Lepere Studio
Inspiration for a mediterranean landscaping in Other.

Photo of a modern landscaping in San Francisco.

Example of a mid-sized trendy dark wood floor and brown floor hallway design in New York with multicolored walls

Negative Edge Pool and Spa. PA Bluestone Coping with natural stone veneer. Gray marble plaster interior.
Hot tub - large traditional backyard stone and custom-shaped infinity hot tub idea in Philadelphia

This is an example of a modern landscaping in San Francisco.

Example of a mountain style two-story exterior home design in Other

Architect: JLF & Associates / Photographer: Audrey Hall
Inspiration for a rustic bedroom remodel in Other with white walls, a standard fireplace and a stone fireplace

Clean lines reflect the contemporary architecture of the beach home. Sand-colored gravel patios bring the feel of the beach home. Photos: Orly Olivier

We were contacted by a family that had just moved into a home built in the 1960s. The house had that classic “space age” look that was popular in the years that America ran the Space Race with the Soviets. During this time, architects envisioned a future where technology would eventually create a better world, and where Nature would be more or less replaced with human innovation. As such, the contemporary landscape we developed for this home was rather unique in terms of the typical projects we develop. It consisted mainly of a concrete patio and a custom fountain, but it had virtually no vegetation incorporated into its design. This was due to the fact that the homeowners had specifically requested an inorganic look and feel to the landscape that compliment the right-angled geometry and predominantly glass construction of the home. The home was actually built in two linear wings that came together in a sharp right angle, forming a natural courtyard of sorts in the lawn. Since grass was something the homeowners wanted to minimize, we converted this rectangular green space into a contemporary-style concrete patio. We decorated the patio by making diagonal saw cuts in its surface. This had the effect of extending the home’s sense of linear movement by creating intersecting patterns of right angles that mirrored the right angles formed by the house. Then, in the corner where the two wings converged, we removed a rectangular portion of the patio and laid down alternating white and black gravel in a checkerboard of squares. We added just a touch of greenery that lent some--but not too much— of a sense of Nature to the patio and surrounding landscape. We planted a solitary palm tree in the graveled corner, and we placed a contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright planter near one of the far patio corners. Just beyond both wings of the home, we then built small, square planters out of stainless steel edging. We planted Mondo grass in some of these squares, and we filled the rest with moonstones to maintain the sense of minimalism characteristic of custom, contemporary landscapes. We then implemented the second phase of the landscaping project, which consisted of the construction of a highly customized fountain design. The intention in constructing this element was two-fold. First the back of the home had windows so large they looked more like sheer walls of glass than typical windows. Adding a custom, contemporary fountain to the center of the patio would create a feature that would reflect off the glass during the day, and compliment interior lighting when illuminated at night. On a functional level, the fountain was also intended to provide a special recreational area for the children, who loved to play in the water, but who were too young to swim unsupervised in a pool. We decided that the best way to accomplish both tasks was to custom-build a rectangular platform over the fountain jets that could easily support the weight of multiple children. This platform would have to be constructed with both a sturdy frame and a permeable surface that would allow water to penetrate it as it shot up into the air from the jets below. In order to fulfill both functional and safety requirements, we custom designed the fountain platform with two very unique materials. First, we built a frame with very stainless steel bars that would not rust. Then, we selected a very fine mesh made from shredded steel wire that was folded over and over onto itself until all sharp edges were gone. This made the steel feel more like a sea grass rug than a piece of metal when we were finished stretching it over the frame. The design worked beautifully, and allowed part of the water to shoot straight up in streams, but also produced a fine mist that added to the play element of the fountain. To light our custom fountain, we then suspended special luminaires just under its surface to enliven the streams of water and fine sprays of mist that shot up into the night.

