3 Interior Designers Transform The Same Backyard

[upbeat music]

[Narrator] These three interior designers

have been given a photograph of an empty backyard.

They have free reign to design it in any way they please.

My name is Sasha Bikoff,

and my design style is worldly, fun and glamorous.

My name is Becky Carter,

and my work is novoretro, and highly textural.

My name is Courtney McLeod,

and my design style is kaleidoscopic,

playful and confident.

[Narrator] No clients, no restrictions, just blank space.

Looking at the original space,

I am seeing a horror.

Okay, no, I'm not kidding.

It looks like a bit of a handyman special,

in terms of the construction

of very simplistic railing and stairs.

I think it needs personality more than anything.

[gentle music]

I want to give this house a real seventies,

modernist, European flare to it,

because I want to go

for this very clean and crisp, modernist look.

I'm going to go with a white stucco facade.

This feels like it might be a New York based,

maybe it's a West Village brownstone,

but I think we have a little bit

of a classic architecture here,

that we might be able to work with.

That's why I decided to go

with doing a glazed brick cladding

on the entire backside of the house.

We're going with this really beautiful tonal color,

sort of calls in the natural colors

from the surrounding gardens.

I would love to do an off-white stucco,

with a little bit of a modern Italian style

to create a bit of a neutral background

for the fun that I'm hoping to do in this space.

[gentle upbeat music]

When I'm looking at the windows

and the doors on this house,

there seems to be no consistency anywhere here.

So, I am going to completely overhaul

all of the windows and doors,

and I'm going to create a system that is bifolding.

So these doors are going to be in panels.

They'll sort of fold into one another.

So it's a combination of a teak wood frame,

with very subtle little, bronze trim on it,

and that's going to capture the glass in this oval shape.

And the shape of the doors

was inspired by brutalist architecture.

The first thing that I want to do is

to bring a bit of order to this chaos,

and I also want to really open up the house.

So I enlarged all of the original windows,

and I love the idea of putting in steel framed windows,

but instead of black, why not go for a really bold color?

And so one of my favorite colors is taxi cab yellow.

It's really important for me

to create a light filled space from the inside,

and also to have this

like, indoor, outdoor entertaining feeling.

So, what I'm going to do

is actually blast out all these windows and doors,

and create sliding doors through a pocket.

The doors that I'm going to go for are going to be bronze,

and they're going to disappear within this stucco facade,

because I want to keep everything really modernist

and crisp.

[gentle upbeat music]

So the original design has a large stair

and a deck that goes the full width of the house.

What I would like to do

is remove a bit of that second floor deck.

I also want to do a similar thing

that I did with the windows.

Here, it's a really bold, Barbie, bubblegum,

bright hot pink, and I really love yellow and pink together,

I think you can't help but smile.

I am going to run the deck

across the entire span of the back of the house,

and the deck flooring,

is going to be made out of this amazing material,

that is solid glass brick.

These are not like those hollow shower glass blocks

of yester yore,

and that's going to let the light cascade down,

and it's going to help to bring so much more brightness

and airiness to the underside of the balcony.

I would love to commission a custom piece

that would really camouflage the post,

and create an outdoor sculpture for the space.

I really love to take things

that are required and functional and necessary,

and turning them into something

really playful and provocative.

I'm actually going to blast out this railing,

and I'm going to create a full stucco railing.

So I'm going to really box out the space.

I think the boxing out of the railing is going to add a lot

to the architecture of the space,

because it's going to

make it feel really strong and very clean.

The deck flooring I'm going to use is by Claytile.

We have this kind of like terracotta, marbleized pattern,

and then we have this simple, more cream colored,

and this is going to really blend in really well

with our stucco.

I'm going to clad the ceilings of the deck

in a bamboo ceiling detail.

[gentle upbeat music]

In the original space,

I really don't like how much real estate the stair takes up,

so I think it's okay

for us to turn it into a spiral stair,

that will free up a lot of much needed real estate,

and it will add something curvaceous

and sculptural to the space.

I love spiral stairs,

and because the spiral staircase

is such an architectural feature,

I wanted that to really stand out.

And that's why we have a very simple railing,

which is just the stucco,

and the spiral staircase,

kind of just moves into that simple stucco railing.

I decided to take away the exterior staircase altogether,

and put the interior staircase very close

to our balcony system and our doors.

And that way, you still have the same functionality.

