GARDEN VIEW TERRACE

Bellevue, WA

In this West-facing terrace, SZ widened the original space to create a more gracious outdoor living room.  From here this family can entertain, dine, play and watch their children in the pool, or in the garden below -  all while taking in the beauty of the water and carefully landscaped garden.

The floors were clad with a light, neutral porcelain tile with a slight texture.  SZ designed a long bench of darkened steel, which houses brown velvet cushions that can be stored in an concealed compartment.  Two cubic corners of cast concrete at each end match the dark brown hue of the metal.  This long bench, which runs the perimeter of the terrace, is secured by a wooden ledge of varying depth - the perfect drink ledge.  Conceived of with the planter below, together both elements form a perfect rectangle.

Spanning the length of the terrace, a slightly lowered wooden soffit pulls the design together.  The lighting is housed on a sliding track to afford different settings.  The fixtures, selected from Seattle-based Resolute Lighting, are the poetic Bloom & the Precious rigid stem pendants.

The large scale of the Bloom fixture beautifully and organically adds to the terrace experience.  The golden glow emanating from this flower-like pendant - made of 12 leaves of fabric enclosed in a resin - is seen through the treas on the boat dock below.  The soffit also houses infrared heat panels, so the entire family can enjoy their outdoor terrace, even on a chilly evening, s they sip a drink and seep in the sunset.