We were contacted by a family that had just moved into a home built in the 1960s. The house had that classic “space age” look that was popular in the years that America ran the Space Race with the Soviets. During this time, architects envisioned a future where technology would eventually create a better world, and where Nature would be more or less replaced with human innovation. As such, the contemporary landscape we developed for this home was rather unique in terms of the typical projects we develop. It consisted mainly of a concrete patio and a custom fountain, but it had virtually no vegetation incorporated into its design. This was due to the fact that the homeowners had specifically requested an inorganic look and feel to the landscape that compliment the right-angled geometry and predominantly glass construction of the home. The home was actually built in two linear wings that came together in a sharp right angle, forming a natural courtyard of sorts in the lawn. Since grass was something the homeowners wanted to minimize, we converted this rectangular green space into a contemporary-style concrete patio. We decorated the patio by making diagonal saw cuts in its surface. This had the effect of extending the home’s sense of linear movement by creating intersecting patterns of right angles that mirrored the right angles formed by the house. Then, in the corner where the two wings converged, we removed a rectangular portion of the patio and laid down alternating white and black gravel in a checkerboard of squares. We added just a touch of greenery that lent some--but not too much— of a sense of Nature to the patio and surrounding landscape. We planted a solitary palm tree in the graveled corner, and we placed a contemporary Frank Lloyd Wright planter near one of the far patio corners. Just beyond both wings of the home, we then built small, square planters out of stainless steel edging. We planted Mondo grass in some of these squares, and we filled the rest with moonstones to maintain the sense of minimalism characteristic of custom, contemporary landscapes. We then implemented the second phase of the landscaping project, which consisted of the construction of a highly customized fountain design. The intention in constructing this element was two-fold. First the back of the home had windows so large they looked more like sheer walls of glass than typical windows. Adding a custom, contemporary fountain to the center of the patio would create a feature that would reflect off the glass during the day, and compliment interior lighting when illuminated at night. On a functional level, the fountain was also intended to provide a special recreational area for the children, who loved to play in the water, but who were too young to swim unsupervised in a pool. We decided that the best way to accomplish both tasks was to custom-build a rectangular platform over the fountain jets that could easily support the weight of multiple children. This platform would have to be constructed with both a sturdy frame and a permeable surface that would allow water to penetrate it as it shot up into the air from the jets below. In order to fulfill both functional and safety requirements, we custom designed the fountain platform with two very unique materials. First, we built a frame with very stainless steel bars that would not rust. Then, we selected a very fine mesh made from shredded steel wire that was folded over and over onto itself until all sharp edges were gone. This made the steel feel more like a sea grass rug than a piece of metal when we were finished stretching it over the frame. The design worked beautifully, and allowed part of the water to shoot straight up in streams, but also produced a fine mist that added to the play element of the fountain. To light our custom fountain, we then suspended special luminaires just under its surface to enliven the streams of water and fine sprays of mist that shot up into the night.

Trendy home design photo in Austin

Garden 12 in Del Rey
Design ideas for a landscaping in Los Angeles.

Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in Denver.

Siberian iris and Japanese hakone grass with slate chip mulch and boulders. Westhauser Photography
This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary front yard gravel landscaping in Milwaukee.

Introducing Dekton® Slim, the new ultra-thin thickness of 4mm in large format that offers unlimited design options. Its lightness and reduced thickness make it the most durable and high-performance surface covering for walls or kitchen and bathroom furniture, such as tables, cabinet doors, drawers, etc.

Vibrant Mediterranean garden (co-designed by Gabriel Frank with Nick Wilkinson of Grow Nursery in Cambria, CA) bordered by papyrus, clumping bamboo, and a pizza oven and ipe deck in the distance by TMLewis Construction. Photo by Elliott Johnson.

Design ideas for a contemporary landscaping in San Francisco.

The simple lines of this attractive contemporary home disguise a remarkable aspect of its construction: it received the coveted Gold Star rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program. This rating, granted after a third-party inspection, serves as the premier mark in green building achievement. LEED-certified homes cost less to operate, reducing energy and water bills by as much as 40%. Designed by the Houston firm Murphy Mears Architects (www.murphymears.com), the house earned the LEED Gold Star award because of the firm’s expert use in areas such as water efficiency, sustainable materials and energy strategies. Both principals of the architectural firm hold LEED AP credentials which affirm their knowledge of advanced green building expertise. To solidify their efforts to win the Gold Star certification, the firm hired Exterior Worlds to design the landscape using techniques that minimize the impact on ecosystems and water resources. Our charge was to employ drought-resistant plants, reclaimed materials and other green hardscapes to help Murphy Mears earn points within the LEED rating system. In the front yard, we created a rectilinear garden covered with black star gravel. The bed’s straight lines pay homage to the house’s design while the dark gray gravel extends the color palette. In this zone of interest, we planted six ornamental Japanese blueberry trees and contoured them into conical shapes to contrast with the linearity of the house. The homeowners had found reclaimed marble from a torn-down building and so we used these rectangular forms for the sidewalk. A border of gravel connects the sidewalk to the larger garden bed. The marble, which is striated white and black, also adds an interesting element of movement to the yard. We planted the rest of the yard with Zoysia grass since it possesses exceptional wear tolerance and good drought resistance. Gravel garden beds extend to the sides of the house, a choice that is both aesthetically pleasing and earth-friendly. In sustainable landscaping, gravel is prized because of its durability, minimal maintenance requirements and because, being inorganic, it requires no watering. For the back yard, we planted more Japanese blueberry trees and Zoysia grass to continue the theme begun in the front. Other plantings, requiring little water and pruning, were picked from the LEED-approved list. We also laid another pathway using the reclaimed marble, which leads around the property to the grill, patio and a potting table with reclaimed sink in the far back. We built a patio using synthetic decking material in the same light gray color as the house. The decking material requires no staining and is particularly durable. The patio creates a transition between the interior and exterior, with the glass doors of the house feeding out into the back yard. It is uncovered, playing up the openness of the house’s design and making the most of Houston’s golden morning light with the house creating deep shade in the hot afternoons. Perhaps the most striking thing that can be said about the property and its LEED rating is this: you’d never know it. That is, the innovative and far-ranging green techniques are woven so beautifully into its design all you notice is a superb house with an appealing landscape.

Inspiration for a large contemporary partial sun backyard gravel landscaping in San Luis Obispo.