On the quick view, the landscape for this speculative summer home development could not be more ordinary. Its story all too common. As a product of a farm’s subdivision, it had all the trappings of American residential sprawl – large front lawn exposed to street, few mature trees, clumsy entry sequence with service and front door in direct conflict, and lack of privacy. To fulfill its function as a summer and vacation house destination, the new owner understood the landscape required a transformation. A delightful and magical surprise was the property’s mature Poplar forest, abutting the new house. By removing and transplanting the Poplars, a sculpted void and solid composition established a garden structure. Introducing scale and a landscape continuum, the relocated tall Poplars erased the house front’s youthful origins. A distinctive landscape personality grew out of the skeletal structure of the Poplar groves. A bold landscape graphic emerged with simplified underplanting strengthens the Poplar’s mono-culture presentation, calming the eye and inviting further sensory observation and reflection.

On the quick view, the landscape for this speculative summer home development could not be more ordinary. Its story all too common. As a product of a farm’s subdivision, it had all the trappings of American residential sprawl – large front lawn exposed to street, few mature trees, clumsy entry sequence with service and front door in direct conflict, and lack of privacy. To fulfill its function as a summer and vacation house destination, the new owner understood the landscape required a transformation. A delightful and magical surprise was the property’s mature Poplar forest, abutting the new house. By removing and transplanting the Poplars, a sculpted void and solid composition established a garden structure. Introducing scale and a landscape continuum, the relocated tall Poplars erased the house front’s youthful origins. A distinctive landscape personality grew out of the skeletal structure of the Poplar groves. A bold landscape graphic emerged with simplified underplanting strengthens the Poplar’s mono-culture presentation, calming the eye and inviting further sensory observation and reflection.

On the quick view, the landscape for this speculative summer home development could not be more ordinary. Its story all too common. As a product of a farm’s subdivision, it had all the trappings of American residential sprawl – large front lawn exposed to street, few mature trees, clumsy entry sequence with service and front door in direct conflict, and lack of privacy. To fulfill its function as a summer and vacation house destination, the new owner understood the landscape required a transformation. A delightful and magical surprise was the property’s mature Poplar forest, abutting the new house. By removing and transplanting the Poplars, a sculpted void and solid composition established a garden structure. Introducing scale and a landscape continuum, the relocated tall Poplars erased the house front’s youthful origins. A distinctive landscape personality grew out of the skeletal structure of the Poplar groves. A bold landscape graphic emerged with simplified underplanting strengthens the Poplar’s mono-culture presentation, calming the eye and inviting further sensory observation and reflection.

Photo by Mike Casey While boasting abundant square footage, Victorian houses often "live small" because of their outdated space configuration. With its undersized kitchen, minimal storage and awkward floor plan, this house was no exception. RECONFIGURING ROOMS The first and most pivotal design decision the architect (Anita Rogers) made was to move the basement stair. The stair ran between the kitchen and adjacent breakfast room, obstructing traffic flow and isolating the breakfast room from the rest of the living space. Moving the stair allowed us to integrate these two rooms into a generous eat-in kitchen with views to the backyard. It also allowed us to carve out a mud-room space with a bench and storage for shoes, coats and bags. Thoughtfully detailed cabinetry fulfilled the clients' storage needs, rendering an existing dining room pantry obsolete. Removing the pantry created space to relocate the basement stair without sacrificing dining room floor area: we grew the dining area into the space vacated by the pantry and widened the doorway between the dining room and kitchen, facilitating traffic flow and creating a feeling of spaciousness. ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS The finishing touch is a new back deck with access from both the kitchen and the dining room. Glass doors to the deck admit plenty of natural light while also inviting the family outdoors to their backyard living space. The result is a lovely, vintage home whose space plan gracefully accommodates twenty-first century living.

Photo by Mike Casey While boasting abundant square footage, Victorian houses often "live small" because of their outdated space configuration. With its undersized kitchen, minimal storage and awkward floor plan, this house was no exception. RECONFIGURING ROOMS The first and most pivotal design decision the architect (Anita Rogers) made was to move the basement stair. The stair ran between the kitchen and adjacent breakfast room, obstructing traffic flow and isolating the breakfast room from the rest of the living space. Moving the stair allowed us to integrate these two rooms into a generous eat-in kitchen with views to the backyard. It also allowed us to carve out a mud-room space with a bench and storage for shoes, coats and bags. Thoughtfully detailed cabinetry fulfilled the clients' storage needs, rendering an existing dining room pantry obsolete. Removing the pantry created space to relocate the basement stair without sacrificing dining room floor area: we grew the dining area into the space vacated by the pantry and widened the doorway between the dining room and kitchen, facilitating traffic flow and creating a feeling of spaciousness. ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS The finishing touch is a new back deck with access from both the kitchen and the dining room. Glass doors to the deck admit plenty of natural light while also inviting the family outdoors to their backyard living space. The result is a lovely, vintage home whose space plan gracefully accommodates twenty-first century living.

