Backyard Transformation: From Empty Yard to Outdoor Living Room

BEFORE. A nondescript rear yard with no place to sit or entertain.

AFTER. A tiled patio, textured garage wall, and grape arbor create a welcoming outdoor room for dining and relaxing.

The patio spans the width of the house and sits level with it, seamlessly linking indoors and outdoors. Its defining feature is a vine-clad lattice of 2-by-2s that softens the garage wall into a green frame for a bronze wall fountain. Shrubs and a grape arbor supported on stone columns further define the space. The arbor frames views of a 10-by-50-foot lap pool and a matching trellis on a lower level near the rear fence.

Part cooking center, part dining room, part outdoor lounge, the patio is ideal for summer entertaining. Owners Lisa Forrest and Mike Duckham can prepare meals in a stucco-covered pizza oven or on a gas-fired barbecue built into a counter. Low-voltage lighting washes the patio, steps, and garden path with subtle light, while candles in an outdoor chandelier create an intimate atmosphere.

The remodeled yard also includes a greenhouse and new raised beds, formed by stucco-covered cement blocks, beside the lap pool.

DESIGN: Michael Glassman and Associates, Sacramento (916/444-1275)