Dark accent wall to bring the outside in

What a great idea - I have been reluctant to do this since it is very high contrast - the dark with the bright light of outside streaming in. This looks great though, I love it. It really does bring the yard inside.

As you may know, San Francisco is an amazing place to garden. Our Mediterranean climate allows for a huge variety of plants, and our topography lends itself to interesting terraced landscapes. During the summer, though, in much of the city, it rarely gets warm enough to lounge around outside, so we're always trying to think of design ideas to bring the outdoors in. When our friend Bonnie Bridges, a local architect, was helping us choose paint colors for our new house, she suggested a dark accent wall to frame our garden view. We love the result—the bright outdoor landscape really pops against the dark wall, so even on the foggiest days, the garden feels like part of our home...