This custom 18-foot by 18-foot covered patio in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. has a travertine floor and limestone fireplace. The support pillars are made from wood and concrete, and are faced with limestone veneer. Stained tongue and groove wood planks were used to create the ceiling, which is lit with eight standard can lights. The pathway leading up is made of a neutral colored concrete with exposed aggregate and travertine edging. Plants in this area include a Manzanilla olive tree, foxtail agave, Pittosporum, and trailing Lantana.
Photos courtesy of Jeri Koegel

Southern California homeowners, Reza and Evelyn both wanted an environment to entertain their friends and family, as such they sought out Altera, a landscape architecture firm in Dana Point, Calif. When the designer, Elaine Iverson, arrived at the residence there was nothing more than dirt and property line walls in the front and back yards, and a basic paved driveway. The new design features a hardscape heaven, with colored concrete, travertine paving, as well as a limestone veneer fireplace and firewall.

The newly laid driveway was paved with neutral colored concrete and travertine pavestones, which have a turfgrass border. The turf is supported by a soil and grate system. Two Manzanilla olive trees are the main focal points, with one on each side of the yard. The landscaping makes use of Crassifolium compactum, Bird of Paradise, and coleus, to name a few.

Front Yard
The driveway was demolished and replaced with a neutral colored concrete and an aggregate finish. The bottom half of the driveway received decorative travertine stepping pads outlined with turfgrass. To complete the look, the basic concrete walkway in the courtyard was replaced with travertine paving that matches the driveway. To help create a more definite walkway, a 24-inch high retaining wall with smooth stucco veneer was added to the front of the yard. Thirty-inch pilasters with smooth stucco veneer and custom precast caps sit on each side of the wall. Framing the arched brick entryway are 30-square-inch pottery plinths, also 24 inches high. These are made from concrete and have a smooth stucco veneer with custom precast caps.

Plants in the front yard include two Manzanilla olive trees, which are the main focal points, one on each side of the yard, as well as bougainvillea, Pittosporum, and Hebe shrub. Path and uplights are by FX Luminaire.

The homeowners chose to have a custom gate made for the right side of their yard. The gate was made by New-Tech Ornamental Iron in Santa Ana, Calif., and incorporates wood with wrought iron detail. A neutral colored concrete with exposed aggregate was also used to create the walkway from the driveway to the right side of the house.

Courtyard/Front Door Entry
The homeowners requested a new entryway leading from the front yard walkway to the courtyard. To complement the multiple types of stone used in the hardscape design the custom archway was faced with brick veneer and has a wrought iron gate. Travertine tile paving leads patrons from the courtyard area to the backyard. One of the main features of the courtyard is the custom water feature, which the homeowners specifically requested after seeing it in another project completed by the designer. The water feature consists of three four-and-a-half foot high pilasters made from limestone. Wrought iron spouts pump water into urn-like pottery and the glass-tiled basin below catches the overflow water. The basin is lit with four 20W Focus SL-33 underwater lights.

A travertine walkway leads patrons from the driveway through the custom archway with brick veneer. Crassifolium compactum, Elephant's Food and Green Beauty are potted on the concrete pilasters, these are irrigated with a drip line and uplit with FX Luminaire 20W Reflectore Stellato.

Right Side Yard
On the right side of the house a pathway from the driveway to the backyard is paved with a colored concrete walkway with an exposed aggregate finish. Here, an underlying theme of the design, wood and wrought iron is used for the custom gate, made by New-Tech Ornamental Iron. Along the walk to backyard a 24-inch high retaining wall with smooth stucco veneer and block cap was constructed to assist in containing the existing slope and planter. This retaining wall pushed the slope back, and in turn increased the size of the side yard.

In the courtyard area leading to the backyard, a water feature made from limestone veneer pillars and bronze colored urns, spills water into an iridescent glass-tiled catch basin, lit with 20W Focus SL-33 underwater lights.

Backyard
The lower portion of the back yard paving consists of colored concrete with exposed aggregate finish and a travertine banding. This assisted with the budget so the main backyard features did not have to be sacrificed. A main feature of the backyard is the 18-foot by 18-foot covered patio structure, which has a travertine-paved floor. This area also has a custom limestone veneer fireplace with precast mantle, hearth and firebox. The covered patio structure has a pitched tile roof to match the residence and four supportive columns made from wood posts and faced with natural limestone veneer. The ceiling is made from a tongue-and-groove finished wood and is lit with eight MR16 can lights.

This covered patio is one of the main features in the design, and uses three types of stone – travertine, limestone and Dakota tumbled natural stone.

Located on the left side of back yard is the custom pergola that extends from the house to cover a 260 square foot kitchen area. The pergola is supported with two 24-inch high block columns with natural limestone veneer and precast cap. Included in the patio cover are nine custom copper recessed lights, which are controlled via in-house dimmer. This 6-inch raised kitchen area is paved with travertine and has matching stepping pads that lead to the house entry door.

A Manzanilla olive tree provides shade for the pathway between the two outdoor entertaining areas. Several tall bronze water-bubbling urns are placed between the plant beds, which are filled with agave, echeveria and Marjorie Channon; plant beds are lit with 20W Saguaropetite path lights by FX Luminaire.

A feature of the pergola-covered patio is the split-level BBQ cook center, created from concrete and smooth stucco veneer and topped with a granite slab countertop. On the front side of the BBQ is an eight-foot long custom fire wall that is faced with a mosaic pattern of Dakota tumbled natural stone. Two colors of bronze glass tiles were also used to create an accent border around this fire feature.

A custom built pergola, with 9 copper recessed lights by Focus, covers a 260 square foot travertine patio. Dwarf mondo grass borders the patio; plants in the back flowerbed include agave, medilian red carpet rose, and hibiscus.

Lighting
Over 50 lights were used throughout the project, illuminating each area – pergola, covered patio, water feature and plant beds. Along the paths 15 FX Luminaire 20W Saguaropetite lights in copper finish were used. To uplight the trees and plants 16 FX Luminaire 20W Reflectore Stellato in bronze finish were used.

On the front side of the BBQ structure is an eight-foot long fire wall faced with Dakota tumbled natural stone and bronze colored glass tiles.

Project Challenges
The main issue encountered was the poor soil conditions. To overcome those issues, the site was evaluated by a soils engineer and found to have highly expansive soil. Due to that, sand-set travertine pavers were used to remedy any movement or uprising that could be expected.

The 10-foot long custom BBQ feature is made complete with a concrete structure with a smooth stucco surface, and topped with a granite slab.

Design Team
Landscape Architect
Elaine Iverson, Altera

Construction Team
Landscape Contractors
Ryan Suarez & Ricardo Campuzano, Altera

Vendors
Travertine Paving: Sepulveda Building Materials
Concrete: Pedroza Ready Mix
Granite Slabs: Ollin International
Pilaster Precast Caps: Pacific Stone Design, Inc.
Dakota Tumbled Natural Stone: Cougar Stone
Lighting: Focus and FX Luminaire
Irrigation: Rain Bird
Plants: DM Color Express & Bamboo Pipeline
Olive Trees: Morales Trees