Patio of the Week: Dining, Lounging, and Growing Fruit and Roses
Pros maximized a corner lot in Southern California with patios, fire features and strong connections to the house
Creating a home with a yard that would feel expansive was the goal for this Newport Beach, California, lot. Brandon Architects, interior designer Brooke Wagner and Garden Studio worked in concert to create harmony between indoors and out for this new build.
The retired couple who live here had a substantial wish list — they wanted lounge and dining spaces for entertaining and relaxing, as well as a fireplace, a fire pit, fruit trees and a garden with flowers. Come take a stroll through this serene outdoor space.
The retired couple who live here had a substantial wish list — they wanted lounge and dining spaces for entertaining and relaxing, as well as a fireplace, a fire pit, fruit trees and a garden with flowers. Come take a stroll through this serene outdoor space.
This pathway leads to the front entry. We’ll cover this area and then through move the various patios and garden beds.
We’ll begin with the use of trees to create structure and sculptural forms in the landscape. Seen here framing the house numbers are two beautifully twisted olive trees (Olea europaea, USDA zones 8 to 11; find your zone). Kavalle says that the olive trees they planted are about 30 to 35 years old and 16 to 17 feet tall. The vine climbing up the chimney is climbing ‘Iceberg’ rose (Rosa ‘Iceberg’, zones 5 to 9).
Also worth noting is the 24-inch setback zone along the street; the homeowners association allows only low turf, hardscape and ground cover plants there.
We’ll begin with the use of trees to create structure and sculptural forms in the landscape. Seen here framing the house numbers are two beautifully twisted olive trees (Olea europaea, USDA zones 8 to 11; find your zone). Kavalle says that the olive trees they planted are about 30 to 35 years old and 16 to 17 feet tall. The vine climbing up the chimney is climbing ‘Iceberg’ rose (Rosa ‘Iceberg’, zones 5 to 9).
Also worth noting is the 24-inch setback zone along the street; the homeowners association allows only low turf, hardscape and ground cover plants there.
There are three patios: a dining patio, a lounge with a fireplace and another lounge with a fire pit.
From the front path, this dining patio is located to the left. The designers chose 14-by-30-inch Eco Outdoor Beauford sandstone in a running bond pattern for the patio surfaces. “This material lends an old-world feel. It has antique-looking lines and imperfect chiseled edges,” Kavalle says. The sandy tones of the pavers also add warmth and subtle contrast to the home’s clean white siding.
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From the front path, this dining patio is located to the left. The designers chose 14-by-30-inch Eco Outdoor Beauford sandstone in a running bond pattern for the patio surfaces. “This material lends an old-world feel. It has antique-looking lines and imperfect chiseled edges,” Kavalle says. The sandy tones of the pavers also add warmth and subtle contrast to the home’s clean white siding.
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From the dining table is a view of the fire pit lounge area, which is off the primary bedroom. Principal designer Chris Senmor of Garden Studio created thoughtful connections between the three patios. Behind the table, large staggered natural pavers laid in gravel create a meandering path through the yard to the fire pit patio.
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The entry path continues past the dining patio to the front door, which is a charming Dutch door. The porch flooring is TimberTech Advanced PVC decking in Weathered Teak, a durable, long-lasting capped polymer decking. Kavalle says that having a low-maintenance yard was important to the homeowners.
Here’s a look at how the elements fit together, with the garden in the foreground and the dining patio and the front porch toward the back. The room behind the large windows under the porch is the great room.
“All the design pros worked together to make sure there was a strong indoor-outdoor feel, and that the feeling from indoors to outdoors was cohesive,” Kavalle says. The Dutch door and the glass doors beyond it open to the kitchen. There’s also an old-world-style bench in the garden off the dining area. The next patio after the dining area is the fireplace lounge, nestled under a pergola where the two wings of the house meet.
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“All the design pros worked together to make sure there was a strong indoor-outdoor feel, and that the feeling from indoors to outdoors was cohesive,” Kavalle says. The Dutch door and the glass doors beyond it open to the kitchen. There’s also an old-world-style bench in the garden off the dining area. The next patio after the dining area is the fireplace lounge, nestled under a pergola where the two wings of the house meet.
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The fireplace patio is shaded by a steel-and-wood pergola. The Cottonwood limestone on the fireplace works well with the sandstone patios. “A slurry was used on the fireplace to tone down the stone and give it a warmer look,” Kavalle says. A ‘Joseph’s Coat’ climbing rose (Rosa ‘Joseph’s Coat’, zones 5 to 9) winds up the pergola posts. All these elements create a strong connection between the exterior and landscape architecture.
The large windows flanking the gas fireplace add natural light to an interior hallway. Interior designer Brooke Wagner, who designed the home’s interiors, chose the furniture for the yard.
The firebox brick is laid in a herringbone pattern. There’s a niche for wood below the firebox.
