The owners of this Chico ranch home wanted to create a functional outdoor living space in their large back yard. The particular challenge was that the backyard faces south and becomes too hot to use in the summer.

The solution to creating a highly functional outdoor living space was twofold. First, their existing back porch was enlarged and a lower concrete patio was added. This design created two functional spaces that separated cooking and entertaining activities.

Second, to address the porch overheating from the summer sun, the enlarged porch and patio were covered with a pergola. I designed a removable shade cloth that will keep the porch cool and can be removed to allow the porch to receive sunlight in the winter. The pergola can also support a deciduous vine to provide additional shading in the summer.

Design and 3D renderings by Hyland Fisher, 2012.