"Compact Oasis"
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Ryan Kleefisch, Designer
Frank Larios, Superintendent
The Green Scene Landscaping & Swimming Pools
Chatsworth, Calif.
"Compact Oasis"
Ryan Kleefisch, Designer
Frank Larios, Superintendent
The Green Scene Landscaping & Swimming Pools
Chatsworth, Calif.
For this backyard, designer Ryan Kleefisch expected a fairly quick, straightforward process.
“It’s a pretty small backyard, and I thought it might be a pretty quick meeting,” says the designer and sales representative for The Green Scene Landscaping & Swimming Pools, located in the Los Angeles suburb of Chatsworth, Calif.
What do they say about judging a book by its cover?
This site provided some real challenges. First and foremost, it would be a tight fit, as the homes in the neighborhood are jammed as close together as permitted by code. This also means the neighbors next door, with the two-story house, could look directly down into the clients’ yard. The couple wanted privacy. So the space needed shielding from the side and above.
Though it took some strategizing, Kleefisch made deft work of meeting the clients’ needs and adapting to the site limitations with this cozy yet open-air backyard with a sunken portable spa, separate covered seating area with firepit, and Asian styling as requested by the homeowners.
Serene Space
Kleefisch knew he could fit the dimensions of a spa and grill into the footprint of the side yard. But the space couldn’t accommodate the sprawling out needed for concrete construction.
Additionally, the designer wanted components that the senior citizens could easily move. In response to these two realities, he chose pre-manufactured steps that could be removed for access to the equipment. The stone-veneered grill also was pre-manufactured.
To further simplify use, Kleefisch outfitted the spa with an automatic pool cover so the couple wouldn’t have to manually remove and replace a standard spa cover.
The spa is sunken halfway into the ground to keep it from blocking the windows on the home, which sit fairly low to the ground.
The whole spa area would be shielded by an arbor with slight overhang, to block from above.
On the other side of the side yard, an arbor covers a fire pit and seating area. The grill is positioned between these two main areas.
Slatted wood, stone and pebble played a prominent role developing an Asian aesthetic. For the vertical walls on the spa arbor and behind the firepit, Kleefisch used ipe wood slats running across, with the pieces alternating in width to create a more interesting texture. A screen of bamboo softens the wall behind the spa.
The trellis covering the firepit features an aluminum structure, with the slats on top painted to match the wood used on the other arbor. Wood-patterned tile, which can be found inside the house, is used on the flooring around the firepit.
Long, narrow, gray concrete stepping stones bridge the spa and firepit areas. Their positioning reflects the orientation of the spa steps, reinforcing strong horizontal lines throughout the site. Between the steppers, Kleefisch placed gray pebble for additional texture.
This project featured a number of textures. To keep his material choices from evolving into chaos, Kleefisch generally limits himself to five on a project. Additionally, the strong horizontal lines created by the arbors and the benches running around the firepit help tie everything together.
To add pops of color, Kleefisch employed a Green Scene trademark — embedding glass into some of the horizontal surfaces. Here, he used cobalt color glass to embellish the concrete on two sides of the hot tub, as well as surrounding the fire pit, and on the cap for the bench seating around the fire pit. Clear glass shields framing the firepit continue the clean look.
SUPPLIERS:
Portable spa: Sundance Spas
Deck finishes: Trex
Waterfeature: Coverall Stone
Fire feature: ASG
Cover: Cover Pools
Outdoor elements: Solara, Blaze Equipment
Other: La Custom Grill, QDI, Davis Concrete, Lightcraft, PAL Lighting, Arizona Tile
