In the hills of San Anselmo in Marin County, this 5,000 square foot existing multi-story home was enlarged to 6,000 square feet with a new dance studio addition with new master bedroom suite and sitting room for evening entertainment and morning coffee. Sited on a steep hillside one acre lot, the back yard was unusable. New concrete retaining walls and planters were designed to create outdoor play and lounging areas with stairs that cascade down the hill forming a wrap-around walkway. The goal was to make the new addition integrate the disparate design elements of the house and calm it down visually. The scope was not to change everything, just the rear façade and some of the side facades. The new addition is a long rectangular space inserted into the rear of the building with new up-swooping roof that ties everything together. Clad in red cedar, the exterior reflects the relaxed nature of the one acre wooded hillside site. Fleetwood windows and wood patterned tile complete the exterior color material palate. The sitting room overlooks a new patio area off of the children’s playroom and features a butt glazed corner window providing views filtered through a grove of bay laurel trees. Inside is a television viewing area with wetbar off to the side that can be closed off with a concealed pocket door to the master bedroom. The bedroom was situated to take advantage of these views of the rear yard and the bed faces a stone tile wall with recessed skylight above. The master bath, a driving force for the project, is large enough to allow both of them to occupy and use at the same time. The new dance studio and gym was inspired for their two daughters and has become a facility for the whole family. All glass, mirrors and space with cushioned wood sports flooring, views to the new level outdoor area and tree covered side yard make for a dramatic turnaround for a home with little play or usable outdoor space previously. Photo Credit: Paul Dyer Photography.

Inspiration for a small contemporary partial sun hillside stone landscaping in Kansas City.

Moss landscapes provide solutions for erosion control on steep hillsides and windy locations and year-round green beauty, too. Photo by Annie Martin, www.mountainmoss.com

Rock outcroppings make a striking background for new lounge areas in this compact Los Angeles hillside garden. Working with the attributes of the site, we added native plants to drape over the stone, and converted hollowed stone planters into a firepit and water feature. New built-in seating and a cozy hammock complete the relaxing space, and dramatic lighting makes it come alive at night. Photo by Martin Cox Photography.

Photo of a transitional landscaping in Other.

Steep, steep slope below a Sausalito home with dramatic views. New plantings include a combination of CA native trees and shrubs, succulents, euphorbia, new zealand flax, rubus ground cover, native grasses/grass-like plants. Designed to provide erosion control and dramatic plant textures, structure and colors when viewed from the decks above. Photos and Landscape Design © Eileen Kelly, Dig Your Garden Landscape Design. http://www.digyourgarden.com

Inspiration for a huge traditional hillside stone landscaping in New York for summer.

Mountain style gray two-story mixed siding exterior home photo in Denver with a metal roof

The exterior of the intimate home glowing from the inside at night. Photo by John Whession
Example of a mountain style wood exterior home design in Burlington

Barbara Ries
This is an example of a traditional landscaping in San Francisco.

Low Water Use Gardens
Design ideas for a large transitional partial sun and drought-tolerant backyard gravel retaining wall landscape in San Francisco.

Designed as a private sanctuary, Ventana House is a place to retreat and reflect. Located on a steep hillside overlooking the urban sprawl, the residence feels worlds away from the city below. Its cast-in-place concrete walls anchor the structure into the rugged terrain, grounding the architecture within the landscape. This mass is contrasted by a delicate scrim that appears to float above the living spaces, all tucked safely beneath the deep shadows of a large cowboy hat roof—an essential shield against the desert sun.

Example of a large mountain style gray three-story vinyl gable roof design in Other

This very steep hillside is the focal point of the back yard as it is located along the outdoor living area, patio and courtyard just outside a wall of french doors. It was too steep to mow, dry, rocky and barren until we worked our magic. The client was from Scotland and desired a landscape that would remind her of a traditional " Rockery" with alpine plants, heaths and heathers. Since those specific plants don't do well in Atlanta, we choose plants that offered similar colors and textures. When the garden is the most lush, as seen here, only a few rocks are visible. In the winter when half of these plants are dormant, the hand selected and carefully placed boulders balance the design. This Buckhead client absolutely loves the results! Photographer: Danna Cain, Home & Garden Design, Inc.

