The new owners of this West Village Manhattan townhouse knew that gutting an historically significant building would be a complex undertaking. They were admirers of Turett's townhouse renovations elsewhere in the neighborhood and brought his team on board to convert the multi-unit structure into a single family home. Turett's team had extensive experience with Landmarks, and worked closely with preservationists to anticipate the special needs of the protected facade. The TCA team met with the city's Excavation Unit, city-appointed archeologists, preservationists, Community Boards, and neighbors to bring the owner's original vision - a peaceful home on a tree-line street - to life. Turett worked with adjacent homeowners to achieve a planted rear-yard design that satisfied all interested parties, and brought an impressive array of engineers and consultants aboard to help guarantee a safe process. Turett worked with the owners to design a light-filled house, with landscaped yard and terraces, a music parlor, a skylit gym with pool, and every amenity. The final designs include Turett's signature tour-de-force stairs; sectional invention creating overlapping volumes of space; a dramatic triple-height steel-and-glass elevation; extraordinary acoustical and thermal insulation as part of a highly energy efficient envelope.

Design ideas for a large transitional full sun backyard gravel landscaping in San Francisco.

Photograph: The Office of Chris Cortazzo
Inspiration for a modern backyard rectangular pool remodel in Los Angeles with decking

New terraced retaining walls using Mutual Materials flat face khaki manor stone with pisa 2 coping cap. Rope lighting mounted under cap for night lighting. Custom freestanding arbors in cedar with hanging accent low voltage light for table. Green house tucks back into walls opening up space in the yard. Raised pond and waterfall in background beyond patio.

Inspiration for a mid-sized traditional full sun backyard retaining wall landscape in Austin for spring.

Copyright Ken Hayden Exterior front entry of a Miami Beach residence designed by Shulman & Associates.
Design ideas for a modern front yard concrete paver driveway in Miami.

Often, less is more. Take this landscape design composed of climbing roses, hydrangeas, and lilies surrounding a bluestone terrace. This small, suburban garden feels both expansive and intimate. Japanese forest grass softens the edge of the terrace and adds just enough of a modern look to make the garden’s owners, urban transplants, happy. “My husband and I were looking for an outdoor space that had a secret-garden feeling,” says homeowner Anne Lillis-Ruth. “We’ve had fun adding furniture, antique planters, and a stone fountain to [landscape designer] Robert Welsch’s beautiful landscape. The white and green plantings provide the perfect backdrop to my collection of colorful table linens, glassware, and china. We love our garden!” Dean Fisher loved it, too. “The setting is so lovely and relaxed. It evokes the south of France, with its intimate scale and the integration of house and patio through the use of the vines and other plantings.”

The design for this residence combines contemporary and traditional styles, and includes stairs and a curving drive to provide a warm welcome to the home. A comfortable bluestone terrace and patio provide elegant outdoor entertaining spaces. Photo by Greg Premru.

Photography by Sean Papich and Monty & Nan Abbott
Beach style stone patio photo in Boston with no cover

Complete renovation of historic Cow Hollow home. Existing front facade remained for historical purposes. Scope included framing the entire 3 story structure, constructing large concrete retaining walls, and installing a storefront folding door system at family room that opens onto rear stone patio. Rear yard features terraced concrete planters and living wall. Photos: Bruce DaMonte Interior Design: Martha Angus Architect: David Gast

Few materials can match the natural beauty of a newly installed wood deck and fence, which were a dramatic transformation for this small backyard patio. A paraffin treatment brings out the rich colors of ipe, a hardwood with a 30 year life expectancy. We gave the fence a contemporary twist by running the boards horizontally and varying the width, gradually thinning them as they go up. The bluestone pavers add a bit of contrast and visual interest on the patio floor. In order to save space, our clients asked us to build the planters into the fence itself, rather than resting any free-standing planters on the patio floor. This backyard is located in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. See more garden design photos at www.amberfreda.com.

A once forgotten side yard turns into a charming gravel garden Martin Residence Cardiff by the Sea, Ca
Design ideas for a small mediterranean side yard formal garden in San Diego.

Photo of a mid-sized traditional full sun backyard gravel formal garden in Seattle.

Inspiration for a timeless backyard patio remodel in San Francisco

This rooftop garden on Manhattan's Upper West Side features custom-built wood deck and planters filled with Japanese maples, coral bark maples, evergreens, moss, and flowers. Yellow beach stones form a rock garden / Zen garden area. Read more about our projects on my blog, www.amberfreda.com.

Inspiration for a contemporary hillside landscaping in San Diego.

The side entrance cuts through a planted hedgerow of deer resistant plants and allows a glimpse of the pool terrace on the hill beyond.
Design ideas for a huge traditional full sun side yard stone landscaping in New York for summer.

View from the picket garden down to the fireplace.
Photo of a traditional landscaping in Boston.

This West Village rooftop garden features a custom ipe horizontal fence and planter, concrete pavers, and outdoor dining and sectional seating. It also includes black fiberglass planters filled with Japanese maples, bamboo, maiden grasses, hydrangeas, and knockout roses. This project was designed by Amber Freda in collaboration with Michael Wood Interiors. See more of our projects at www.amberfreda.com.