English Modernist - Santa Monica
Overview
Site Planning
Hardscape Design
Planting Design
Lighting Design
Client's Brief
Remove unused pool and create an English Style Garden.
Aside from that, “Do whatever you want”.
Designer's Notes
Remove the unused huge pool that fills the entire lot and replace it with a shaded dining area and a shaded reading area.
Design a wood deck with a Fire Table and built-in Spa.
Relocate and design a more functional barbeque area.
Create an English Garden with a Southern California twist.
Respect the architecture with an updated landscape palette.
Design both living and reading area structures with a modernist style made out of black steel posts, frames, and retractable black fabric.
Soften the modernist form with a California interpretation of an English garden to add a romantic flair to the austere architecture which reminds the client of his British origins.
Add a playfulness and unique feel with an Optical Art style of tile.
Create a luxurious wood deck that incorporates fire elements (Firepit Table) and soothing water (Spa) .
Link the diverse elements with a meandering path bordered by a variety of plants for a naturalistic flow.
Bring the outdoor space into the indoor naturally linking the inside office space to the outdoor space so that there is a natural connection between the house and the landscape.
Create a scent garden to enjoy the perfumes of Lavenders, Eucalyptus, and Jasmine from the office and the spa areas.
Attract birds, butterflies, and hummingbirds with plant materials and a copper fountain water feature which provides also a relaxing sound to the entire space.
Client Review
“More than a delight to work with, Catherine heard me from the get go, and delivered me a garden exactly as I had hoped for. No matter the problem she got right into the issues to find solutions when suppliers I had bought things from failed she was the first to push back and find solutions, or when more importantly the GC was being dumb or not delivering exactly what was wanted. From the start she had resources available and she acted as the project manager not just landscape architect, and the result is I have the perfect Covid backyard and best of all no pool, which made way for Catherine’s excellence. I now find myself looking out all day every day as I am working from home, and I could not be more pleased. As anyone who has work done at their home knows nothing goes easily, but Catherine’s tone never changed she stayed available and willing to the end. Could not say enough good things about her, and I would even go so far as to say she sells herself to inexpensively.”
