The Owner of an L.A. Neutra Doubles Its Living Space by Looking in the Unused Backyard
Patrick Thomas O’Neill has always been a fan of Richard Neutra. In the early 2000s, the creative director commissioned a home in Woodstock, New York, based on the architect’s Kaufmann House in Palm Springs. The 1946 complex with flat roofs and floor-to-ceiling windows famously hosted parties through the ’60s and ’70s—it was vividly captured by Slim Aarons in his iconic photograph Poolside Gossip—with the Southern California desert as set and setting. "I love the idea of bringing the outdoors in and being surrounded by nature all the time," says Patrick.
When creative director Patrick O’Neill bought Hailey House, a Richard Neutra home built in the Holly-wood Hills in 1959, the steeply sloping backyard was "untamed and nondescript," says the native Angeleno. With the help of landscape architect John Sharp, he transformed it into a terraced outdoor living and entertaining space comprising five distinct "rooms," including the firepit area. Patrick and his dog, Burt, stand on the home’s balcony, which overlooks the yard.
When he began looking for a new home in his native Los Angeles in late 2012, it only made sense to find one by Neutra, who designed nearly 100 houses across Southern California. Built in 1959, the Hailey House in the Hollywood Hills caught Patrick’s eye for its tightly knit living areas, which spill onto a deck with canyon views. "There’s a flow between private and public spaces, and they’re optimized for comfort and efficiency," he says. "I didn’t want to put my own spin on something that was so perfect."
The backyard, however, was an opportunity for improvement. After giving the 1,129-square-foot, two-bed home an exacting restoration, which included replacing all the appliances except for the original Thermador oven, tending to the post-and-beam ceiling, and installing tempered glass for the windows, Patrick turned to the open lawn behind the home, which had the potential to become an idyllic space for entertaining.
The spaces are connected by stairs made of railroad ties. The railings are wood painted silver, a treatment often used by Neutra for window mullions. "He did it so they would be less visible," says Patrick.
He worked with landscape architect John Sharp to reimagine the steeply sloping plot as a terraced series of five outdoor "rooms," with several staircases connecting them. Fifty-foot-tall bamboo plants lining the property enclose distinct zones: a firepit, dining area, sunken hot tub, grilling area, and home theater, complete with a movie projector. Native plants mixed with a few noninvasive species fill out the yard’s edges. "The flow of spaces is similar to the house and Neutra’s proportioning," Patrick says. "I’m able to look down from my balcony and see an entire second house."
Towering bamboo plants conceal a cedar deck with a sunken redwood hot tub from California Hot Tubs.
"It has a resort quality to it. I didn’t set out to do that, but when it all came together, being down there felt that way. It’s a magical place."
—Patrick Thomas O’Neill, resident
Sharp gave shape to the rooms by using railroad ties and a design language that reflects the residence. "We worked off the architectural integrity of the house," he says. "The metal slatting that wraps the home’s balcony was referenced in the spacing of privacy screens that separate the garden’s rooms. What’s special about the house is that it was built using inexpensive materials. We did the same."
The dining area features a concrete-topped table and benches and concrete pavers lined with gravel. The oversize pendants are from Serena and Lily.
With aloe and lemon trees having fully matured and willow wattles forming tunnels, the yard is now a resort-like oasis, or what Patrick and Sharp call a California jungle. "I love entertaining and being outside even on days I’m working from home," says Patrick. "In L.A., lots of socialization takes place in people’s yards, and that’s what this space is for."
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