Working with the existing “vintage” brickwork, sloping topography, and a yard full of mature trees, we carved out a multipurpose living-dining-cooking patio and a large play yard. Ample built-in seating encourages lively parties, warmed by the fire pit and fed by the built-in kitchen unit.  Custom details include concrete countertops with an integral, poured-concrete sink, Nelson-style wood-and-metal benches, and cast-resin cabinet doors.

Water spills down a rill and cascades over a wall into a small pond. We created benches around a grassy area to define a play yard. And at the lawn’s edge, the grass becomes a meadow that extends down the hill where a bamboo hedge screens out the street.

Photos by Andrew Takeuchi & Karena Dacker