Images provided by 'Ancient Surfaces' Product name: Antique Biblical Stone Fountain Contacts: (212) 461-0245 Email: Sales@ancientsurfaces.com Website: www.AncientSurfaces.com Do you want to add the crown jewel to your backyard? Or maybe you want to finish of your swimming pool with a hand carved stone art piece instead of that stacked, bricked or stuccoed wall that you currently have? What about that kitchen window that leads to your neighbor’s wall or catwalk? Well you guessed it if you were thinking about adding a unique water feature that will transform that dull space into a lush oasis of limestone, water and greenery... An antique water fountain will not only transform your backyard it will change your mood every time you look at it of walk pass by it...

2011 NATIONAL NARI COTY SOUTHEAST REGIONAL AWARD Baby boomers residing in single family colonial in Mclean were tired of their old ragged wood deck and wanted major changes to their outdoor facilities. The backyard was consist of big hill from left neighboring yard that took most of their backyard and create a huge run off and were never able to grow any lawn or plant. They also never got to enjoy their backyard and letting their grand kids and dog out. We Excavate the entire yard to a flat level, Designed and built a 5’x 40’ retaining wall covered with ledger stone between their yards and neighbor yard. Put in place underground drain system to get all most water runoff away from patio Install new shrubbery, plants and lawn tastefully in parameter of new patio. Poured in concrete slab and covered with Flagstone patio in backyard and under deck installed all new Synthetic material deck system with matching railing with larger footsteps than old deck. Connection stairway to back patio. Installed a 12’x18’ screen porch with maintenance free materials, cedar beaded ceiling panels and connection French doors into dining room All siding has been changes along with gutters and down spouts.

This is a premium-grade PVC / Vinyl fence, mostly in 4' height, but there is a section where it transitions up to 6' for the neighbors privacy. The home owner is an active dog-rescue host, and in the summer, is known for his rescue dog parties. The new fence completely spans his massive yard, providing a contained perimeter that keeps dogs in, curb-appeal high, and neighbor's thumbs up.

Images provided by 'Ancient Surfaces' Product name: Antique Biblical Stone Fountain Contacts: (212) 461-0245 Email: Sales@ancientsurfaces.com Website: www.AncientSurfaces.com Do you want to add the crown jewel to your backyard? Or maybe you want to finish of your swimming pool with a hand carved stone art piece instead of that stacked, bricked or stuccoed wall that you currently have? What about that kitchen window that leads to your neighbor’s wall or catwalk? Well you guessed it if you were thinking about adding a unique water feature that will transform that dull space into a lush oasis of limestone, water and greenery... An antique water fountain will not only transform your backyard it will change your mood every time you look at it of walk pass by it...

The intention behind the canyon is to create community - a place for people to walk, hang out, and visit with neighbors. The canyon, separating the 7 homes, ranges from 10 to nearly 18 feet wide, and is oriented north south, with a spur to the west. This orientation permits people to walk in from either 19th Avenue or E. Pine Street, or in from their car, which is discreetly tucked at the edge of the site. Here, the auto knows its place, and neighbors have a chance to interact in an informal setting. The canyon's orientation allows for southern light and air to reach all of the units and penetrate the site. Entries are accessed from the pedestrian canyon. The massing allows roof decks with views back into the canyon and to the Cascade Mountains to the east for all homes. Parking is covered under a trellis. Urban Canyon was selected as a Future Shack Award Winner by AIA Seattle in 2010 and a Project of the Month by AIA Seattle in 2009.

Adjacent neighbors. Right side neighbor has had their pavers seal by Living Water Lawn &Garden's sealer and restoration division
Photo of a traditional landscaping in Las Vegas.

The new owners of this home were looking to add privacy and frame out the side of their yard adjoined to the neighbors. The result is a rolling line of 6' tall heavy-duty White PVC Fence, that spills down the hill, splits the trees, and frames the property line with a clean backdrop that makes green shrubs pop and neighbors disappear.

This hillside home in Piedmont, CA was remodeled to change the style from a 1940's rancher with eight foot ceilings and dark interiors, into a modern geometric composition with vast white interiors for casual living and generous daylighting for displaying the artist-owner's works. In a city known for rigorous and difficult design review, an addition, two variances, and a full stylistic change were unanimously approved on the first round. All sloped roofs and attics were eliminated and replaced by a series of stacked and overlapping flat roofs. This made the house taller on the inside and shorter on the outside, which helped earn design review cooperation in the community. Windows were concentrated toward the rear yard views or moved up high on the side walls for daylight and privacy, benefitting the owners as well as the neighbors. At the start, the owner husband was so enthusiastic and engaged in transforming his house into something modern that he presented the architect with a scaled foamcore model, rather than the usual magazine clippings and wish list. He participated in the design decisions throughout the process. The owner wife is the artist who did all the artwork in the house. She had been craving a display space with large walls and good natural light. Both of them loved the location and great views. The project was an opportunity to transform the style of an older traditional home into a modern one, while solving numerous problems. By rebuilding the 1800 ft2 top of the 3-story home it was possible to change the style of the whole building, since the lower floors were a neutral base, and also to change the lifestyle of the owners, who wanted to move their master suite upstairs and live primarily on the top floor as empty nesters. Going into the project, the architect knew there were multiple encroachments into the setbacks and potential privacy issues with close by neighbors. He approached this as a complex puzzle made up of architectural and political pieces which all had to fit together elegantly. It took many careful moves, small and large, to arrive at a serene and cohesive result that tied old and new together seamlessly. The design-build contractor worked closely with the owners and handled all of the construction phase documents and design adjustments, adding ideas of their own to make the project really sing. The project was a collaboration in three acts. The owner had a strong design concept from the start. The architect developed it into a realistic project and garnered the design approvals. Then the contractor executed brilliantly

