The casita includes an interior kitchenette designed and built by Southern Landscape. Custom stone flooring is matched with a single-slab leuder limestone countertop. This kitchenette is perfect for an afternoon snack, cup of coffee, or cold beverage.

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

A sequence of specifically designed moments and views were created to bring the guest into the home, allowing the experience of the home to begin from the moment one steps onto the property.

image: Travis Rhoads Photography
Inspiration for a small contemporary drought-tolerant and partial sun backyard gravel landscaping in San Francisco with a fire pit.

Lush backyard with differentiated spaces for specific functions. In the foreground, a dining patio near the house is perfect for a summery breakfast outdoors or an outdoor dinner later in the season – whatever your imagination desires. Follow the stone path through the garden and you will find a fire circle for spending summer and autumn nights outdoors.

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

Wonderful Cambrian Area home renovation~ Design Matters of Los Gatos was able to provide critical path help to this client mid-construction. We completed the styling and specifications of the kitchen, entry, dining and family room areas including designing and providing all of the furnishings and window coverings to complement the new spaces.

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

A low-profile gravel path provides a clean, secondary artery through this modern front-yard garden. The dark basalt gravel serves as a textural counterpoint to the lush, architectural groundcovers. This view highlights the Alterra design+build approach to site-specific design, where new pathways are woven seamlessly around mature oaks. By prioritizing organic movement and high-contrast materials, we’ve created a residential landscape architecture project that feels both established and contemporary.

One of the areas this family wanted to light specifically was the stunning pergola that stands close to the home. The pergola lighting can be turned on or off from a simple switch within the house. Photos by Hailey Bickett

Xeric landscape designed and built by Southern Landscape. This Austin homeowner reduced their turf area by over 17,000 square feet, reducing water consumption and maintenance. The remaining turf areas were required for the septic leach field. Limestone retaining walls with leuders caps control erosion. The plant palette contains lantana, plumbago, various grasses, and yuccas, all chosen for their specific water usage appropriate to the area. Landscape lighting was also added to highlight the beauty of this large xeriscape.

This extensive remodel overlooking Lake Austin is a paean to the powerful art it enfolds. Rigorous editing of every distracting, inconsequential element of the original house was critical. So too was the insertion of new complementary components that provide artful ways to move through both interior and exterior rooms. The collection of modern art is arresting. Ranging from a Turrell hologram to a pair of Agnes Martins, the art is framed by the architecture and lighting so that it is experienced in a choreographed, curated way that encourages wandering and an intimate connection to each piece. The mood is set in the entry courtyard. A floating walkway curves down and around a brilliant spiraling blue Clement sculpture. It pauses once, at a moment of surprise, when the first view through the house is filled with the blue water of the lake beyond. Inside, the saturated color of many of the pieces of art are balanced by an absence of other visual clutter in the color palette, furniture, and architecture. A new interior plaster, steel, and bronze stair carves through a space occupied by two small Clement sculptures in niches, a McKay Otto sculpture on a landing and a glass cylinder elevator. This is a very specific place, designed for specific art and for a collector who has a close relationship with each piece.

As one walks along the path in the enclosed garden, the moon gate frames a view of a knockout rose on the other side - Jeff Stapleton
Design ideas for a mid-sized asian full sun front yard concrete paver formal garden.

Inspiration for a transitional hallway remodel in Detroit

In 2014, visitors on the Santa Monica Conservancy Tour were wowed by the back garden's overflowing vegetable beds. The play-ready IdealMow lawn featured here needs less than 50 percent of the water a traditional lawn needs to thrive. Because it needs no fertilizers or pesticides, it is a smart companion to the edible gardens at its edge - and a great addition to any bee-utiful garden in need of play space. Photo: Orly Olivier

This garden path is an entry to the shade garden. The stepping stone walkway is planted with moss. The garden path meanders through the canopy of the shade garden. The garden and landscape design is in Connecticut backyard by Matthew Giampietro of Waterfalls Fountains & Gardens Inc. designed and installed the secret garden and the stepping stone walkways.

Designer Show House & Gardens- Formerly an abandoned alley, karmic stone transforms the space with an artisan pathway between the main house and the carriage house. Two of ten hand carved specialty stone pavers created in the studio and installed in a gravel path bordered by new landscaping and a water feature.: Pictured: Leaping Frogs Splatt! and Flying Fish pavers. Turtle Garden stone seen in forefront. Each stone design is site specific to compliment the adjacent water feature and gardens. photo by jmbpaul karmic stone

The main goals of this project was to make it more usable and enjoyable for the owner, to reduce maintenance and to created a covered area for enjoyment year-round. This design also kept the family's new puppy in mind - fencing it in for safety and planting with careful consideration of plants that are safe for dogs. The winding pathway for humans is reminiscent of a stream bed and there is also a narrow perimeter fence specifically for the pup! Ben Park