Heavy wood and red metal - deck with seats and table

Sunset, June, 1994 by Peter O. Whiteley

Details give this Santa Barbara deck a contemporary look

THICKS AND THINS, natural and manmade elements, a punch of bright color where you wouldn't expect it, and a roll-around picnic table turn a basic deck into an exceptional space for dining and entertaining.

These design details all cluster along the edge of a long, slender deck with a wraparound bench. Key to the design, by architect Andy Neumann and furniture designer Paul Tuttle of Carpenteria, California, is the use of 3 1/2-inch-thick redwood boards with "bull-nosed," or rounded, edges. The undersides of the thick boards bordering the deck have been notched so the borders will lie flush with the 2-by-6s making up the rest of the deck surface, giving the illusion that the entire deck has been built with the thicker lumber.

There's no artifice in the construction of the bench: its seat and backrest are made of full 3-by-6s and 3-by-8s. Supported by slender steel pipes spaced 30 inches apart, the bench appears almost to float above the deck. The intentional contrast in thickness and materials is heightened by the pipes' cherry-red paint. Even narrower pipes supporting the backrest are welded to the base pipes and angle outward at a comfortable 17 [degrees] pitch. The backrest is limited to one corner of the deck so it won't block garden views from the house.

Red metal legs with built-in casters support the roll-around picnic table. Like the deck, the table's triangular top has an outer band of bull-nosed redwood; the top is covered with gray slate tiles. Most of the time, the table stays in the corner with the backrest section of the bench. For large parties, owners Joanne and Brian Rapp roll it to the center of the deck, where it serves as a buffet or bar.