Patio ‘Refresh’, Alameda, CA, October, 2019

“Paleo Living”: the rugged past in the functional present, with contrasting colors, forms, and materials

This project set out to make more use of the outdoor living space at a two-story Victorian in Alameda. The owner had already put money into remodeling the house, and out back sat a storage shed on a gorgeous reclaimed brick patio. Unfortunately, years of shade had let moss grow over the brick.

Uncovering what was already there

We used bleach and a pressure washer to strip off the moss and expose the brickwork underneath. Reclaimed brick has a warmth and history that new pavers can’t match, and it was there the whole time, just hidden. Sometimes the best improvement is finding what you already have.

The patio was still missing some touches: grass, for starters, and plants. The owner’s barbecue grill also needed some TLC.

Borrowing from nature

Almost everything we’re drawn to has some parallel or equivalent in nature. Frank Lloyd Wright built a whole philosophy of architecture on that idea, that a building should grow out of its setting rather than sit on top of it. It’s why this palette works: green grass and tree canopy, terracotta brick, natural wood. Those colors feel right together because we’ve seen them together outdoors all our lives.

So the refresh leaned into it. The owner settled on a repurposed fire pit and semi-circular benches around it, adding warmth and usability to the hardscape. Curves soften a space built on straight lines, and a circle of seats around a fire is about as old a gathering place as there is. That’s the “paleo” in paleo living.

When the grass came in, it was a night-and-day difference.

A few deliberate contrasts

Not everything had to be natural. The grill was refinished in black rather than its original gray. You could argue black isn’t a color from nature, but it grounds the space and makes the brick and greenery read warmer beside it. A reed screen went up for privacy, a natural material doing a modern job.

And finally, Edison lights. Their warm, amber color temperature is closer to firelight than to daylight, and after dark it pulls the whole space together.

The result

The overall feel is inviting, and it’s a much better use of the space than what was there before. A shed on a mossy patio became a place to actually spend an evening.

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