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Elegant, sweeping curves transect this two-tier patio in the San Francisco Bay Area. The curves draw one’s gaze from a mural featuring a pair of egrets on the wall of a backyard music studio to a peaceful water feature and a gravel courtyard set with boulders around a mature lemon tree. Soft plantings fill in spaces behind low walls — which double as seating when the homeowners host parties — and ambient lighting helps turn this backyard into a tranquil garden retreat in the evening. +Read More