A modern take on an Italian farmhouse created the perfect catalyst for design inspiration. Willing to rethink how they used their landscape, these clients allowed the entire space to be reimagined. From a permeable driveway, to a labyrinth entryway, their home is sublimely sophisticated with elements of wonder.

Island style home design photo in San Diego

Trendy home design photo in DC Metro

Photo By Rob Cardillo

This fountain quietly bubbles near the door to the great room calming anyone that hears it.

This project was do in collaboration with my friends at Sweetwater Collaborative. Sweetwater Collaborative is a non-profit organization that work to educate the public about water wise and regenerative landscape practices. Funded by the City of Santa Barbara as well as several other business and agency Sweetwater Collaborative and I worked to installed this project with the help of volunteers. In a hands-on work shop we explained principles of water wise gardening and demonstrated best practices when installing sustainable landscapes. When the owner of this property decided to build an ADU ( Auxiliary Dwelling Unit) in their back yard they expanded the roof line of their property. In order to be in compliance with new California building the project required that a portion of the rain water coming onto this property must be stored on the property. That is where we came into help. Directing down spouts into basins, or swales in the soil is one of the most efficient and cost-effective way to capture and store rain water on a piece of land. Calculations were done to determine the volume of water coming of the roof line in a given rain event from the ADU. The calculations go: square footage of roofline times .62 times 1, for 1” of rain. That total gives you the amount of water in gallons. Then divide the number in gallons by 7.48 find the cubic feet in that number of gallons. Then a basin with that holding capacity was designed into the landscape. Then the plantings were chosen. In this project we went with an 100% California Native Plant palette. We did this to help educate people about all the benefits of growing natives and to show case some of the beautiful plants native to Southern California. Sothern California is how to some of the greatest biodiversity of plants in the world. Native Plants are best adapted to thrive conditions from which they are natively found plus they help provide forage to the native fauna such as birds and insects. Now the tenants in the ADU can look out and enjoy this colorful garden without the home owners needing to pay a huge water bill.

This modern interpretation of a zen garden was created to replace a water-hungry lawn. Succulents and other drought tolerant plants will soften the transition of the linear concrete and gravel patio into the existing stack stone raised planting areas. A deck and pergola add a shaded dining area in the hot afternoon sun.

Design ideas for a mid-sized transitional partial sun hillside gravel formal garden in Orange County.

This is an example of a farmhouse landscaping in Boston.

This is an example of a large traditional full sun front yard mulch formal garden in Providence for fall.

Existing mossy rocks and wild ginger lend an Asian feel to a shady area
Inspiration for an asian shade backyard landscaping in New York.

Photo of a mediterranean landscaping in San Luis Obispo.

Kale interplanted with fountain grasses. Garden is in a raised steel bed in a landscape created for people and their dogs.
Photo of a small transitional partial sun side yard gravel vegetable garden landscape in New York.

Our team reimagined our client's living space, introducing a custom fireplace with a very modern floating quartz hearth and reclaimed wood beams for the mantle and additional shelving. The custom wall-mounted media cabinet is a combination of beautiful quarter sawn White Oak and Blackened Steel. The feature wall was fabricated on-site from reclaimed pallet wood. Tailored furniture pieces echo the modern, hard lines of the fireplace and media wall. Incorporating pattern, soft textures, and organic wood elements help to keep the space feeling warm and inviting

Photo by Colorado Cottage & Deck
Elegant mixed siding exterior home photo in Denver

Red currants hanging like jewels amongst the greenery. 2016 Mark Wolfe Photography. www.mwolfephotography.com
This is an example of a mid-sized transitional full sun backyard stone driveway in Toronto for summer.

DL Stevens