Illuminated pathway for safety, security and beauty!

Backyard of this Draper Utah home. Rock slab steps and a massive stone diving board make this pool area unique in the neighborhood.

This artificial turf practice putting green adds a fun landscape element for children and adults.

Detail of New England veneer stone seat wall with bluestone cap, low voltage lighting and bordering bluestone patio. - ©2015 Brian Hill

Garden Lounge Design in Urban Townhouse near Dublin City Centre. Bespoke Hardwood fencing gives wall extensions creating instant privacy. Landscape Design by Edward Cullen Amazon Landscaping and Garden Design mALCI Amazonlandscaping.ie 014060004

Floating, tiered bluestone steps and an aggregate driveway dominate the grand front entrance to this modern home. But the deliberately harsh angles and grey palate are softened by the contrast of the bright planting and flowers.

Opening the kitchen up to the garden is a morning ritual. The Balmoral House is located within the lower north-shore suburb of Balmoral. The site presents many difficulties being wedged shaped, on the low side of the street, hemmed in by two substantial existing houses and with just half the land area of its neighbours. Where previously the site would have enjoyed the benefits of a sunny rear yard beyond the rear building alignment, this is no longer the case with the yard having been sold-off to the neighbours. Our design process has been about finding amenity where on first appearance there appears to be little. The design stems from the first key observation, that the view to Middle Harbour is better from the lower ground level due to the height of the canopy of a nearby angophora that impedes views from the first floor level. Placing the living areas on the lower ground level allowed us to exploit setback controls to build closer to the rear boundary where oblique views to the key local features of Balmoral Beach and Rocky Point Island are best. This strategy also provided the opportunity to extend these spaces into gardens and terraces to the limits of the site, maximising the sense of space of the 'living domain'. Every part of the site is utilised to create an array of connected interior and exterior spaces The planning then became about ordering these living volumes and garden spaces to maximise access to view and sunlight and to structure these to accommodate an array of social situations for our Client’s young family. At first floor level, the garage and bedrooms are composed in a linear block perpendicular to the street along the south-western to enable glimpses of district views from the street as a gesture to the public realm. Critical to the success of the house is the journey from the street down to the living areas and vice versa. A series of stairways break up the journey while the main glazed central stair is the centrepiece to the house as a light-filled piece of sculpture that hangs above a reflecting pond with pool beyond. The architecture works as a series of stacked interconnected volumes that carefully manoeuvre down the site, wrapping around to establish a secluded light-filled courtyard and terrace area on the north-eastern side. The expression is 'minimalist modern' to avoid visually complicating an already dense set of circumstances. Warm natural materials including off-form concrete, neutral bricks and blackbutt timber imbue the house with a calm quality whilst floor to ceiling glazing and large pivot and stacking doors create light-filled interiors, bringing the garden inside. In the end the design reverses the obvious strategy of an elevated living space with balcony facing the view. Rather, the outcome is a grounded compact family home sculpted around daylight, views to Balmoral and intertwined living and garden spaces that satisfy the social needs of a growing young family. Photo Credit: Katherine Lu

This luxury 5 acre estate is one of our favourite projects, a 5 bedroom contemporary pavilion style residence with relaxed indoor / outdoor entertainment spaces, 25m mosaic tiled pool, expansive manicured lawns and home to one of Sydney’s finest private stables. The gardens feature an array of established trees such as Magnolia Grandiflora, Jacaranda, Lilli Pilli Tuckaroo and Agonis to provide the property with shade and privacy. A wide variety of shrubs and ground cover are used to form interesting layers of colour and texture across the property including Frangipani’s, N.Z. Flax, Yucca’s, Gardenia’s, Murraya and Bird-of-Paradise, with striking selected succulents as accents.

The Telgenhoff Residence uses a complex blend of material, texture and color to create a architectural design that reflects the Northwest Lifestyle. This project was completely designed and constructed by Craig L. Telgenhoff.

Dario Fusaro