The Residential Issue of Landscape Architect & Specifier News saw many firms submit their projects for feature consideration. This project was not chosen for a Feature in the issue, but we at LandscapeArchitect.com thought the project deserved to be showcased online . . .

Leah Drake, PLA and her husband Jon S. Clark renovated, updated, and improved on the overall landscape and grounds, and added new outdoor entertainment areas for our clients, who had just purchased this Great Gatsby type of historic estate built in the 1920s featuring Renaissance Revival architecture with meticulous attention to detail harking back to the Italian Renaissance. The house features rounded garage doors and a wine cave, a rounded curved footprint for the grand entry and parlor of the home, ane a large, rounded, raised stone patio/balcony off the house's parlor that is raised high above the sloped landscape and surrounded by grand live oak trees and rich views. Above the raised patio are two more balconies at each level of bedrooms. There are secret passageways and hidden rooms within the home, stunning artful details, and original wrought iron scrolling details under the eaves, arched doors, and windows. The house itself is a masterpiece, one of only two of its kind in the US.

The Landscape Architect cleaned up the ravine at the bottom of the property and discovered that they could harvest enough of the original quarried stone used on the site to match the many existing stone features around the home. The original stone came from a local Hillsborough quarry that is no longer in existence. They were able to match and add on to the extensive original stone walls, fireplaces, and other features around the home. This was a huge blessing, as this beautiful and unique gray/green stone is no longer available for commercial purchase anywhere, and the new outdoor features would have otherwise had to stray away from the original stone, rather than match it.

The design team added a state-of-the-art outdoor kitchen and dining area to the back patio area, which is raised at least one story over the sloped landscape. They engineered and added seismic structural steel piers to protect the integrity of the patio structure, not disturbing the delicate original stone wall structures that are holding up this raised patio.

 

In the rounded outdoor kitchen, they included a pizza oven to match and complement the original outdoor fireplace, using the harvested Hillsborough quarry stone mentioned above. They included a lovely, functional new kitchen and dining island in addition to two refrigerators, a state-of-the-art grill, a dishwasher, a sink, and stainless steel cabinets, all with the Hillsborough stone backsplash surrounding the countertop. A floating spiral staircase takes visitors from the outdoor dining area and kitchen to the upper balcony bedrooms above.

Around the original pool below and in the entertainment patio, new Bluestone patios and walks were added, with gravel paths and stone steps were repaired and improved upon throughout the sloped property.

The Landscape Architect added extensive new Infrastructure, including new drainage and utilities, lighting, etc. to the entire property to mitigate long-standing issues. In their excavation work, they uncovered some old fuel tanks that had to be carefully removed and mitigated. They also repaired some of the old stone walls and columns in the front along Vista Road and along the driveway in addition to reviving the old lions' head fountain and a grotto.

They designed a new, wrought iron entry gate and had enough of the harvested stone material to match the two large entry columns on the property next door, which had been part of the original larger Estate on Vista Road that has since been subdivided and built up around the original home. With these huge stone columns, the entry gate makes a quite a statement.

The Landscape Architect artfully updated the landscape plantings and trees around the home to reflect the color contrasts and artful schemes within the house. New pottery and urns were suggested and put into appropriate locations reflecting the Italian style.
Lastly, highly customized LED outdoor light fixtures made by L.A.-based lighting manufacturer SPJ Lighting were added to fit the style and grace of the great Renaissance Revival estate.

Team List
Landscape Architect: Leah Drake, PLA
Denali Landscape, Inc.

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