Small garden solution

Open areas and intimate nooks: That was what landscape architect Tomi Kobara wanted from a makeover of her Oakland, California, garden.

Part of the challenge of the transformation was the backyard's tiny size ― barely more than 1,500 square feet.

When she bought her property, a shed that served as a studio sat in the far corner of the wedge-shaped backyard. In front of it lay a concrete patio surrounded by a large lawn.

See what she did with it