Patio of the Week: Secret Garden in the Heart of the City
This welcoming entry patio in San Francisco includes an outdoor kitchen, a dining area and a relaxed lounge
This courtyard sits at the end of a narrow San Francisco lot, behind another house, and serves as the entry for the garden-unit home behind it. Soft plantings in tones of green, bronze and purple surround the space, creating the feeling of being worlds apart from the bustle of the city.
The space originally was occupied by a large in-ground koi pond and a tangle of overgrown ivy. Neither served much of a purpose for the home’s residents — a working professional who’s a longtime San Francisco resident, and her 21-year-old daughter. The pair employed the designers at merge studio to reimagine the space.
The space originally was occupied by a large in-ground koi pond and a tangle of overgrown ivy. Neither served much of a purpose for the home’s residents — a working professional who’s a longtime San Francisco resident, and her 21-year-old daughter. The pair employed the designers at merge studio to reimagine the space.
Entry Patio and Living Space
A generously sized patio, an outdoor kitchen and a cushy outdoor lounge set greet visitors upon entry. The open center of the patio enables unrestricted movement from the yard’s entry to the home’s front door, which sits at the top of subtly lit stairs.
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A generously sized patio, an outdoor kitchen and a cushy outdoor lounge set greet visitors upon entry. The open center of the patio enables unrestricted movement from the yard’s entry to the home’s front door, which sits at the top of subtly lit stairs.
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All materials were carefully selected to withstand the salty Bay Area air. Thermal-treated Thermory ash wood decking complements and warms up the cut-bluestone patio. The Cor-Ten steel used for the edging and raised planters further warms up the color palette and, over time, will naturally weather to add depth and texture to the hardscape. All the Cor-Ten steel was fabricated on site and field-welded.
The setback that gives the courtyard privacy made for an access challenge for the construction team. “Everything had to pass through a 3-foot-wide door from the garage hallway corridor, and up an 8-foot flight of stairs,” Bush says.
Four-burner gas grill with infrared smoker, rotisserie and side burner: Alfresco
The setback that gives the courtyard privacy made for an access challenge for the construction team. “Everything had to pass through a 3-foot-wide door from the garage hallway corridor, and up an 8-foot flight of stairs,” Bush says.
Four-burner gas grill with infrared smoker, rotisserie and side burner: Alfresco
The wood fence at the back of the garden was existing, hidden under a cascade of ivy. The team stripped the ivy and topped the fence with a redwood cap to give it more definition within the garden and to make it visually relate to the strong horizontal lines used throughout the space.
Cor-Ten steel panels attached to the base of the fence conceal the cutout for the former koi pond’s pump and controls. The design team filled in the Cor-Ten panels with bedding soil and planted tassel fern (Polystichum polyblepharum), bougainvillea and trailing Latin American fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus) to soften the space.
Cor-Ten steel panels attached to the base of the fence conceal the cutout for the former koi pond’s pump and controls. The design team filled in the Cor-Ten panels with bedding soil and planted tassel fern (Polystichum polyblepharum), bougainvillea and trailing Latin American fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus) to soften the space.
The curved side table offers more than just a spot for resting drinks or a cheese plate. With the wooden top removed, it transforms into a fire pit that provides light and warmth in the evenings.
Fire bowl, 36 inches: Solus Decor
Fire bowl, 36 inches: Solus Decor
Plantings
The residents requested colorful and lush plantings. Mature rhododendron, purple-leaved fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense) and large ferns were retained from the original landscape to add lushness and maturity to the design.
For foliage color variation, the designers added gold and bronze Japanese maples, gold-green ‘Frans Fontaine’ hornbeams (Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’) and chartreuse grass-like Breeze mat rush (Lomandra longifolia ‘LM300’). A mix of flowering vines and perennials, including bougainvillea, geranium, Latin American fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus), anemone and ‘Kent Beauty’ ornamental oregano (Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’) provide seasonal interest.
How to Avoid Foliage Monotony
The residents requested colorful and lush plantings. Mature rhododendron, purple-leaved fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense) and large ferns were retained from the original landscape to add lushness and maturity to the design.
For foliage color variation, the designers added gold and bronze Japanese maples, gold-green ‘Frans Fontaine’ hornbeams (Carpinus betulus ‘Frans Fontaine’) and chartreuse grass-like Breeze mat rush (Lomandra longifolia ‘LM300’). A mix of flowering vines and perennials, including bougainvillea, geranium, Latin American fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus), anemone and ‘Kent Beauty’ ornamental oregano (Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’) provide seasonal interest.
How to Avoid Foliage Monotony
The large orange planter seen here, set on a raised pedestal and softly lit from below, designates one’s arrival to the entry. The planter is made of precast concrete and weighs nearly 500 pounds. Bush shares that it posed a major installation challenge, given that everything had to be carried in by hand.
‘El Campo’ cape rush (Chondropetalum tectorum ‘El Campo’), hummingbird-favorite native California fuchsia (Epilobium canum) and ‘Kent Beauty’ ornamental oregano (Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’) grow in the planter.
‘El Campo’ cape rush (Chondropetalum tectorum ‘El Campo’), hummingbird-favorite native California fuchsia (Epilobium canum) and ‘Kent Beauty’ ornamental oregano (Origanum ‘Kent Beauty’) grow in the planter.
“The client enjoys the space, every day and every season,” Bush says. “She and her daughter can see the garden from many different windows of the house. They use the space for morning coffee as well as entertaining friends.” All in all, it’s a well-loved and well-used patio.
Landscape contractor: JKT Associates
Interior designer: Irene Turner of IT Sonoma Style
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Landscape contractor: JKT Associates
Interior designer: Irene Turner of IT Sonoma Style
More on Houzz
Key Measurements for Designing Your Perfect Patio
Browse more patio ideas
Find a landscape contractor in your area
Shop for outdoor products
Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A longtime San Francisco resident and her 21-year-old daughter, with their cat and dog
Location: Presidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco
Size: 1,850 square feet (172 square meters)
Landscape architect: Cary Bush of merge studio
Creating a place for cooking, dining and hosting friends topped the residents’ wish list, as did cultivating a stronger sense of arrival to the home. “The original space was generally for reflection, to look at,” says Amy Bush, a horticulturist and landscape designer at merge studio. “The new space needed to be experienced, not just gazed upon.”
After six months of renovation, which included removing the pond and finding new homes for the koi, the outdoor space can now be actively enjoyed year-round.
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