A World Away

A California couple romance their compact property by carving out colorful garden rooms with plenty of guest-ready seating

- Ann E. Stratton

A HOUSE ALL DOLLED UP in pink inside—from carpeting to countertops—might have scared off some prospective home buyers, but not Lidy Baars. She had only toured a couple of houses when her Realtor took her to see this 1960s Pueblo Revival ranch in Huntington Beach, California, just as it was about to hit the market.

That was more than 20 years ago. “I fell in love with the space in the back garden,” Lidy says of the property she has called home ever since. Never mind the interior’s bubblegum color palette, or that her shoestring budget would prevent any immediate upgrades. She rang her doctor husband, John, who rushed over between patients; and after a quick look around, the couple were all in. “I wouldn’t leave the house until the offer was submitted,” Lidy recalls.

An eighth of an acre felt like a generous lot for a coastal town—especially to a couple with two young daughters who had been living in an apartment pining for a garden. In the rear of the house, double doors off the kitchen opened onto a pergola-covered patio overlooking a tidy green space with mature trees, a low deck off to one corner, and brick raised beds snaking along the fence perimeter. “The front was absolutely horrendous,” says Lidy of the old lawn and poodle topiaries. But the couple decided they could live with the front yard and the house as they were—at least for a while.

“I really wanted to tackle the backyard first,” says Lidy. With the house totaling a modest 1,450 square feet, the couple fully intended to use their outdoor space. “It’s why I designed the different areas of our garden as rooms, with seating where people can enjoy a glass of iced tea or a meal together.”