Artisan Tudor

We developed this landscape over several years in close study with the Architects and Clients, who were committed to artisan-quality construction in every detail of the home and landscape. Each level of the house and terraced landscape boasts magnificent views to San Francisco. The steep site and the clients’ love of rustic stone lead us to create a series of luxurious serpentine stone walls to chisel the hillside. On each terrace of the garden, the same walls frame and hug unique spaces for play, entertaining, relaxing and contemplation. Each room of the house opens to a distinct, related garden room: a BBQ terrace with an outdoor kitchen and pizza oven; a quiet terrace with aquatic plants, Japanese maples, and a mermaid sculpture; a lap pool and outdoor fireplace; and a guest house with a vegetable garden. The resulting landscape burgeons into a true feast for the senses. Visitors are greeted at the street by stone columns supporting a tailored entry gate with Oak branch detailing. The gently sculpted driveway is flanked by Coast Live Oaks and California native plantings. At the top of the driveway, visitors are beckoned up to the main entry terrace by a grand sweeping staircase of Montana Cody stone steps. Before entering the main door of the house, one can rest on the stone seat-wall under a reclaimed redwood trellis and enjoy the calming waters of the custom limestone birdbath fountain. From the Grand Lawn off the rear terrace of the house, the view to the city is framed by romantic gas lanterns set on bold stone columns. Although the site grades required guardrails on this main terrace, the view was maintained through minimal planting and the use of an infinity pond and hand crafted metal railings to contain the space. The retaining walls of the Grand Lawn became a canvas for us to design unique water features. We hired a local stone sculptor, a local metal sculptor and a top-notch pool company to help us create a boulder water wall and artistic bronze fountainheads that thunder down into the pool: both playful and grandiose in one gesture. Architect: Graff Architects General Contractor: Young & Burton Treve Johnson Photography