The staircase is the same distance away,

but you get to reclaim that space in your backyard,

and that's going to be your main thoroughfare

for getting up onto the top balcony,

or coming back down to the garden.

[gentle music]

For these dividing walls,

I really wanted them to blend in perfectly

with the architecture.

We're not trying to get fancy here.

Our main focus is that staircase.

I'm thinking that it may be kind of fun

and playful to actually have two different materials

on either side,

so we're throwing convention out the window,

and we are going to be doing one side

that is the same as the back of the building.

It's our glazed brick.

The other side is a teak,

and so it's going to be the same as our decking material.

It sort of wraps up the side,

and, kind of gives this really nice,

sweeping feeling to the wood through the space.

I would love to have the fence tie in a bit more

to the materiality of the home itself.

And so, also I would like to add in a bit more privacy

as well. So I'm introducing fencing

that will be in a similar stucco material.

[gentle upbeat music]

So when I think about the coolest backyard spaces,

the two things that come to mind is a sculpture garden.

And the other cool thing

that you can do with the backyard is

have some water to swim in.

So, I am going with a really spectacular tile lining,

that is my own custom design.

This tile would be lining the pool.

It would also be lining the sides,

so that when you look down into that water,

you're just going to see this kind

of moving undulation of this floral pattern,

working its magic under the water.

So the original picture showed a full grass backyard.

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan

of a little patch of grass like that,

and I really love the idea of bringing in terrazzo.

And terrazzo is basically marble pieces, stone pieces,

that have been randomly chopped up

and they are placed into a composite material.

And using very large three foot by three foot pavers

really helps to create a sense

of expansiveness to the floor.

Another really important element

that I had to have here was a water feature.

I love a water feature,

it brings a sense of zen and calm.

So, I decided to add in a reflection pool.

So I'm going to take these tiles that I use on the patio,

and I'm going to use them in the reflection pool as well.

So I'm going to be putting these kind of pedestals

throughout the pool

that sort of peppered through the water,

and they're going to behave as both pedestals for the art.

And they'll also, kind of, behave as a little lily pad

to be able to traverse this pool.

I want something that just, [laughing]

feels a little, like, it has movement,

like, it has personality,

like it's, hmm, that's a little weird.

So I know that I want to bring in a water feature.

So I would like to introduce a freeform fountain.

I am planning to use a really bright orange on the outside,

and then I want to really

make the water in the fountain feel very blue.

And so, I'm going to use a wonderful blue tile

to line the inside of the fountain.

The fountain is inspired

by a sixties French artist, Gilbert Portanier.

It's a wall made out of tiles with sculptural buckets

and troughs that allow water to cascade naturally,

kind of pouring from one bucket and cup to the next.

[gentle upbeat music]

For my furniture, I'm going to go French provincial,

reclaimed wood dining table.

I want to add in some warmth

with all these like hard surfaces.

And, I'm going to go

for some vintage Charlotte Perriand rush dining chairs

Up on the deck,

I'd like to include a really lovely big dining set.

And what I'm giving them is a set by Paolo Castelli

and I'm giving a very simple cream outdoor fabric

from Elitist on those chairs.

I'm keeping it cream

because we already have a lot of colors.

We've got a lot of art.

I want this to be really neutral.

I also imagine that they might not have kids here.

For me, any outdoor space isn't complete

without a wonderful dining area.

And the table that I am using is a glass table

but it isn't just plain.

It's actually a bit of an iridescent ombre finish to it.

So these couches are Paolo Lenti,

one of my favorite Italian designers.

They're contemporary.

I wanted it to feel really low, really modular.

So you're kind of like almost

at the same level as the reflection pool.

So for the loungers by the pool, I'm going

with something that's a very simple, monolithic form.

I've designed these to feel like one singular cushion

but the design is meant to engage

with the steps of my stadium style decking.

And that means that you can kind of move them

up or down or rung depending

on where the shadow is during the time of day.

An amazing designer called Chris Wolston does a series

of amazing fantastical furniture in rattan

and they're basically people chairs.

I have put in a Jean-Marie Fiori chair and table.

And so the chair itself has this very,

very sweet kind of lion face with little lion paw feet.

And then our table is a cast bronze table that has a monkey

at the very bottom

and its tail is holding onto the table itself.

In between our amazing chairs, I'm going to bring

in a table that compliments the dining table

towards the rear of the space.

And it is really an iridescent glass.

And so you've got this really subtle hint

of color as the sun hits it.

