Hardscapes
Driveways, patios, outdoor kitchens, fire features, masonry and carpentry are usually six separate bids from six separate contractors. We design and build all of them as one hardscape, with the same in-house crews responsible for how the pieces meet.
Start here
The right approach follows how you want to use the space. Pick what you're actually after below, and the materials and layout mostly follow from it. Every project shown was built here in Southern California, so the choices are suited to this climate.
01 Driveways & Entryways Paving stones that handle arrival, drainage and daily use, and connect the street to your front door. Explore driveways 
02 Patios & Pool Decks The surface under everything else you do outside: dining, lounging, and the deck around a pool. Explore patios 
03 Outdoor Kitchens A grill, counter and storage built into the patio, so cooking outside stops being a special occasion. Explore outdoor kitchens 
04 Fire Features Fire pits, bowls and fireplaces that anchor seating and keep the yard in use after the sun goes down. Explore fire features 
05 Masonry Steps, seating walls and retaining walls built for Southern California hillsides and slopes. Explore masonry 
06 Carpentry Pergolas, gazebos, gates and fences that shape how a yard is used, built to match your home. Explore carpentry 
Best for Driveways, patios and walkways where you want durability and color that does not fade.
On your property Works on any slope. A sand base and proper drainage let pavers move with the ground instead of cracking.
Best for Modern homes and anyone who wants a patio or pool deck that reads as an extension of the house.
On your property Needs a stable, well-prepared base. Heavier to work with than pavers on a slope or a complex grade.
Best for Traditional, Mediterranean and rustic properties where the material itself is meant to show.
On your property Natural stone needs a mason who can lay irregular pieces so the joints stay tight. DG needs edging and periodic top-dressing.
Before: the yard as we found it Somebody comes out and measures. Grade, boundaries, setbacks, utilities and drainage all get plotted before anything gets drawn, since on a hardscape job that survey decides where excavation, footings and paving can actually go.
Base plan Paving, structures, walls and planting get drawn together on one sheet at one scale. This is where six separate trades either resolve into one yard or stay six separate projects.
Materials Paving, coping, wood species and finishes get picked against samples. Retaining, footings and utility runs get engineered at this stage, not discovered mid-build.
3D rendering Permits go through our own in-house permitting department. Then excavation, footings, framing, paving and finish work, with a supervisor on site and a trained crew for each trade.
Finished Planting, lighting and hardware go in last, then a walkthrough on how everything works. What you see in the drawings is what gets built.
Things worth knowing before a first consultation.
Most projects use two or three of the six categories above, not all of them. Working out which ones is part of the first conversation, not something you need to know before it.
Paving stones, porcelain, natural stone and concrete can all be mixed, but a driveway, a patio and a set of steps read as one property only when the palette is decided together.
On a slope, the retaining and drainage decisions get made before the patio or driveway on top of them, not after.
Gas, water and electrical for a kitchen or fire feature have to be run and pressure-tested before any surface goes down on top of them.
A pergola or gazebo changes how much sun a patio gets, which changes what furniture, turf or planting actually works underneath it.
Masonry, carpentry and paving have to happen in the right order. Building them out of sequence means one trade cutting into another trade’s finished work.
No quote written off a photograph can account for what your property is like.
Decking, drainage, utilities, planting, shade and lighting all bear on where a feature goes and how it gets built. Settling them on one set of drawings is what keeps conduit out of the wrong trench and stops paving being cut to fit afterward.
Access, engineering, permits, finishes and scope vary a lot from one property to the next, so the investment and the schedule for your project are set once we have seen the site and the design is settled.
Tell us about the property and what you want the space to do. We will walk through the design, site and permitting factors likely to shape it.
They replaced my old driveway and a side patio. That was 6 years ago and the work still looks new. They came in and did the job in a couple days less than they predicted. Clean up was done perfectly.
Our backyard transformation into a tiki oasis by Pacific Outdoor Living was nothing short of extraordinary! Julian Montford's design expertise and Trent Morrill's impeccable coordination made this project an absolute pleasure from start to finish. The 500 square foot pavilion and tiki hut added an enchanting touch, while the refurbished built-in pool became the centerpiece of our newfound paradise.
We had our backyard remodeled, which included pool installation, pergola build, and driveway paving. Our designer Julian was able to create the backyard that we envisioned and our project manager Trent made sure the whole process was smooth & efficient. They finished the project within budget and even ahead of schedule.
No. We design and build driveways, patios, outdoor kitchens, fire features, masonry and carpentry with our own in-house crews, so one team is responsible for how those pieces meet.
Yes. Hardscape, landscape design and irrigation are typically designed together from the start, since grading and drainage decisions affect both.
Yes. We have our own in-house permitting department and typically pull the permits a job needs, including structural work like retaining walls and fireplaces.
Which categories are in scope, the square footage of paving and linear footage of walls or fencing, the material tier you choose, and how much structural work (retaining, footings, utility runs) the site needs. Our minimum for projects is usually $7,500.
Usually, yes. Matching an existing paver, stone or wood finish is something we work through during design, once we know what is currently installed.
We serve Los Angeles and the surrounding areas, including Pasadena, Glendale, Burbank, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Calabasas, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica and Woodland Hills, along with the Central Coast. The full service area is listed on our locations page.
Schedule a consultation with one of our designers to discuss your project goals and explore what's possible on your property.
What happens next: we set up a visit, measure the property and talk through what you want the space to do. Then you get a design to look at before you commit to anything.
