Looking across the peninsula toward the sink and bamboo cabinetry at the window wall in an Eichler mid century modern home in Lucas Valley (San Rafael, CA). Thom Harrison - AlterECO, inc.

Award Winning Design! Low Country living at its best.

Lake of the Isles Renovation Exterior Shots. Photography: Landmark Photography

terraces and trellis

Completed in 2012, this property features an entirely renovated garden and pool area that includes a custom designed guilt iron pavilion. This pavilion features exquisite detailing in the columns and the roof. The pavilion features gas lanterns and subtle landscape lighting to make it come alive in the evenings. The pavilion sits above a completely renovated swimming pool with all new travertine decking and coping. New LED lighting has been added to the pool along with illuminated bubbler jets in the tanning ledge. The gardens along side the pool area are lined with a boxwood parterre and lush landscaping. An upper courtyard terrace features an outdoor cooking area and fireplace with seating area. A wonderful renovation project.

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.”

Nicola Stocken-Tomkins

Photo by: Linda Oyama Bryan

Photo: Danielle Sykes © 2015 Houzz

Alexander Vertikoff Photography

Fountains add the soothing sound of running water to your landscape. Butterflies and birds love these fountains.