Foster Residence, Granada Hills, CA – Back Yard Landscape and Hardscape
Tiki Garden Lava Rock Waterfall
CLIENT: self
When we found a small lava rock carved tiki buried in the back left corner of the yard, we knew we just had to install a tiki garden there to honor him! Most of the lava was salvaged from a nearby 1960s home that had a front facade of lava that was being removed. It had several cascades to provide a very nice sound.
Tiki garden with Leroy Schmaltz hand carved tiki in distance.
Pool Redesign with Martini Shelf
When we closed on the house, the pool was being sandblasted and had no tile. So we were able to opt for the classic sky blue 1960s 4″ square tile that says ‘class!’ the pool already had the hexagonal shape. But we knew that the 14′ pool would never warm up enough to be swim-able for long without major heating – and there was no heater.
So by filling the pool in partially with concrete, and turn it more into a standard hotel pool depth, we were able to make the pool much more useful for many more months.
Originally the pool had a little extended step on one side where supposedly, Mr. Foster the original owner, like to lounge and have a martini. He called it his “martini shelf.” After seeing the Delano Hotel Pool in Miami Beach, we were enthralled with the idea of an even larger Martini Shelf – a full wading shelf. I don’t think the Sunset Sky Bar pool was even open by this point, so the Delano was really the first and we copied the concept, but added on long sinuous steps inviting entry to the pool from any point of the house.
The Martini Shelf became a very popular place to hang out during parties!
I provided the engineering diagrams for the construction company. 
