This very large corner site was shrouded in tired and thirsty conventional lawn. Really a bland, uninteresting monoculture—impossible to maintain especially in light of our dwindling resources and our growing understanding about sustainable practices. We chose to approach this project not with the idea that existing lawn is bad, but with respect for what lawn has historically represented: a socially connective tissue. Instead of conventional grass requiring endlessly large amounts of water, chemicals and mowing, this lawn conversion shifts to a naturalistic native meadow mix splashed with wildflowers and drought tolerant native shrubs. It was the clients’ desire to be wrapped by a garden attracting native pollinators and beneficial insects. A wildlife photographer, they wanted the opportunity to open windows and doors and feel immediately connected to a coastal native environment. The handsome new stone walls, stairs and massive boulders became the structural framework containing the loose, coastal sage scrub plant community, holding the landscape together during the dormant months. As we continue to grow our acceptance of and appreciation for climate appropriate California gardens, and embrace the paradigm shift, let us graciously bid adieu to our home’s unsustainable velvet robe.

Essential client goals were a sustainable low-maintenance house, primarily single floor living, orientation to views, natural light to interiors, establishment of individual privacy, creation of a formal outdoor space for gardening, incorporation of a full workshop for cars, generous indoor and outdoor social space for guests and parties. The Holly Hill house is comprised of three wings joined by bridges: An architect's wing with a master garden to the east, an engineer’s wing with automobile workshop and a central activity, kitchen, living, dining wing.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

With adjacent neighbors within a fairly dense section of Paradise Valley, Arizona, C.P. Drewett sought to provide a tranquil retreat for a new-to-the-Valley surgeon and his family who were seeking the modernism they loved though had never lived in. With a goal of consuming all possible site lines and views while maintaining autonomy, a portion of the house — including the entry, office, and master bedroom wing — is subterranean. This subterranean nature of the home provides interior grandeur for guests but offers a welcoming and humble approach, fully satisfying the clients requests. While the lot has an east-west orientation, the home was designed to capture mainly north and south light which is more desirable and soothing. The architecture’s interior loftiness is created with overlapping, undulating planes of plaster, glass, and steel. The woven nature of horizontal planes throughout the living spaces provides an uplifting sense, inviting a symphony of light to enter the space. The more voluminous public spaces are comprised of stone-clad massing elements which convert into a desert pavilion embracing the outdoor spaces. Every room opens to exterior spaces providing a dramatic embrace of home to natural environment. Grand Award winner for Best Interior Design of a Custom Home The material palette began with a rich, tonal, large-format Quartzite stone cladding. The stone’s tones gaveforth the rest of the material palette including a champagne-colored metal fascia, a tonal stucco system, and ceilings clad with hemlock, a tight-grained but softer wood that was tonally perfect with the rest of the materials. The interior case goods and wood-wrapped openings further contribute to the tonal harmony of architecture and materials. Grand Award Winner for Best Indoor Outdoor Lifestyle for a Home This award-winning project was recognized at the 2020 Gold Nugget Awards with two Grand Awards, one for Best Indoor/Outdoor Lifestyle for a Home, and another for Best Interior Design of a One of a Kind or Custom Home. At the 2020 Design Excellence Awards and Gala presented by ASID AZ North, Ownby Design received five awards for Tonal Harmony. The project was recognized for 1st place – Bathroom; 3rd place – Furniture; 1st place – Kitchen; 1st place – Outdoor Living; and 2nd place – Residence over 6,000 square ft. Congratulations to Claire Ownby, Kalysha Manzo, and the entire Ownby Design team. Tonal Harmony was also featured on the cover of the July/August 2020 issue of Luxe Interiors + Design and received a 14-page editorial feature entitled “A Place in the Sun” within the magazine.

Our job was to enhance the character and comfort of this communal space, where our vibrant village residents come together for a diverse range of activities throughout the week. From spirited games of darts and cozy movie nights to lively coffee group gatherings and the eagerly anticipated Friday happy hour, our design aimed to create a welcoming haven for this active and sociable group of retirees. Wainuiomata has a strong sense of community in which the locals take great pride in being a part of. Responding to this was essential to the brief by paying close attention to the geographic features, history and cultural significance of Wainuiomata as a place. To complement these features, the interior design works as an extension of the outside; the palette is inspired by the raw materials, colours and robust forms seen in the nearby natural environment. Moments of forest greens are featured in the joinery and wall colours, paired with warm timber accents and stony textures on the servery benchtops and fireplace surrounds. Grooved details on the wall panelling and intricately woven textures in the furniture upholstery further add to the refined rustic feel.

