Hollyvista “Bloom”
This quintessential Los Angeles site had a steep back hillside with compacted, exposed soil and a grade that was too dangerous to walk on. The existing back “patio” was a concrete slab without any safety guards to keep visitors from rolling straight down the hill. The goal was to make this hot and unsafe hillside a place our clients to spend time in and host friends, and yes, even friends with children!
We cladded the existing concrete patio with Kebony wood to soften as a deck and give it a finished look. The patio design included a built-in BBQ, shade sails, and a guardrail. We also created a large planter along the upper patio to make the space feel more enclosed and safe. The real challenge for the hillside was finding a perfect design to give the clients usable space on this extreme slope while not blasting through the budget. We landed on a single firepit patio with a built-in bench to look out onto the gorgeous views of Griffith Park and the Observatory. The hillside was planted with a colorful array of low-water plants. The first months after planting, there was considerable rain in LA, and the new plants and mulch did a fabulous job of holding moisture onto the hillside instead of creating runoff as it did before the installation.
In the front, we subtly regraded the site so that water would no longer run from the sloped street directly toward the house. We created a banded concrete path and front seating area to keep the space soft and highlight the new planting. Purple-leafed redbuds and pink penstemons bring color to the native grassy palette.
Photos by SLH Photography
