These clients had invested all of their time and attention to their interior remodel over the years...until they called us!  Their beautiful 1930's East Sacramento home received a new paint color and an entire front and rear landscape remodel.  The design objective was to mirror the lines and shapes found on the classic architecture while giving it a modern look to match the interior.  This busy family of four needed spaces to relax, play, dine, and entertain...all while keeping the landscape texturally diverse and low maintenance.  Custom accents such as the LED lighting, furniture selection, fun "M", and hallway mirror and decor made the spaces truly theirs.

1930's revival!  The design objective for this beautiful home was to enhance the historical architecture, add a courtyard with furniture and LED lighting for evening lounging, use a low maintenance plant palette that still had a lush look, replace the existing lawn with a more drought resistant variety, and incorporate aesthetic details that stayed true to the era (custom high-low picket fencing and pottery that mimics the moss covered terra cotta so prevalent in 1930's gardens).  These clients now spend many hours in their once unused front garden space!  

I met these clients just weeks before our planned family vacation to Kauai.  Turned out, Kauai was their favorite island and they wanted to transform the bare unused half of their backyard into usable space reminding them of their family time on the island.  I brought my inspiration back and channeled it through the tropical plant palette (still suitable for the valley climate), a semi-custom Ohana house with porch for a studio/hangout/storage area, handmade pottery, fire pit, pizza oven, and dining space.  Pizza making dinner parties and family fun happen in this portion of the garden all the time now.  Aloha! 

It's hard to believe that this entire front yard started off as unused, water consuming lawn.  Just weeks post-construction, these clients are not only saving water, but are relaxing and dining in their front garden with their neighbors and family.  The drought tolerant plant palette and permeable decomposed granite surfaces add texture, beauty, and low maintenance qualities to the garden.  Unique amenities such as the copper patina two-tier fountain and pots were selected and made especially for the site, blending the new spaces with the aged bridge on the residence. LED lighting, a 10' in-ground cantilever umbrella, and comfortable dining furniture draw the clients into their custom space any time of the day or night.

Four months post-construction, this front and rear garden is starting to wake up from its winter nap to get ready for all the entertaining and family gatherings hosted by the client.  Design objectives for this project included a low-maintenance and semi-drought tolerant plant palette, space for the family's impromptu croquet and table tennis matches, LED lighting throughout the gardens for evening enjoyment, and a fresh, modern aesthetic to match the newly renovated interiors.  Special amenities include an artificial grass grid as a soft dining space definer and custom designed wood panels for use as a master bedroom privacy screen and a plate holder for the BBQ.  Modern furniture, a copper fire pit, custom storage shed, and new house paint colors were incorporated as part of the landscape design.

Working alongside a successful local restaurateur, we provided landscape design services for three new Jack's Urban Eats locations. Close collaboration was essential between the owner, interior design firm (twitchell elliott design), and property management groups to facilitate design rich restaurant environments. Our role was to enhance the "front door" to these restaurants and create new patio spaces for outdoor dining. Careful design consideration was given to such elements as new hardscape surfaces, outdoor lighting, custom patio fencing locations, and plant material selection, all of which was completed under an accelerated schedule.

This project showcases the holistic approach to developing a landscape master plan. After much collaboration with the client, it was determined that the existing landscape did not meet the functional needs or aesthetics that the client desired. The final plan created a series of gardens and spaces uniquely tailored to the needs of this client. Those spaces allowed for recreation, relaxation, and entertainment where materials such as pavers instilling old-world craftsmanship, crushed gravel pathways, a canopy pergola, a fountain, raised vegetable gardens, and over 700 selected plants were found.