Complete Backyard Transformation
Your Whole Backyard, Designed as One Space
Most yards get built in pieces. A patio one year, a pool three years later, planting whenever there is budget left over. A complete transformation plans the entire property at once, so the pool, the paving, the shade, the planting and the lighting are drawn to work together before anything is built.
- 25+ years of experience
- 10,000+ projects completed
- In-house design-build crews
- LIC #715731 licensed & insured
Why do it as one project
A yard built in pieces is a yard that never quite fits together
There is nothing wrong with doing one thing at a time. The problem is that the expensive parts of a yard, the grading, the drainage and everything buried under the paving, get decided by whichever project happens to go first.
Built in pieces
- Each trade prices only its own scope, so nobody owns the parts in between
- Grading and drainage get solved once for the patio, then again for the pool
- Materials chosen years apart rarely sit right next to each other
- Conduit and gas get trenched, buried, then dug back up for the next phase
- The property is an on-and-off construction site for years
Planned as one project
- One survey, one set of finished levels, one drainage strategy for the property
- The material palette is selected as a set, in one sitting
- Conduit, gas, water and drains go in once, in order, under the hardscape
- Trades sequence behind one schedule instead of negotiating with each other
- You see the finished space in 3D before construction starts
Step 01
Decide what the yard is made of
An outdoor space is assembled from nine things. Most projects use five or six of them. What matters is deciding which ones before the ground opens, because each one leaves something buried behind it.
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Landscape & Planting
Planting plans, privacy screening, trees, lawn or turf, irrigation and drainage.
Plan for it early Planting goes in last and gets judged first. Soil preparation and irrigation zoning are decided early, because neither can be added once the hardscape is down.
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Pool & Spa
Custom pools, spas, sun shelves, coping and waterline tile, or a remodel of the pool already there.
Plan for it early The pool sets the finished level for everything around it. Excavation access, equipment location and deck grade all get resolved before the shell is dug.
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Patios & Hardscape
Paver patios, natural stone, walkways, steps and retaining walls that connect the property.
Plan for it early Paving is the floor of the whole yard. Its slope carries the drainage, and its base is where the conduit for lighting and gas is buried.
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Shade & Structures
Pergolas, patio covers, cabanas and shade structures sized to the space they cover.
Plan for it early Shade decides whether the yard is usable in July. Footings are poured with the hardscape, so the structure has to be located before the paving is set.
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Outdoor Kitchen & Dining
Grill islands, counters, bars and dining areas built around how the household actually entertains.
Plan for it early A kitchen needs gas, water, power and drainage arriving at one spot. Rough those in during hardscape and the counter can sit wherever the plan wants it.
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Fire Features
Fire pits, fire tables and outdoor fireplaces that anchor a seating area and extend the evening.
Plan for it early Gas line, clearances and seating radius are set at plan stage. Adding a fire pit to a finished patio means cutting the patio open again.
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Landscape Lighting
Path, step, tree and architectural lighting that keeps the space usable after sunset.
Plan for it early Conduit is inexpensive in an open trench and expensive under finished paving. Lighting is designed at plan stage even though it is installed near the end.
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Water Features
Fountains, ponds, waterfalls and pondless features that bring sound and movement into the garden.
Plan for it early Moving water needs a pump, power, a water source and somewhere for overflow to go. All four are plan decisions, not finishing touches.
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Driveway & Entry
Paver driveways, entry walks, walls and front-yard planting that change how the property reads from the street.
Plan for it early The front sets the tone before anyone reaches the back. It is also the route heavy equipment takes, which is why it is usually built last.
Step 02
Decide how it should look
Style is not decoration applied at the end. It decides the paving, the plant palette, the shape of the structures and how formal the planting reads, which is why it gets settled before materials do.
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Mediterranean Warm plaster, terra cotta and tile, with shade and water doing the cooling.
See the style
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English Garden Brick, clipped structure and deep borders that change through the year.
See the style
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Traditional Symmetry, classic materials and planting that suits an established home.
See the style
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Modern Clean lines, large-format paving and planting used as architecture.
See the style
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Drought-Tolerant Low-water planting and gravel ground planes that still read as full.
See the style
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Japanese Zen Restraint, stone, water and a small number of plants placed deliberately.
See the style
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Small Spaces Compact yards and side returns where every square foot has to earn its place.
See the style
Not sure which one is yours?
A short set of questions about how you want to use the space, and what you want it to feel like.
Step 03
Decide what it is built from
Materials get selected as a set at the conceptual meeting, not one at a time as each phase comes up. That is the difference between a yard that reads as one place and a yard that reads as four projects.