In the hills of San Anselmo in Marin County, this 5,000 square foot existing multi-story home was enlarged to 6,000 square feet with a new dance studio addition with new master bedroom suite and sitting room for evening entertainment and morning coffee. Sited on a steep hillside one acre lot, the back yard was unusable. New concrete retaining walls and planters were designed to create outdoor play and lounging areas with stairs that cascade down the hill forming a wrap-around walkway. The goal was to make the new addition integrate the disparate design elements of the house and calm it down visually. The scope was not to change everything, just the rear façade and some of the side facades. The new addition is a long rectangular space inserted into the rear of the building with new up-swooping roof that ties everything together. Clad in red cedar, the exterior reflects the relaxed nature of the one acre wooded hillside site. Fleetwood windows and wood patterned tile complete the exterior color material palate. The sitting room overlooks a new patio area off of the children’s playroom and features a butt glazed corner window providing views filtered through a grove of bay laurel trees. Inside is a television viewing area with wetbar off to the side that can be closed off with a concealed pocket door to the master bedroom. The bedroom was situated to take advantage of these views of the rear yard and the bed faces a stone tile wall with recessed skylight above. The master bath, a driving force for the project, is large enough to allow both of them to occupy and use at the same time. The new dance studio and gym was inspired for their two daughters and has become a facility for the whole family. All glass, mirrors and space with cushioned wood sports flooring, views to the new level outdoor area and tree covered side yard make for a dramatic turnaround for a home with little play or usable outdoor space previously. Photo Credit: Paul Dyer Photography.

Gravity Shots
Example of a huge trendy three-story concrete exterior home design in Denver

Located in Sonoma on 2.5 acres with sweeping canyon views, our client's home was built on a long, rectangular lot in 1972. They had owned it for just over ten years and used it for weekend escapes and entertaining. The home burnt down during the 2017 Tubbs fire, and our firm was engaged to design the rebuild. The site did not offer much wiggle room for a new footprint, given the flat bench area that had been graded into a steep hillside when the original subdivision and road were developed. This resulted in a plan that would mostly remain the same; a linear rectangle designed to fit between the driveway and the pool. The primary site strategy move was to change the front entry from the driveway end of the site to the middle of the rectangle, improving the privacy between the master bedroom and public space. We were also able to add a partial second floor to relocate the guest bedrooms from the main level upstairs, thereby enlarging the entertaining spaces to expand graciously to the pool (which remained undamaged). A large pantry and kitchen area were also essential. Fireproof materials include fiber cement board siding and soffits, standing seam metal roofing, and concrete slab porch floors which do not catch embers underneath. The renovated pool was outfitted for fire prevention. The interiors showcase light and distant views and connect seamlessly to the flat areas outside, providing ample space for entertaining year-round and the clients' two springer spaniels. Materials: • HardiePlank and board for firesafe siding, panels, trim, per CalFire WUI approved exterior wall siding and sheathing • Town & Country fireplace • Western Window Systems and Loewen Doors/Windows • Thermador appliances • Flooring: Brushed & Aged French Oak Hardwood Flooring - Mediterranean Kerrew French Oak, • StoneK2 Black Pearl Ledgestone, • Utopia Series Florence Hot Tub

We turned this eyesore into the envy of the neighborhood! This highly visible hillside was the focal point upon entering thru the gated entrance of this home. Now the owner and guests enjoy a seasonal display of color and texture rather than a weed filled boring hillside. Added bonus is that the plants are all drought tolerant, low maintenance and support pollinators. Bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and beneficial insects add additional interest. Photographer: Danna Cain, Home & Garden Design, Inc.

Falcon House is located on Falcon Ridge Road, which winds along a steeply inclined ridge in a stretch of foothills within Carmel Valley in Monterey County. An old lichen covered barn and split rail, cedar fences characterize this area known as Markham Ranch, and contrast sharply with the preponderance of sprawling, large estate-style homes, many more at-home in the Italian countryside than any landscape of California. Designed for a young family, Falcon House responds to the family’s desire to live a more modest lifestyle, eschewing overt displays of extravagance for an intimate and deferential relation to nature. The 3,200-square-foot residence occupies a difficult portion of the northern slope of a hillside, overlooking a verdant valley and oriented toward Castle Rock in the distance. The steep terrain necessitated a compartmentalized plan capable of negotiating the gentle hillock at the center of the site. A corridor bridge spans two pieces of the house, uniting living and sleeping spaces and allowing an existing watercourse to flow essentially through the house unobstructed. Large panels of glass open the living spaces to the landscape, beneath the deep overhang of a butterfly roof. Operable clerestories placed high on the window-wall allow prevailing breezes to cool the interior spaces. The bedroom wing of the house hugs the hillside as it turns to the west, ensuring privacy from the main living spaces. The sense of seclusion and protection of this wing is reinforced by its lower roofline and its embedment into the hill. Initial resistance by neighboring homeowners has given way to appreciation, having seen the results of careful siting and a material and color palate sympathetic to the surrounding hillsides. The dwelling embodies an attitude of respect for the landscape, and through that perspective Falcon House has become as natural a part of its environment as the hawks flying overhead. 2008 AIA Orange County Chapter Merit Award