Name: Tierney Conner
Location: Oakland
Type of space: Deck
Tell us about your outdoor project and how you enjoy it: Our outdoor room is a series of cascading decks that link the interior of our existing bungalow to the back yard, a story below. The materials were chosen to harmonize with the existing house. The white rails reflect the painted white trim of the house and are a modern interpretation of the traditional white picket fences that are prevalent throughout the neighborhood, defining and screening the property from the tight urban surroundings, with the occasional surprise of a punched opening for visually controlled views to the spaces beyond.
White railings define the perimeter with a solid wood cube-like volume inserted in the middle for seating, serving and storing. We use this seating area for entertaining and relaxing - the upper / lower deck arrangement offers varied spaces for observing and gathering with our friends. It also provides a generous and easy route to our yard that was previously difficult to access. By adding this outdoor room, we greatly increased our living space and now all of our friends want us to host the parties!
How did you create it?:
We investigated several options for connecting the house to the garden and looked at different material compositions before we settled on the final direction. We wanted a solution that was modern and different from the traditional architecture of our house, yet integrated and harmonious.
Recommended store, site, product or resource?
We used sustainably harvested marine grade plywood, long lasting ipe and cedar rails, to which we applied a custom white-wash treatment that allowed the texture and grain of the wood to remain visible.
I really like the architecture of the space...
...but I don't think those Lack tables are going to last one season outside - and they seem like they'd just get in the way.
view bepsf's profile
yeah there would be no room for my legs at that seating.
Damn these long dancers legs...
view jmorey's profile
Nice storage.
Wonder how that Panton chair (or lookalike) will handle the weather.
Overall, love the look!
view bromeliad's profile
What is with those tables?... Would anyones legs fit in there?
view ashley23's profile
Thanks for the comments and taking the time to view our project. The lack tables, reused from another area of the home, were intended as a temporary solution until we were able to purchase a permanent standard height dining table. Fortunately for us, Northern California is dry most of the year and they are, to our surprise, holding together through their second season. We have realized, however, that we like having the low tables here as we often use them to rest our feet as well as our drinks, so we are now considering having a custom exterior table made of the same height, but a bit narrower, to allow for a little more leg room - color white of course. The panton chair was also a temporary solution - but I have seen them used in outdoor restaurants all over Palm Springs and presume that the fade resistant polypropylene would hold up decently.
view tierney conner's profile