Paving and decking
The largest surface in the yard, and the one that carries the drainage.
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Travertine Honed or tumbled natural stone that stays cooler underfoot than most paving. -
Large-Format Pavers Fewer joints and a calmer surface, which makes a compact yard read larger. -
Interlocking Pavers Individual stones that lift and reset, so a repair is never a full replacement. -
Flagstone Irregular natural stone with planted or mortared joints, informal by nature. -
Poured Concrete Clean slabs, often with turf or gravel joints to break up the mass. -
Brick Small unit paving that suits older architecture and reads warm rather than modern.
Walls, steps and stone
What holds the grade and moves you between levels.
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Natural Stone Veneer and dry-stack walls, the most forgiving material on an uneven grade. -
Slate A darker, tighter stone often used for treads and coping details. -
Cobblestone Banding and edging that ties separate paved areas together. -
Garden Walls Raised planters and seat walls that add seating without adding furniture.
Ground and planting
The part that changes most between a wet winter and a dry September.
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Decomposed Granite A warm, permeable surface for paths and courtyards that needs no irrigation. -
Gravel A looser ground treatment for edges, side yards and under mature trees. -
Artificial Turf Green year-round with no irrigation, and it takes traffic a lawn will not. -
Lawn Still the right answer where children and dogs are the main users of the yard. -
Succulents Structure and color at almost no water cost, and they hold their form.
Structures, water and detail
The smaller choices that decide whether a yard looks designed or assembled.
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Wood Pergolas, cabanas and screens, usually the warmest material in a modern yard. -
Rustic Timber Heavier, weathered sections for a garden that should look long established. -
Iron Gates, rails and hardware, where one handcrafted detail carries the character. -
Tile Risers, fountains and accent walls, color and craft at a small scale. -
Wall Fountains Moving water and sound without adding a body of water to maintain. -
Plunge Pools & Spas Where a full pool will not fit, or will not get used enough to earn the space.
How the decisions get made
The order everything happens in
The three decisions above do not get made in a vacuum. They happen inside a five-step process that exists so a project this size still lands on schedule and on budget.
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01
Site Analysis
We measure the property before we design anything.
The team documents existing conditions with a Leica LiDAR scanner alongside field measurements, capturing elevations, drainage, access, utilities and structures.
Why it matters Real survey data is what prevents redesigns, drainage mistakes and grading surprises later.
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02
Designer Meeting
We shape the plan around how you want to live outside.
Your designer works from the site analysis to lay out the whole property, and the budget conversation happens here rather than at the end.
Why it matters Talking budget early prevents designing a yard that looks good and cannot be built.
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03
Conceptual Design
Layout, materials and features get specific.
Paving, planting, structures and the major features are reviewed together, which is the meeting where the material palette is actually chosen.
Why it matters Decisions made here are what keep late material changes and redesigns out of the build.
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04
3D Renderings
You see the finished space before committing to it.
Lifelike renderings let you walk the yard before a shovel goes in the ground, at the point where changes still cost nothing.
Why it matters It is far less expensive to move something on screen than after it has been poured.
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05
Construction
One team builds from one plan.
The designer, job coordinator and in-house crews start aligned on scope, materials and schedule, and the trades run in the order the plan sets.
Why it matters A clear build plan is what removes the confusion, rework and delay that comes from coordinating strangers.
What "designed together" actually means
One drawing, then one build
The pool, the cabana, the kitchen, the fire table and the planting on this property were drawn on the same sheet before any of them were built. That is the whole argument for doing it this way, in one picture.
Real properties
Three yards that started where yours is
Drag each image to see the property as we found it. Photographed before construction began and again after the final walkthrough.
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Before After
Worn lawn, gone through to dirt
Entertainer's Cabana
Simi Valley
A worn lawn gone through to dirt, rebuilt as a timber cabana with a full kitchen and bar, a pool and raised spa with sheer descents, and a fire table on turf-jointed concrete.
View this project -
Before After
A slope with a view and nowhere to sit
Hillside Cascade
Studio City
A slope above the valley turned into a three-tiered granite waterfall, bluestone flagstone with planted joints, timber steps and a dry river bed running down through the garden.
View this project -
Before After
A good pool, and dated everything else
Rose Garden Estate
Altadena
A Spanish Colonial estate kept its pool, spa and court. Everything between them became a rose garden, with a new paver driveway, re-decked terraces and a stucco fireplace.
View this project
Investment and schedule
What actually drives the number
A complete transformation is priced off the property, not off a menu. These are the things that move it, and the honest answer if the whole yard is not in this year's budget.