The firebox brick is laid in a herringbone pattern. There’s a niche for wood below the firebox.
Here’s an overall view from within the yard. The dining patio is out of view to the right, the fireplace lounge is in the center, and the fire pit lounge is located directly off the primary bedroom on the left.
To create structure within the yard, the landscape designers used evergreens, including Japanese boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. japonica, zones 6 to 9). “We mixed a lot of light and dark grays and greens in the foliage,” Kavalle says.
They also dotted citrus trees throughout the landscape, including semidwarf Meyer lemon (Citrus x meyeri, zones 9 to 11), semidwarf Mexican lime (Citrus x aurantiifolia, zones 9 to 11) and ‘Fuyu’ Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki ‘Fuyu’, zones 8 to 10).
This photo also shows another strategy for creating transitions among the three sandstone patios: The designers used 4-inch Eco Outdoor Bokara cobbles in a running bond pattern between them. As one strolls through the yard, the cobbles signal a change between outdoor rooms.
To create structure within the yard, the landscape designers used evergreens, including Japanese boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. japonica, zones 6 to 9). “We mixed a lot of light and dark grays and greens in the foliage,” Kavalle says.
They also dotted citrus trees throughout the landscape, including semidwarf Meyer lemon (Citrus x meyeri, zones 9 to 11), semidwarf Mexican lime (Citrus x aurantiifolia, zones 9 to 11) and ‘Fuyu’ Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki ‘Fuyu’, zones 8 to 10).
This photo also shows another strategy for creating transitions among the three sandstone patios: The designers used 4-inch Eco Outdoor Bokara cobbles in a running bond pattern between them. As one strolls through the yard, the cobbles signal a change between outdoor rooms.
One of these cobblestone transitions is between the primary bedroom and its fire pit patio. (The fire feature is gas-powered, by the way.) This photo also shows the cobblestone transition to the fireplace lounge. Note how the landscape designers notched it in from the patios so that plants can extend up to these edges as they mature. (These photos were taken soon after the planting was completed.)
The fountain is a rustic limestone trough. “You can see and hear the fountain from all three patios, and you can hear the trickling of the water from the house when the windows are open,” Kavalle says.
The large irregular paving stones are Lompoc stone, a natural material quarried from the hills along the Central California coast. The gravel is five-eighths-of-an-inch Palm Springs Gold.
This photo also shows one of the bronze path lights the designers used throughout the landscape. “We kept the lighting low and subtle,” Kavalle says. The lighting plan also includes a few hanging perforated metal lights in the olive trees.
Plantings in this area are a mix of dwarf karo (Pittosporum crassifolium ‘Compactum’, zones 9 to 11), green aeonium (Aeonium ‘Mint Saucer’, zones 9 to 11), ‘Golf Ball’ kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Golf Ball’, zones 8 to 11) and Japanese boxwood. These plants and others are repeated throughout the planting beds around and in between the three patios.
The large irregular paving stones are Lompoc stone, a natural material quarried from the hills along the Central California coast. The gravel is five-eighths-of-an-inch Palm Springs Gold.
This photo also shows one of the bronze path lights the designers used throughout the landscape. “We kept the lighting low and subtle,” Kavalle says. The lighting plan also includes a few hanging perforated metal lights in the olive trees.
Plantings in this area are a mix of dwarf karo (Pittosporum crassifolium ‘Compactum’, zones 9 to 11), green aeonium (Aeonium ‘Mint Saucer’, zones 9 to 11), ‘Golf Ball’ kōhūhū (Pittosporum tenuifolium ‘Golf Ball’, zones 8 to 11) and Japanese boxwood. These plants and others are repeated throughout the planting beds around and in between the three patios.
Another olive tree adds a sculptural form and shade to the patio.
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Here’s a plan of the yard. The project also included a roof deck that has a view of the water, and a small barbecue area tucked within the landscape — it’s the dark square on the plan beneath the fire pit patio off the primary bedroom.
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Patios at a Glance
Who lives here: A retired couple
Location: Newport Beach, California
Lot size: 3,250 square feet (302 square meters)
Designers: Chris Fenmore (principal designer) and Rachel Kavalle (project coordinator) of Garden Studio (landscape design and installation); Brandon Architects (architecture); Brooke Wagner (furniture selection)
Builder: Patterson Custom Homes
The house is located on a corner. “The houses in this neighborhood are tight, which doesn’t leave a lot of yard space,” says Rachel Kavalle of Garden Studio, whose team designed the patio and planting plan and handled installation. “The architects pushed the house as far back as possible to take advantage of the corner lot.” This left a good amount of space between the L-shaped house and the street for a series of patios and plantings that will eventually mature to provide privacy from passersby.
Members of the different design teams worked together to create connections between indoors and out. This meant literal connections from specific rooms to the different patios. It also meant choosing materials for the exterior of the home and the landscape that were complementary and cohesive.
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