Cityside Residence
West Seattle
Mediterranean. Inspiring. Elegant.

The challenge: The client wanted to entertain groups of up to 100 people in the small backyard lot and liked the idea of multiple outdoor rooms with specific functions: meeting room, children’s play room, dining room. The play room in particular needed to be secure from the alley for the children’s protection. Privacy was also a concern.

Aesthetic considerations included garbage cans that needed to sit outside the back door. The client sought a cottage garden look that did not include lawn but would incorporate an existing large dogwood tree and include a slate patio as well as a rose garden.

The Johnson Associates solution: We created several outdoor rooms with ample seating for the anticipated guests. For shade and privacy, we added a trellis, which together with the prolific rose garden gave the desired cottage look. We also added a screen with fencing and a trellis to provide privacy from the alley and to hide the garbage cans.

To provide seating, we installed custom-made benches that surround the patio adjacent to the home’s back entrance. Several smaller patios were located along the meandering slate path throughout the garden. An evergreen hedge hides the play equipment in the children’s play room from guests.

These Outdoor Rooms turned this backyard into an inspiring living space.