Before & After: Front yard privacy - Brief Article

* Problem. The house lacked privacy because only a small lawn separated it from the street.

Solution. The owners built a walled patio as a buffer zone, adding a new entry beside the driveway.

Homeowner Charlotte Kaspar explains: "Our master bedroom is at the front of our house, facing the street. I was lying there one afternoon when someone threw a rock through the window. That did it. The front of the house was just too open. And we were tired of cutting the grass." So the Kaspars hired landscape architect Chuck Rathfon to create a protected outdoor room that would function as their new front entry.

To avoid a fortress look, Rathfon designed a border that's part wall--surrounding the new door beside me driveway--part stairstepping planter, and part fence, creating an edited view of the street. The focus of the patio is a handsome outdoor fireplace. Now lawn-mowing is but a dull memory as the Kaspars relax in their private space.

DESIGN: Landscape architect Charles Rathfon, San Juan Capistrano, CA

COPYRIGHT 2000 Sunset Publishing Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group