A Cozy Dinner-Party Backyard & Garden in LA

Kyra Smolkin takes us into the newest space at her Los Angeles, California home — a backyard deck she and her husband built specifically for the dinner parties they host nearly every week.

When they moved in, there was barely any outdoor space: just a narrow wooden walkway and a gravel path, wide enough to squeeze in a single dining table.

So they built the deck in the fall and, as Canadians used to only a few months of usable outdoor weather, they now use it constantly year-round. Kyra handles the tablescapes — a full Italian theme for pizza nights, blue-and-white coastal for a casual lunch — while she and her husband collaborate on the food. Since the house has no oven, a barbecue and a birthday-gift pizza oven have become the heart of their entertaining.

Beyond the deck sits a fire pit where guests gather with a drink while dinner cooks, and a generous garden with clay fruit trees and lemon trees they pick from as needed. Their two dogs love the green space to run — and best of all, her brother and sister-in-law live right next door, making the whole backyard feel like a built-in community.