A Dramatic Backyard Makeover in Santa Barbara

When a tired yard needed a revamp, designers scraped the area to the ground and created stylish new spaces for relaxing, playing and entertaining.

By: Lynn Coulter

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Photo By: Caitlin Atkinson

Photo By: Leela Cyd

Photo By: Caitlin Atkinson

Design an Outdoor Space That Fits Your Lifestyle

When Santa Barbara homeowners asked Isa Hendry Eaton, of Isa Bird Landscape Design and Jessica Risko Smith of Jessica Risko Smith Interior Design (JRS ID) to revamp their backyard, "We scraped the entire property to the dirt, except for a few perimeter oak trees," says Isa. Jessica says the clients wanted a timeless-aesthetic outdoor oasis with high-end style. The result: a family-friendly yard with multiple levels and outdoor spaces so kids could play and adults could enjoy intimate dinners or host large gatherings. Browse these images to find new trends and inspiration for your yard.

Before the Makeover

This was an older home, says Jessica, whose company is based in Montecito, California. "The original style was just too traditional, too 'English country garden' for the owners."

Isa, also based in California, adds, "Every plant, tree, shrub, succulent and hardscape material was new and designed on our master landscape plan." Isa, co-author or Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and Containers, says, "The most beautifully designed gardens have a balance between hard and soft, manmade and organic, symmetry and asymmetry, order and wildness."

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Before: Creating Zones for Outdoor Living

Most of the existing outdoor furniture was used in the final design, says Jessica, who moved pieces around to different "zones," which included a lower-level patio off a parlor room and a pool area with seating around a fire pit. The stone steps lead to a dining pavilion, fireplace lounge, bar, yoga studio and powder room on an upper terrace.

Isa says that natural stone is trending. She's seeing concrete pairing "with elements of stone for a nice balance," and fewer large expanses of concrete or modern pavers.

Before: Opening Up the Yard

The owners couldn't see from one outdoor space to another, Jessica explains and wanted to open up the yard so their family and visitors could interact or use the spaces individually if desired. With nothing to block the views, they could also watch their children more easily. Now you can "choose your own adventure," she adds, whether you're soaking in the hot tub by the pool, watching TV on an outdoor projection screen or mingling at a social event.

After: Color Is Coming Back

While gray upholstery was used to hide dirt and stains, Isa says color is coming back into the garden. Jessica used color in accent pieces and other items to make the spaces feel connected.

Isa says, "For this terraced backdrop, we have silver spiky Yucca whipplei (Hesperoyucca whipplei) 'RBG', planted in a bed of green trailing rosemary. My very favorite groundcover rosemary is Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Lockwood de Forest’ or Rosmarinus prostratus (Creeping rosemary) as an alternative because it stays very flat. We brought in the jewel tones from the home's interiors with a few purple succulents and spiky grasses, including Echeveria ‘Afterglow’ and Phormium ‘Dwarf Burgundy' (Dwarf Purple, New Zealand flax). Structural plants repeated in a uniform bed of groundcover look fantastic."

Notice the mountain in the background. "Consider the view and light from sunrise to sunset when designing your outdoor living spaces," she adds.

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After: Designing for Year-Round Outdoor Living

Lighting and outdoor heaters were added to the metal pergola over the dining table and the mini pergola over the outdoor bar so the spaces could be used year-round. "Finding ways to add shade and heat to the outdoors without necessarily building giant structures or rolling around heavy, awkward, mushroom-shaped patio heaters makes a space more comfortable," says Isa. Infratech SlimLine heaters were added here and there. "They are small and understated and send out real heat."

After: Styling a Trendy Patio

For the patio around the outdoor bar, Isa used a herringbone-laid pattern that "is both on trend and classic." She focused the surrounding garden palette on shades of silver, deep green and burgundy, and planted "a gorgeous, silver Pearl Acacia (Acacia podalyrifolus) and European olive trees in the background." Jessica used three turquoise pendant lights over the bar to echo the blues used in other spaces and create a sense of continuity between them.

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After: Bench Seating on a Fireplace

In a sea of greenery, Isa says the silver Pearl Acacia trees shown here are garden superstars. "They thrive in dry conditions and like to be planted a little high." They need soil that drains easily and should be pruned often "to encourage fullness versus legginess."

She likes to design long, low outdoor fireplaces that have plenty of room for people to sit down and warm up. "This plastered-concrete gas fireplace has a generous bench seat that works great for overflow and cold guests."

After: Indoor Views That Flow Outdoors

Jessica designed the home's interior with the outdoor views in mind; the green velvet sofa in the parlor ties in with the greenery visible through the glass. "One very important trend is for the interior to feel like it flows into the exterior. If the interior is very modern, keep the exterior design modern as well. Don't ditch the whole vibe." She says the spaces already had enough white, so she didn't use additional white, tan and beige. Instead, she wove the jewel tones the homeowners loved throughout the various living zones by adding pillows, pots, planters, plants and side tables.

