This residence, designed by architect Warren Leopold, incorporated a post and beam structure while taking advantage of the breath taking views of the surrounding hills. The existing overgrown landscape stretched from the home to the street, obstructing the crucial view of the front door. When approaching the house by car, a visitor would travel up a steep road meeting the end of this cul-de-sac with four ambiguous driveways and no identifiable house numbers.

As the home had lost its distinguishing characteristics, the landscape redesign took its cue from the architecture by using the lodge poles as a way finder to the front door. The lodge poles begin at the street with the largest pole highlighting the custom crafted steel house numbers that become back-lit in the evening.

The home’s architecture is further enhanced by a floating deck pathway highlighted by large river rocks to give the illusion that the house floating on the site. Midway towards the front door is a water feature utilizing a Japanese Ofuro tub left by the previous homeowners. The new homeowners’ son added a serpent to the tub which brought a whimsical nature to the site. This addition further inspired the planting of rosemary “Boule” which mirrors the structure and texture of the serpent.

The garden provided a new sense of calm through its large drifts of plants including, Salvia “Anthony Parker,” Leymus condensatus “Canyon Prince”, Seslaria autumnalis, and Ceanothus Dark Star. Outdoor lighting was added to radiate a warm glow in the evenings to this graceful landscape transformation.