In the heart of a historic drought, a new home overlooking the clients' 72-acre vineyard in the Paso Robles wine region, which is located in between San Francisco and Los Angeles, called for a water-wise landscape that could further enhance their stunning property. With this in mind, Jeffrey Gordon Smith designed a peaceful outdoor retreat responding directly to the surrounding hillside vineyards.

Applying a subdued color palette, accentuated with Mediterranean grasses and timeworn Olive trees, the new landscape anchored and blended the home into its surrounding environment. Transplanted Olive trees contrasted the hard edges of the home's silhouette against the hillside as well as acting as a windbreak to the home. Delicate plant textures that flutter in the wind softened the modern hardscape and architecture, creating a striking balance between the built and natural environments. Large drifts of drought-tolerant grasses allowed sweeping views of the rolling hills beyond to continue past the hard lines of the clients' vineyards and contemporary outdoor living area.

Planting Paradise

 
Multiple drifts of grass varieties were selected to mirror the native vegetation as it fluctuates through the seasons, creating a strong sense of connection with the region. Varieties included are Muhlenbergia dubia or Pine Muhly, Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition' or Blue Gamagrass, Festuca mairei or Atlas fescue, Seslaria Campo Azul, and Pennisetum spathiolatum or Slender Veldt Grass. All of these varieties of grasses offer a green interior with brown flowers, which blend into the browned grasses of the region's uncultivated hillsides nine months of the year. The grasses dance in the wind as it blows up through the vineyard and give movement that really brings the landscape to life.

Large Arctostaphylos, also known as Manzanita, were incorporated as specimens to create strong visuals around the property. Coffee Berry and 'Pozo Blue' Sage were utilized as screening and accent plants. As the vineyards transition through the seasons, the drifts of grasses maintain an anchor to the agricultural rows of grapes beyond. The plant palette is very subdued but creates a striking visual to complement and contrast with various aspects of the home.

A Comfortable, Modern Home
The home's entrance is accentuated by walking through a grove of fruitless Olive trees, as their proximity to the hardscape had to be considered. This area was designed to contrast with the patio (which has a straight-line, modern feel) to reflect a more natural and inviting entrance to the home. A curved, Adelaide boulder retaining wall and stairway, a gravel courtyard, and variety of plant material help to anchor the home to its surroundings before making way to the modern home constructed of stucco, board-formed concrete, and Corten steel. It creates a sense that the surrounding vineyard is slowly merging in towards the contemporary home.

As you approach the front door you can see all the way through to the back patio as well as the expansive views of the vineyard beyond. Large moveable glass doors and windows throughout the home invite distant views and access to make the home an authentic indoor-outdoor experience. These windows and doors act as a "frame" to the surrounding landscape and sweeping views. From any room in the home, you get a sort of picture to the surrounding landscape. The clients knew they wanted to create a seamless experience that would flow from their home to the outdoors considering the climate of the region experiences very warm summers and mild winters, making it possible to open up large portions of the home to allow for that harmonious relationship of different spaces.

When walking out of the home you are greeted with a warm, wood deck which helps soften the hardships outside. The outdoor kitchen sits outside the main living area of the home and transitions to the main pool terrace that shares the indoor-outdoor entertainment room, including a convertible pool/ping pong table. The doors open on both sides to allow the clients to take advantage of the cool breeze that sweeps through the hillsides during warm days. This terrace steps down the hill to the Bocce and Horseshoe courts. These areas are all situated amongst the main drifts of grasses accented with 'Pozo Blue' Sages that create a strong contrast from the subdued tones of the grasses to really bring you into the landscape.

The homeowner or guest can meander through the site as it feels like it keeps flowing to the edge of the ever-expanding vines of the vineyard. There are multiple pockets around the property to allow for more intimate settings such as the breakfast nook patio outside of the guest bedroom, a separate wood deck off of the master bedroom, and a small gravel patio off of the side of the home. Native Adelaide boulders, which give this wine region its unique Terroir & Soil, are used throughout the project as site walls, and individual boulders as seating for the Bocce and Horseshoe courts. Gravel was selected that compliments the native soil and plays well with the warm-colored concrete pavers. This landscape with clean hardscape and natural edges helps the project bring a fun California twist to the traditional, modern aesthetic.