What shapes the investment
- How much of the property is in scope, and how much of it stays
- Excavation, grading and retaining, which slope drives more than size does
- Pool or spa scope, and whether existing structures are kept or replaced
- Material selections across paving, walls, structures and planting
- Permitting and any engineering the site or the city requires
What shapes the schedule
- Design and material selection, which moves at the pace decisions get made
- Permit review, which varies considerably between cities
- Site access for equipment, and how material gets in and spoil gets out
- Complex grading, retaining or drainage work
- Sequencing between trades, and weather through the wet months
If the whole yard is not in this year
- Design the entire property once, then build it in phases
- Trenching for gas, water, conduit and drains all happens in phase one
- Finished levels are set for the whole yard, so phase two still lines up
- The material palette is locked, so year three still matches year one
- You are never paying twice to open the same ground
From homeowners who did the whole yard
What it was like on the other side
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We hired Pacific Outdoor Living in October 2020, after living in the house for about 30 years. They did a complete backyard renovation converting a relatively unusable sloped backyard with a very small patio into a 2 tiered outdoor entertaining showpiece with room to host and entertain 20+ people.
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The yard had flooding, an aging pool finish, old irrigation, and an unusable layout, a list of problems we felt overwhelmed by. Pacific Outdoor Living helped turn those problems into a complete new design that transformed our space. The new layout is beautiful, functional, and finally usable year-round.
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After redoing the backyard, Pacific Outdoor Living also handled the driveway, walkway, and outdoor kitchen, creating a home made for hosting. Each project coordinated seamlessly with the others, and the vision came together beautifully.
Questions we get asked first
Before you book anything
How much does a complete backyard transformation cost?
Cost depends entirely on scope: how much of the property is in scope, how much grading and retaining the site needs, whether a pool is part of it, and the materials selected. A Site Analysis and design plan are the fastest way to get a real number for your property rather than a range that means nothing.
How long does the whole thing take?
Design generally runs a few weeks depending on how many revisions it goes through. Construction varies with scope, from a few weeks on a smaller yard to several months on a full property with a pool, structures and significant grading. Permit review time varies between cities and is the least predictable part.
Do we have to do everything at once?
No, and plenty of clients do not. The recommendation is to design the whole property once and build it in phases, so the trenching, the finished levels and the material palette are all decided once. Phasing the build costs more than doing it together, but far less than designing it twice.
Do you handle the permits?
Yes. We have an in-house permitting department that typically pulls the permits a project needs, and it maps what the city and the site require during design rather than after the plans are drawn.
Can you keep the pool or hardscape we already have?
Often, yes. Several projects in our portfolio kept an existing pool shell and rebuilt around it with new tile, coping, decking and planting. The Site Analysis is where we work out what is worth keeping and what is at the end of its life.
Do you use subcontractors?
The work is carried by our own in-house design and construction crews rather than handed to outside subcontractors, which is what makes one schedule and one point of accountability possible across a project this size.
The first step
Start with the Site Analysis
Before anything is designed, we measure the property: elevations, drainage, access, utilities and what is already there worth keeping. Every decision on this page gets easier once that exists.
Your shortlist
Mention these when you get in touch and we will plan the consultation around them.
Pacific Outdoor Living
Complete Backyard Plan
The elements I want in the project The elements to consider, ticked by hand
- 01. Landscape & Planting Planting goes in last and gets judged first. Soil preparation and irrigation zoning are decided early, because neither can be added once the hardscape is down.
- 02. Pool & Spa The pool sets the finished level for everything around it. Excavation access, equipment location and deck grade all get resolved before the shell is dug.
- 03. Patios & Hardscape Paving is the floor of the whole yard. Its slope carries the drainage, and its base is where the conduit for lighting and gas is buried.
- 04. Shade & Structures Shade decides whether the yard is usable in July. Footings are poured with the hardscape, so the structure has to be located before the paving is set.
- 05. Outdoor Kitchen & Dining A kitchen needs gas, water, power and drainage arriving at one spot. Rough those in during hardscape and the counter can sit wherever the plan wants it.
- 06. Fire Features Gas line, clearances and seating radius are set at plan stage. Adding a fire pit to a finished patio means cutting the patio open again.
- 07. Landscape Lighting Conduit is inexpensive in an open trench and expensive under finished paving. Lighting is designed at plan stage even though it is installed near the end.
- 08. Water Features Moving water needs a pump, power, a water source and somewhere for overflow to go. All four are plan decisions, not finishing touches.
- 09. Driveway & Entry The front sets the tone before anyone reaches the back. It is also the route heavy equipment takes, which is why it is usually built last.