Landscape architects changed this steeply sloped land with fire, water and six-ton boulders. A relocated garage introduced a great chance to make outdoor living spaces where the driveway was, as well as a dramatic entrance sequence from the street down to the house.
The group from Pedersen Associates infused the website with paths, outdoor rooms and rugged beauty, mixing those elements together with the website and the shingle-style architecture of the house. An outdoor fireplace makes this type of year-round living, grilling and dining room.
Follow me down the path, past Ganesh, over the new cascading stream to the homeowner’s favorite room on the home.
Patios in a Glance:
Who lives here: Two and their three teens
Location: Mill Valley, California
Size: Large terrace: 350 square feet; outdoor kitchen terrace: 250 square feet
Pedersen Associates
A dramatic two-story change in slope from the road to the house provided an opportunity to create a dramatic entrance arrangement that includes a fresh man-made cascading water feature.
Pedersen Associates
“The land didn’t really have any presence on the road before,” says Pete Pedersen, principal landscape architect with Pedersen Associates. Along the road, a new fence and gate take their design cues from the house, which includes a similar truss and Montana ledgestone columns.
Pedersen Associates
The backyard and terrace comprise sculptures the household has collected in their travels. Ganesh watches over the backyard.
Pedersen Associates
Frontier stone steps curve down to a landing.
Pedersen Associates
“The two-story-high stairs has been the perfect chance to construct a water feature spilling water across the stairs,” Pedersen says. He craned at boulders as significant as 6 tons from Sonoma County and carefully nestled them on concrete beds which work just like shelves, allowing the stream to cascade over and between them.
“This kind of thing is not difficult to draw, but maybe not really easy to construct,” he says. “You truly have to compose it just right to keep it from looking artificial.”
Pedersen Associates
At nighttime uplights illuminate the waterfall and rocks.
Pedersen Associates
Copper Iron Designs crafted the hammered metal railings.
Pedersen Associates
Just across the bridge and down more steps is the outdoor dining area and intimate fireside lounge. The exterior kitchen lies between the primary house (right) and the new garage (left).
Italian series lights twinkle overhead and landscape lighting illuminates the ground. The designers turned a few of the family’s sculptures (one is on the lower right here) into low-voltage light fixtures.
Pedersen Associates
The kitchen includes an integrated stone buffet. The western red cedar fence and pergola tie to the property’s architecture. Carpenter Scott Reynolds paid attention to the smallest of information, including using classic round bolt heads to look like hammered nailheads.
Pedersen Associates
“The space is a true nexus for how the family lives in the house,” Pedersen says. The kids stop off in their way from the driveway to the house and it’s a natural gathering spot for everybody.
The fireplace surround is Montana ledgestone which fits that of the columns; the horizontal slabs are frontier tan stone. The backs across the built-in stone bench are riveted copper that is tilted for relaxation.
Pedersen Associates
Before this work was completed, the household had great views of Richardson Bay, but didn’t have any usable outdoor area. They like to come home from work and enjoy a glass of California wine in front of the fireplace. “My client today tells me that the new patio is her favorite room,” Pedersen says.
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