Photo by Mike Casey While boasting abundant square footage, Victorian houses often "live small" because of their outdated space configuration. With its undersized kitchen, minimal storage and awkward floor plan, this house was no exception. RECONFIGURING ROOMS The first and most pivotal design decision the architect (Anita Rogers) made was to move the basement stair. The stair ran between the kitchen and adjacent breakfast room, obstructing traffic flow and isolating the breakfast room from the rest of the living space. Moving the stair allowed us to integrate these two rooms into a generous eat-in kitchen with views to the backyard. It also allowed us to carve out a mud-room space with a bench and storage for shoes, coats and bags. Thoughtfully detailed cabinetry fulfilled the clients' storage needs, rendering an existing dining room pantry obsolete. Removing the pantry created space to relocate the basement stair without sacrificing dining room floor area: we grew the dining area into the space vacated by the pantry and widened the doorway between the dining room and kitchen, facilitating traffic flow and creating a feeling of spaciousness. ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS The finishing touch is a new back deck with access from both the kitchen and the dining room. Glass doors to the deck admit plenty of natural light while also inviting the family outdoors to their backyard living space. The result is a lovely, vintage home whose space plan gracefully accommodates twenty-first century living.

Photo by Mike Casey While boasting abundant square footage, Victorian houses often "live small" because of their outdated space configuration. With its undersized kitchen, minimal storage and awkward floor plan, this house was no exception. RECONFIGURING ROOMS The first and most pivotal design decision the architect (Anita Rogers) made was to move the basement stair. The stair ran between the kitchen and adjacent breakfast room, obstructing traffic flow and isolating the breakfast room from the rest of the living space. Moving the stair allowed us to integrate these two rooms into a generous eat-in kitchen with views to the backyard. It also allowed us to carve out a mud-room space with a bench and storage for shoes, coats and bags. Thoughtfully detailed cabinetry fulfilled the clients' storage needs, rendering an existing dining room pantry obsolete. Removing the pantry created space to relocate the basement stair without sacrificing dining room floor area: we grew the dining area into the space vacated by the pantry and widened the doorway between the dining room and kitchen, facilitating traffic flow and creating a feeling of spaciousness. ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS The finishing touch is a new back deck with access from both the kitchen and the dining room. Glass doors to the deck admit plenty of natural light while also inviting the family outdoors to their backyard living space. The result is a lovely, vintage home whose space plan gracefully accommodates twenty-first century living.

Photo by Mike Casey While boasting abundant square footage, Victorian houses often "live small" because of their outdated space configuration. With its undersized kitchen, minimal storage and awkward floor plan, this house was no exception. RECONFIGURING ROOMS The first and most pivotal design decision the architect (Anita Rogers) made was to move the basement stair. The stair ran between the kitchen and adjacent breakfast room, obstructing traffic flow and isolating the breakfast room from the rest of the living space. Moving the stair allowed us to integrate these two rooms into a generous eat-in kitchen with views to the backyard. It also allowed us to carve out a mud-room space with a bench and storage for shoes, coats and bags. Thoughtfully detailed cabinetry fulfilled the clients' storage needs, rendering an existing dining room pantry obsolete. Removing the pantry created space to relocate the basement stair without sacrificing dining room floor area: we grew the dining area into the space vacated by the pantry and widened the doorway between the dining room and kitchen, facilitating traffic flow and creating a feeling of spaciousness. ACCESSING THE OUTDOORS The finishing touch is a new back deck with access from both the kitchen and the dining room. Glass doors to the deck admit plenty of natural light while also inviting the family outdoors to their backyard living space. The result is a lovely, vintage home whose space plan gracefully accommodates twenty-first century living.

A young couple that vacations annually in the Mediterranean retained MHG Greens&Gardens to transform their Dorado Beach East home into a Mediterranean villa. With red roof tiles, soft flat stucco walls, plenty of clean lines, a portico, and ample grounds, MHG Greens&Gardens immediately saw the potential to personalize the couple’s contemporary Caribbean home according to their longtime dream.

On the quick view, the landscape for this speculative summer home development could not be more ordinary. Its story all too common. As a product of a farm’s subdivision, it had all the trappings of American residential sprawl – large front lawn exposed to street, few mature trees, clumsy entry sequence with service and front door in direct conflict, and lack of privacy. To fulfill its function as a summer and vacation house destination, the new owner understood the landscape required a transformation. A delightful and magical surprise was the property’s mature Poplar forest, abutting the new house. By removing and transplanting the Poplars, a sculpted void and solid composition established a garden structure. Introducing scale and a landscape continuum, the relocated tall Poplars erased the house front’s youthful origins. A distinctive landscape personality grew out of the skeletal structure of the Poplar groves. A bold landscape graphic emerged with simplified underplanting strengthens the Poplar’s mono-culture presentation, calming the eye and inviting further sensory observation and reflection.

A young couple that vacations annually in the Mediterranean retained MHG Greens&Gardens to transform their Dorado Beach East home into a Mediterranean villa. With red roof tiles, soft flat stucco walls, plenty of clean lines, a portico, and ample grounds, MHG Greens&Gardens immediately saw the potential to personalize the couple’s contemporary Caribbean home according to their longtime dream. After transplanting the pre-existing vegetation (including three species of palm and ferns) to a more suitable location on the property, MHG Greens&Gardens redesigned and planted the front lawn with two 9 feet tall Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), rimmed with a single low ball of Eugenia myrtifolium; and three Eugenia myrtifolium topiaries (three balls connected by a central bare stem); and an “Ayer, hoy y siempre” shrub (Brunfelsia (Solanaceae)), a small evergreen shrub with colorful blooms ranging from purple to white according to their stage of development.

On the other side of the bar, the cook is hard at work fulfilling the culinary needs of friends and family. With this kitchen design, the hanging pot rack is found above a convenient kitchen island, and there's still plenty of space to maneuver around. Photo by: Tim Mower