I really would love to bring

in a little bit more whimsy into the space.

And I found an inexpensive vintage metal settee.

[soft music]

I chose a bunch of different staggered shaped lights

that are also by Paolo Lenti.

And I just like this idea of having this like long table

and being able to play with the different shapes

and different heights of these lights.

I've decided to go ahead and put in Nader Gammas sconces.

And Nader Gammas is an artist who's working

with this kind of bronze boxy quality.

You're going to see those above the deck.

They're going to be up on the upper level.

And then we also have the sconces

on either side of our fountain.

During the daytime, they'll still look like sculpture.

They don't look like lighting that isn't being used

At the back of the house.

I think it would be a great idea to incorporate a bit

of light to highlight our new wonderful back facade.

I'm using a couple of fixtures

from the Bubbly Collection from Rosie Lee.

I thought her iridescent bubbly fixture felt so right

with the rest of the space

and it adds to our whole down the rabbit hole vibe.

[gentle music]

I think that the best way to dress up these fences

is definitely through adding some natural life.

So I decided to do a trellis of white roses.

Not only will this be really fragrant

but it's also just really pretty

and it adds this element of femininity.

It adds a softness.

I'm going to be leaning towards some grasses

and natural flowers. And when I think about the heights,

I'd love for them to be sort of warm

and soften the edges of the space.

So they're going to have a lot of movement

and a lot of volume.

I have incorporated some spectacular color and pattern.

I think it's a bit unexpected to have such a bold mural

in an outdoor space, but why not?

And within that, I decided to incorporate topiaries

and it feels just a perfect counterpoint

to the sort of craziness within the space.

The sculptures that I've chosen are a number of sculptures

by an artist named John Koga and another artist

named Abigail Ozora Simpson.

I'm picking out some of these sculptures

to kind of feel like they are maybe your little pet.

Maybe instead of having a dog running around

in the backyard, you have your John Koga sculpture.

In my backyard, it's always spring,

so of course I had to incorporate a bit of hanging vines.

And then also we

have a wonderful blooming cherry blossom tree

in the neighbor's yard.

I encouraged them to do that

so that it would fit with my scheme.

[soft music]

This feels New York to me.

It feels cosmopolitan. It feels super chic.

But at the same time

there is an homage to European Mediterranean architecture.

My backyard, I feel like it could be like kind

of the 4th of July every day.

You can hang out there all day.

It's just about lounging.

It's about really relaxing.

This is my backyard in my dreams,

and I just, I love how fun and happy it is.

And it's okay to be joyful in design.

[upbeat music]

Whoa Whoa.

Wow. Yeah.

Wow.

We got some different things in here.

Fascinating. Totally.

Yours is so serene. So serene.

[Courtney] Yeah.

Thank you.

[Courtney] So chic.

I feel like I would want to decompress here

after a spa day.

Yeah.

And like sit outside drinking lemon and cucumber water

in my bathrobe.

Yeah.

And be like in a full state of zen.

I'm definitely getting some Amalfi vibes.

[Courtney] Amalfi like, yeah, definitely.

What is this like art piece like?

[Becky] Yeah.

My thought was the two best things you can do

in a garden is have a pool and/or have a sculpture garden.

[Courtney] Yeah,

I love how you did the arch doors.

[Becky] Yeah. I was inspired

by Italian modernist, post brutalist style.

[Sasha] Yeah. You have like a Royèr kind of inspired.

Oh yeah, the railing.

Yeah, very Royèr inspired, for sure.

Oh wow, Courtney.

I wanted a little bit

of like a playful, Willy Wonka, but elegant.

Yeah.

Kind of vibe.

And it's really, you know, a girly fantasy.

[Becky] I love the staircase.

I love how you did that pop of pink.

[Courtney] I feel like this

could just be a hotel courtyard in Miami.

[Becky] Yes. It's very hotel.

[Sasha] Yeah. I see Like Chris Wolston chairs.

Yeah, I love, I always love those chairs.

I'm obsessed.

Right? Absolutely obsessed.

[Becky] They're three different feelings,

but I feel like I could,

like these are three times of the day or something.

Yeah. Yeah.

[Becky] Yeah. Like I like start here

for like afternoon cocktails

then go to the spa, hang out at the spa.

And then once I've kind of recovered

and recuperated it's party time.

Party time.

[laughing]

I love it. Exactly.

I love it.

[upbeat music]