After: Designing a Dining Pavilion

Isa used a metal pergola to create the dining pavilion. "A metal pergola is longer-lasting and more fireproof than a wood version." The dining table uses weathered teak, although Jessica says the homeowners preferred to stay away from outdoor woods that require a lot of care. The metal chairs were painted matte black to match the pergola. The pergola over the outdoor bar is also metal. Various cushions and upholstery are made from polypropylene materials to add warmth and texture, she says.

After: Showcasing Lights and Flowering Plants

Jessica added a starburst chandelier over the dining table for statement lighting. "It really creates an atmosphere in the whole outdoor space. There are also fun brass cylinder scones here and on the bar. They create continuity between the spaces."

Isa says this image showcases "my new-and-forever-favorite salvia, 'Salvia Blue Suede Shoes'. "In this outdoor dining room, the indigo-blue salvias guarantee a daily show of brightly colored, buzzing hummingbirds. Indigo blue is also one of this client's favorite colors. Gardens should be sources of joy so why not plant in your favorite color?"

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After: Adding Shade

"Make sure your outdoor space has shade or you won't use it," says Jessica. Small olive and orchard-type trees were added to some bigger, mature trees that were already there. "If you don't have trees, build a pergola or use good umbrellas for shade. With trees, the shade is always there, but think about when you want to use the space and when you need to have shade."

After: Keeping Spaces Flexible and Visually Interesting

Jessica did the first round of outdoor furniture design, mixing and matching pieces to give the homeowners flexible outdoor spaces. "If they have a big party, they want to move things out of the way," she says, "or reconfigure multiple pieces." For example, they can move the sun loungers away from the pool and bring down the lounge chairs from the upper level to make conversation easier.

Shown on the left side of this image, potted ponytail palms (Beucarnea recurvata) are "fun, sculptural plants that thrive when neglected and lend a playful Dr. Seussian element to an otherwise grown-up garden," says Isa. "This garden also showcases layers of textured foliage at every opportunity." Because "gardens really are green" and flowers bloom and fade, she says "it is essential to pay close attention to foliage shapes and textures and colors."

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After: Landscaping Around a Pool

Isa says, "We designed the pool area with a large amount of limestone hardscape for a high-function surface, so we balanced this hardscape on one side with a soft flowy mass of ornamental grasses (Carex 'Chisai'), sandstone boulders and dwarf citrus trees on the opposite sides of the pool. Embedded in the dark green grasses we added 'Blue Flame' agaves for interest and solid structural contrast to the grasses. To further emphasize the softness, we bordered the back of the citrus trees with purple 'Santa Barbara' sage (Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara'). As far as trends go, pools are becoming longer or slimmer and featuring bigger, integrated spas or hot tubs, she says. The kids use the large rock to jump into the pool."

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'Santa Barbara' Sage

Carex 'Chisai'

After: Planting Around a Pool

"This pool has a generously sized spa that we strategically placed at the main bedroom side of the house facing an incredible mountain view," says Isa. "In California, with cool evenings, the warm spa is the place to be and bigger is better. Elevation changes and terraces in a garden feel kind of challenging, but they also provide an excellent opportunity to add interest in the garden with distinct, outdoor entertaining zones, and an opportunity for views from different angles."

These potted Dragon trees (Dracaena draco) "make a stunning statement and are easy to care for and ultra drought-tolerant," she says. "Add solar lights inside their containers to give them an evening up-glow." Jessica brought in faceted side tables in a shade of blue that picks up other colors in the yard.

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After: Landscaping Around a Yoga Studio

Groundcovers were planted around the yoga studio on the upper level, says Isa, to make the water-wise garden feel lush and inviting. "Silver Carpet (Dymondia magaretae) fills the gaps in this stone path to an outdoor shower. The silver of the stiff succulent Chalk Sticks (Senecio mandraliscae) groundcover plants balance the soft purple catmint groundcover (Nepeta)." A raised-bed vegetable garden is nearby, adds Jessica, filled with lettuces, kale and herbs. "Vegetable gardening and raised beds continue to be on trend as we all think more about where our food comes from and make choices to lighten our footprint on the earth," says Isa.

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Blue Chalk Sticks

Catmint Nepeta

After: A Complete Outdoor Living Environment

The home's interior and exterior designs represent "quintessential Southern California indoor/outdoor living," says Jessica, and a half bath accessible from the pool allows the family and guests "to truly live outdoors." The bath uses a shade of blue that reappears in flowering plants and accent pieces like the faceted side tables.

After: Decorating the Bath

The half bath isn't just convenient for the family and their guests. It also helps keep the kids from getting water all over the house. Jessica used a Rebecca Atwood wallpaper on the ceiling, walls and window shade that "almost feels like you're underwater," she says.