Photo of a small modern partial sun backyard concrete paver retaining wall landscape in Chicago for summer.

Dover, MA granite cobblestone driveway with fan pattern. - Sallie Hill Design | Landscape Architecture | 339-970-9058 | salliehilldesign.com | photo ©2007 Brian Hill

Decomposed Granite path between Giant Sequoias leads to repurposed, reshaped and stained rear concrete slab. Micro-climate appropriate plants complete the picture. Photo by Ketti Kupper.

Donny Mays Photography
Design ideas for a large contemporary full sun backyard stone landscaping in Portland.

Design ideas for a small modern drought-tolerant and full sun side yard stone garden path in Denver for summer.

When asked to design a beautiful landscape that functions for all ages and occasions, yet doubles as a natural adventure playground - in the heart of Chicago - you might be forgiven for taking a deep gulp. But that’s exactly what we did. In this picture, you get a framed glimpse of the adventure, with a winding woodland path taking you over the frog guarded pond’s stepping stones, through the rustic serpentine wall, and into the formal lawn clearing beyond. Did we mention that this is the only way to get there?

Concrete slab and deck sections create a path to the front door in a sea of decorative pebbles. This is all about the design and very limited water and maintenance needed. Photo by Ketti Kupper

Classic Island beach cottage exterior of an elevated historic home by Sea Island Builders. Light colored white wood contract wood shake roof. Juila Lynn

Originally a nearly three-story tall 1920’s European-styled home was turned into a modern villa for work and home. A series of low concrete retaining wall planters and steps gradually takes you up to the second level entry, grounding or anchoring the house into the site, as does a new wrap around veranda and trellis. Large eave overhangs on the upper roof were designed to give the home presence and were accented with a Mid-century orange color. The new master bedroom addition white box creates a better sense of entry and opens to the wrap around veranda at the opposite side. Inside the owners live on the lower floor and work on the upper floor with the garage basement for storage, archives and a ceramics studio. New windows and open spaces were created for the graphic designer owners; displaying their mid-century modern furnishings collection. A lot of effort went into attempting to lower the house visually by bringing the ground plane higher with the concrete retaining wall planters, steps, wrap around veranda and trellis, and the prominent roof with exaggerated overhangs. That the eaves were painted orange is a cool reflection of the owner’s Dutch heritage. Budget was a driver for the project and it was determined that the footprint of the home should have minimal extensions and that the new windows remain in the same relative locations as the old ones. Wall removal was utilized versus moving and building new walls where possible. Photo Credit: John Sutton Photography.

This is an example of a mid-sized traditional partial sun backyard formal garden in New York.

Photo by Andrew Hyslop
Inspiration for a timeless home design remodel in Louisville

Location: Cohasset, MA, USA When my clients purchased this historic house, they saw that this garden held great potential, even though the property had been somewhat neglected. They wanted the new landscape to evoke the feeling of an Olde Maine house that time had forgotten. Sitting on the front veranda in the shade of the treasured Horse Chestnut and Maple trees that flank each side of the house, we explored the possibilities together. The front yard sloped a bit too much for comfort, so we determined that building a stone wall in the middle would create a terrace, making both parts of the lawn more usable. Visions of parties and children's weddings came to mind. We put a set of elegant arching steps in the middle, leading down to the sunken garden. Large, mature Rhododendrons were planted at the base of the Horse Chestnut and Maple trees just off the front veranda. Boxwoods undulate beneath the trees with Vinca as a ground cover. Ticonderoga stone was used for the walls and steps, which was the closest match to the existing stone foundation. The exquisite masonry by Doug Brooks Masonry makes this staircase as elegant as a tiered wedding cake.

This is an example of a mid-sized southwestern drought-tolerant, partial sun and desert side yard brick landscaping in Phoenix.

Photo of a southwestern partial sun front yard stone formal garden in Phoenix.

Bedroom - modern medium tone wood floor bedroom idea in New York with beige walls

The living room of a beautifully restored Brownstone in Brooklyn is a mix of modern, comfortable upholstered pieces with unique antique pieces and striking contemporary photography.

Photo of a mid-sized contemporary shade backyard stone formal garden in Boise.

Large mountain style attached three-car garage photo in Kansas City

Traditional Style Fire Feature - the Prescott Fire Pit - using Techo-Bloc's Prescott wall & Piedimonte cap.
Photo of a mid-sized transitional partial sun backyard concrete paver landscaping in Other with a fire pit.