Kensington Front Courtyard | San Diego, CA

What was once a pleasant enough front yard covered with lawn, roses and a narrow path to the front door has now been transformed into a popular entertainment space for the owners and their friends and neighbors. See more examples of WSLA residential work by visiting the featured project galleries below.

The space was designed to provide a choice of entertaining in the rear yard or the front yard. A serpentine wall and water feature create a sense of privacy yet window openings in the wall and a lower wall at the 3’ high gate allow people walking by to say, “Hello”. This has created more opportunity to know their neighbors. The fire pit is injected into the water feature creating an interesting juxtaposition between water and fire and with specially designed lighting, the dancing water and shadows on walls and ground plane bring a new, fun atmosphere to the party.

The landing at the front door was greatly expanded and now is another gathering space with steps to double function as seating while creating a more comfortable approach to the front door.

The planting design softens the formal hardscape of walls and paving with colorful drought tolerant shrubs and groundcover while a variety of succulents of differing color and textures fill pots acting as the jewelry of the garden.

While we are pleased with this project, it would never have happened if our clients had not been open to new ideas. The process was fun and very much a collaborative experience.