This project is a story of how buildings and relationships evolve over time, and how the two are intertwined in the making of architecture. The client, a single man, had just purchased a classic Edwardian flat on San Francisco’s Liberty Street, known for its historic homes and famous neighbors like Tracy Chapman, when his realtor connected him with LLA. The initial brief was to integrate a modern, minimalist kitchen and bathroom with the apartment's traditional aesthetic. The existing condition was a series of cramped rooms and a long hallway that divided the apartment into many separate spaces, some without natural light. The solution was to remove most of the walls in the middle of the flat, with extensive structural work hidden from view. This created an open connection between the living, dining and kitchen areas that flooded the formerly dark core of the apartment with light. Midway through the design process, the client and his partner, and avid cook, decided it was time to move in together. The project evolved further and LLA found inventive ways to pack more features and amenities into a design that was fundamentally about simplicity. The result of this creative tension is a large open kitchen with deceptively simple forms- a long back counter with three rows of drawers below, an island with a central cooktop and double cantilevers for seating, and a slightly mysterious wood box at the back. The box conceals the refrigerator, storage, linens, and laundry, and through a secret door, a large walk-in pantry. The bathroom evolved into a mini-spa, with a walk-through shower and Japanese-style soaking tub. The space shares light with the kitchen through a floor-to-ceiling translucent glass panel. Each client has a large dog, and so a small sliver of space under the upstairs neighbor's stair was turned into the perfect doggie den, complete with period correct doorway. The newly blended family moved in together when the project was completed. A poignant footnote, Maverick, the blonder, fluffier dog in the photos, was very old and sadly passed away shortly after they moved in. It made the photoshoot feel like a special event that honored and preserved his memory in pictures. Like all families, theirs continues to evolve and change, just as their home has over its 90 year life.

This Gold-LEED home, selected for Domus Best Houses award and nominated for Frame House of the Year Award, it is called Cocoon because its round walls form a Cocoon shape towards northern and western neighbors. This rounded enclosed half of the house provides shelter and privacy. The other glass side of the house, facing south, takes in ocean breezes and open views. The cedar shingle cladding blends in with the historic neighborhood and benefits from local craft traditions. By tuning in to given site conditions, and with the help of environmental technologies such as photovoltaic panels and reflecting rainwater cistern, architectural design serves both the environment and wellbeing.

EVERGREEN TREES SCREEN OUT NEIGHBORS AND RELIEVE WINTER'S GREY copyright 2015 Virginia Rockwell
Design ideas for a huge traditional partial sun side yard landscaping in Richmond for winter.

This is a premium-grade PVC / Vinyl fence, mostly in 4' height, but there is a section where it transitions up to 6' for the neighbors privacy. The home owner is an active dog-rescue host, and in the summer, is known for his rescue dog parties. The new fence completely spans his massive yard, providing a contained perimeter that keeps dogs in, curb-appeal high, and neighbor's thumbs up.

Traditional gray brick house exterior idea in Denver with a shingle roof

This side yard was once soggy, compacted, and difficult to maintain, with runoff regularly spilling into the neighbor’s property. On behalf of the client we botained approval for a conservation landscape installation and rebate though the Montgomery County Rainscapes program. Using over 80% native plants—including species that tolerate wet conditions—we created a vibrant, low-maintenance garden that absorbs water, improves soil, and supports pollinators. A once-troubled space is now a thriving, sustainable landscape full of color, life, and purpose.

Located on a steep hill above downtown Ventura, this modern Spanish house features panoramic views of town with the ocean and Channel Islands beyond. While the views are amazing from a large front deck, the steep slope presented some constraints on the landscape design. Although the property is about a third-of-an-acre, the only useable and open garden space is a small (about 500 square feet) area to the West of the house. The house sits at the back of the property, and another steep hill on the neighboring property behind is held back by a tall retaining wall, leaving just enough room for a narrow, hardscaped patio in the back yard. Bright plantings along the back of the property delineate the home from the neighboring property, and we chose plantings to help stabilize the soil and further develop the Spanish garden look while creating a lush, inviting feel. Additionally, we added 52 pieces of pottery to soften and add interest to the back garden and patio areas. Succulents, herbs, and California natives fill the pottery along with bright, sweet-smelling, tropical-looking, and climate-appropriate plants. Slope stabilization was paramount for the front hill. Beyond that, finding plants that would thrive on the steep slope was the next obstacle. Finally, the aesthetics could be addressed, and we worked to find plants that meshed with the architecture—blending plants with white and orange to play off the red-tiled roofs and white-plastered walls that are emblematic of the Spanish style of this house as well as the predominate style of the neighborhood. The flattish area to the West was designed with the idea of creating a contemporary take on the parterre garden. Reminiscent of Mediterranean gardens, this vegetable and herb garden substitutes formal hedges with formal Corten steel planters to honor the modern Spanish architecture of the house. The citrus, herbs, and vegetables serve the foodie clients well.

