The original main entrance to this mid-century modern home was a mere afterthought. There was no direct path from the sidewalk to the front door. You either squeezed past parked cars in the driveway or trudged over a rutted lawn and ducked under a prickly ornamental tree to reach the front landing. Plus, during winter rains, water gushed from the corner downspout, across the narrow landing, and poured down into the garage. In 2010 I redesigned the entire front yard with several key fixes in mind. First, out went the lawn and the dense ornamental tree. Next, storm runoff was redirected underground to a gravel catch basin and channeled beneath the sidewalk to the street. Finally, the front landing was leveled and extended to allow access from two directions. Now the main entry carries you down a wide concrete path past a giant Octopus Agave (Agave vilmoriniana) and a flower bed full of specimen plants from the Berkeley Botanical Garden to a simple redwood threshold. A single step up takes you to the exposed aggregate landing where you meet the original stairs and tangerine-toned front door. Photo: mwelschmeyer