Photos by: Ledyard Homes This is a new custom luxury home built by Ledyard Homes in Utah – This is the Juniper model at the Lookout Ridge Promontory community features Panda’s thermally broken technology in their 12′ high doors. These custom thermally broken luxury doors were needed at this palatial rural home and Ledyard Homes selected Panda Windows and Doors to supply their thermally broken TS.19 in order for the future residents to fully enjoy their outdoor atmosphere from the comfort of their living space. While closed the thermal brake technology engineered into the TS.19 produces an air tight seal which enables the home to save energy and keep the great room interior space comfortable in both winter and summer and during harsh weather conditions. In addition to the energy and thermal benefits the doors also greatly reduce outdoor sound producing a serene environment inside the living space.

Photos by: Ledyard Homes This is a new custom luxury home built by Ledyard Homes in Utah – This is the Juniper model at the Lookout Ridge Promontory community features Panda’s thermally broken technology in their 12′ high doors. These custom thermally broken luxury doors were needed at this palatial rural home and Ledyard Homes selected Panda Windows and Doors to supply their thermally broken TS.19 in order for the future residents to fully enjoy their outdoor atmosphere from the comfort of their living space. While closed the thermal brake technology engineered into the TS.19 produces an air tight seal which enables the home to save energy and keep the great room interior space comfortable in both winter and summer and during harsh weather conditions. In addition to the energy and thermal benefits the doors also greatly reduce outdoor sound producing a serene environment inside the living space.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Studio Terrain’s landscape design was crafted to complement this beautifully remodeled double A-frame Eichler home located in Castro Valley. We aimed to preserve the iconic style of the home while enhancing the functionality and aesthetics of the outdoor spaces. The home’s mid-century modern architecture was originally designed by renowned architects Claude Oakland and Jones & Emmons. These architects designed roughly 185 homes on the hillside community capturing beautiful views and further elevating the landscape connection to its surroundings. Drawing inspiration from mid-century modern design principles, we emphasized clean lines, simplicity, and a strong indoor-outdoor connection. The outdoor space features multiple decks, patios, a gas fire pit, and a built-in gas BBQ, all thoughtfully integrated to align with the architectural style of the home. The spacious lawn and outdoor living areas offer versatile spaces for relaxation and entertaining, framed by panoramic bay views and stunning sunsets. Our design approach respected the home’s original character, seamlessly blending modern elements with Eichler’s architectural vision. By maintaining open sightlines and a fluid transition between interior and exterior spaces, we created an outdoor environment that enhances the home's aesthetic and provides a serene retreat.

Photos by: Ledyard Homes This is a new custom luxury home built by Ledyard Homes in Utah – This is the Juniper model at the Lookout Ridge Promontory community features Panda’s thermally broken technology in their 12′ high doors. These custom thermally broken luxury doors were needed at this palatial rural home and Ledyard Homes selected Panda Windows and Doors to supply their thermally broken TS.19 in order for the future residents to fully enjoy their outdoor atmosphere from the comfort of their living space. While closed the thermal brake technology engineered into the TS.19 produces an air tight seal which enables the home to save energy and keep the great room interior space comfortable in both winter and summer and during harsh weather conditions. In addition to the energy and thermal benefits the doors also greatly reduce outdoor sound producing a serene environment inside the living space.

This very large corner site was shrouded in tired and thirsty conventional lawn. Really a bland, uninteresting monoculture—impossible to maintain especially in light of our dwindling resources and our growing understanding about sustainable practices. We chose to approach this project not with the idea that existing lawn is bad, but with respect for what lawn has historically represented: a socially connective tissue. Instead of conventional grass requiring endlessly large amounts of water, chemicals and mowing, this lawn conversion shifts to a naturalistic native meadow mix splashed with wildflowers and drought tolerant native shrubs. It was the clients’ desire to be wrapped by a garden attracting native pollinators and beneficial insects. A wildlife photographer, they wanted the opportunity to open windows and doors and feel immediately connected to a coastal native environment. The handsome new stone walls, stairs and massive boulders became the structural framework containing the loose, coastal sage scrub plant community, holding the landscape together during the dormant months. As we continue to grow our acceptance of and appreciation for climate appropriate California gardens, and embrace the paradigm shift, let us graciously bid adieu to our home’s unsustainable velvet robe.