I am sure you will be able relate to this client in Folkstone who had a concrete and brick path and steps to the side of their house that had turned black with dirt. I know many of you reading this post will probably own a Karcher pressure washer and would be happy to do this job themselves, however for those that do not it’s good to know that we don’t just cover expensive patios and driveways and happily deep clean concrete paths as well. The machine I use for this type of work operates at very high pressure, far higher than that of a Karcher and is so large and heavy its actually installed in a van. This type of machine is known in the trade as a Truck Mount and results in a much deeper clean that cleans and extracts the waste at the same time. I popped over to see the client to see what needed to be done and gave them a quote for the work. Having looked round the property I was confident of making a difference. I also noted that steps were not only black with dirt but had become green with algae in places which is slippery when wet and dangerous for the elderly. Before going over with the machine, I wetted the path with Tile Doctor Patio & Brick Driveway Cleaner and left it to soak into the concrete for a good twenty to thirty minutes so it could breakdown the dirt and deal with blackspots, lichen, moss, and general staining. The concrete path was in several sections so whilst I was waiting for the cleaner to soak into one section, I was able to run the Truck Mount pressure washer over another section. When you use the jet wash at home, it can be a very messy business, bringing up all the dirt and spreading it around the nearby walls and usually the user. With our machine washing and extracting the dirt at the same time there is zero mess, and you can literally see the path become transformed in front of your eyes which is very satisfying. Once done the concrete path looked like it was laid yesterday. The client was amazed saying it now complimented the work they had recently done on the front and back patios. It does show up the neighbour’s path though so I would not be surprised if I get a call soon to do their path as well! There was no need to apply any type of sealer to this path. Regular cleaning will maintain it and a once a year deep clean like this would keep it in great shape. Michael Conlon South Kent Tile Doctor

Our busy Silicon Valley clients asked us to convert their tight-quartered 1960’s ranch house to a gracious family home that would meet their long term needs. Ease of living was paramount, both in functionality and in ordered design. The project was completed on a moderate budget.While retaining most of the structure of the existing house to avoid costly structural changes, we opened walls to improve the sight lines and flow of the house and bring in more light. We made small additions at the front and back bedrooms to gain space for the family and relatives. An existing underused patio area was improved with a simple outdoor kitchen and overhang to extend the living space to the outside. Costs were kept down with choices of modest materials. Everything was made to be functional. Ample storage has been built into the right places. The details of the kitchen were carefully worked out to accommodate all the wishes of the various cooks in the family. The house is set up to be easy to keep clean. Acoustic walls separate living from bedroom spaces so adults can enjoy time together while children sleep. The outdoor kitchen has easy access to the indoor kitchen and the garage, and its setup promotes socializing while cooking outdoors. A large part of the narrow back yard was previously unusable space due to a steep slope up to a neighbor’s higher fence. With a new retaining wall and some re-grading we took back more of the yard for the patio and play space on a new lawn. The remodeled house is a mix of contemporary and traditional elements. Cool colors have a calming effect. Traditional items such as prairie style windows, trellis, mosaic tiles, and Shaker style cabinets, break down the scale in an otherwise streamlined, contemporary design. A new gabled roof with a broad arch at the front of the house marks the entry and resolves a challenging form where the central entry is set back from walls on both sides. Photography: Kurt Manley https://saikleyarchitects.com/portfolio/modern-ranch/

The #LakesideLeisure Project was a comprehensive redesign of a lakefront property that transformed various challenges into stunning solutions. Initially, the property featured a small, high-maintenance cedar deck with minimal lake views, poorly placed stairs, limited flat yard space due to extensive tiered landscaping and excessive plantings, obstructed lake views, and privacy concerns from a neighboring home. The client’s vision was clear: they wanted a large, flat yard for family activities and hosting, enhanced outdoor living spaces for dining and lounging, increased privacy from neighbors, more shaded hangout areas, improved “curb appeal” from the lake, and reduced maintenance.

These homeowners came to us wanting to update their property with new plantings at the street, which matched the existing landscaping of the neighborhood, as well as update the various beds around their foundation. The existing beds throughout the property became overgrown and needed a bit of breathing room to allow space for the new plants to fill in. The old vegetation was ripped out and replaced with both native, and adapted plants. The wooded area in the backyard was rid of debris, and a drainage system was added using the rocks that were in their previous landscape design. Not only were the materials able to be recycled, they are now used to help prevent continued erosion of the hillside by taking the water from the sloped driveway and giving it a path toward the woods. Limestone was the chosen replacement because it is cohesive with the neighbor’s landscaping and the pre-existing stairs in the backyard. Blocks of limestone were used to line the new beds and build a new fire pit to accessorize the beautiful view!