, they attained a porch-like covered feeling without having to sacrifice another room.

Browse cement tile in the Houzz Shop
Blu and White
Photo by Christopher Lee Foto

Blu describes the home’s style as Modern Spanish Revival. “We both really like the look of 1920s Spanish Revival homes in this area that have been updated for modern life. We wanted to attain that style without going too theme-y,” Blu says. She adds that they always use Houzz for inspiration photos.

The most important design element that achieves the style is the floor tile choice. It is a cement tile from Arto in a bluish gray-and-cream palette. “When I visited the Arto factory I was struck by this one. It felt Spanish and a little Moroccan,” Blu says. “It was a splurge, but it is a showstopper. And it was a really great thing to be able to use a tile that was made locally here in L.A.”

Tile: Arabesque in Magnolia blend, Arto

See the Houzz ideabook Blu and White created for inspiration on this project
Blu and White
An iron ring chandelier and lantern sconce, the patinaed pergola and the mantel nod to Spanish Revival style, while the black metal, the modern lines of the furniture and the general unfussiness balance in more modern touches. Modern technology played a part too — the team had the area over the mantel wired for an outdoor TV option.

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Comments (29)
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  • PRO
    Blu and White
    last year

    @sudi in Los Angeles there are “anti-mansionization” guidelines which limit the square footage one can build based on lot size. The limitations for a typical 6,000 SF lot are already quite tight to fit a 4-5 bedroom home. This patio did not count towards the SF limit because of the open pergola, but it would have if it had been completely covered. The house was already maxed out on square footage, so a covered patio would have required the loss of actual living space. Hope that helps.

  • coray
    last year

    @Sudi: it is mentioned that (maybe development- or lot-related) the square footage had a cap....they likely wanted to keep home sizes there similar; therefore, if you want more sqft in one area, you have to steal them from another.

  • therealnester
    last year

    My daughter lives in Manhattan Beach CA. On one of my first visits I saw some darkish clouds and asked if we should take an umbrella. She laughed.

    For those of us east of the Mississippi it's hard to imagine a room like this being practical, but it is usable probably 11 months of the year. Someone mentioned dust. Um, why would that be a concern more than any outdoor patio, deck, etc.?

    Having egress on 3 sides, as a lania, is brilliant. Blu and White, brava! Brava!

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