Los Angeles

The owners of this property built their dream house from the ground up, a "modern farmhouse", to accommodate a large extended family and their related gatherings. The entire site was scraped nearly clean, removing a jungle of overgrown shrubs and leaving only a small guest house and a few large, mature trees, including stone pines and carrotwoods. Despite the lush landscaping, the property has many environmentally-friendly features, including solar panels, a cover for the pool to prevent water evaporation, various reclaimed and sustainable materials used in the construction and drip irrigation. The majority of the meadow is UC Verde buffalo grass which has been specifically developed to use as little as 25% of the water needed to support regular turf grass. The meadow is surrounded by native and water-wise plants whose blooms provide food for a variety of pollinators. A turf sports field is done in a Bermuda hybrid that also uses less water than most lawns but handles the heavy use of this athletic family.

As part of the team of consultants on this property, we worked on the size and placement of the pool, the pool deck and the adjacent fire pit terrace as well as the layout of the forecourt (which also serves as a basketball court). We selected and placed all plant materials and designed and placed all paths and retaining walls. 

The outdoor spaces of the house are well-loved and heavily used by all members of the family for socializing, entertaining, playing and relaxing.