Project story

Los Altos

Curved Concrete Terraces with Twin Pavilions and Fire Bowl Court

Landscape Design
Hardscape
Pergolas + Fire Pits

A hillside garden of sweeping poured-concrete terraces, a pavilion kitchen, a covered lounge and a gravel fire court.

The Garden

A hillside shaped by one flowing curve

The slope behind the house is worked into stepped terraces with smooth curved concrete walls and wide stairs. Two dark-roofed pavilions give the space shade and structure, while the planting, lighting and a gravel fire court on the upper level keep it relaxed.

Chapter 1 · The Terraces

Stairs and curved walls up the slope

A wide concrete stair rises between two sweeping curved walls, with rose beds and layered planting on each side. At the top, large pale pavers open into a broad terrace. The curved edges lead the eye up the hill and past a stepped planter at the far side.

Wide poured-concrete stair rising between curved walls with rose and perennial planting on both sides

Curving concrete stair and low wall beside layered planting, with the pavilion on the upper terrace

Broad terrace of large pale pavers with a stone urn, a curved planter wall and the pavilion beyond

Chapter 2 · The Pavilion

Shade and an outdoor kitchen on the terrace

A flat-roofed pavilion with a warm wood ceiling covers a built-in grill and prep counter with a long dining table beneath it. Patterned tile marks out the dining floor inside a field of plain pavers. A second covered pavilion against the house gives a quieter lounge to sit in.

Flat-roofed pavilion with a wood ceiling over a stainless outdoor kitchen, a long dining table and patterned floor tile

Close view under the pavilion ceiling: grill, prep counter, ceiling fan, heater and a dining table with woven chairs

Pavilion and outdoor kitchen beside the concrete stair, with a curved planter wall and fire court above

Chapter 3 · The Fire Feature

A gravel court at the top of the garden

At the highest level, four gray Adirondack chairs sit around a round fire bowl on crushed gravel. A walkway of stepping pads and decking connects the court back down to the terrace. Yellow and purple perennials soften the edge of the slope.

Four gray Adirondack chairs around a fire bowl on gravel, with yellow flowering perennials and the pavilion below

Close view of gray Adirondack chairs and a black fire bowl on pale gravel beside the yellow-flowered planting

Chapter 4 · After Dark

Every step and wall lit from within

Recessed lights are set into the curved walls and stair, so the terraces stay readable and safe after dark. The pavilion ceiling glows over the kitchen, and uplights pick out the planting and statuary along the curve. The whole hillside lights up as one composition.