Laurel Heights is a neighborhood in sunny San Francisco that shows a bit of the wide variety the whole city holds. It’s sometimes called the “model suburb”. This beautiful area is full of two-story Edwardian and Victorian style homes, as well as modern counterparts; blending contemporary landscape design into it isn’t necessarily easy.
It offers trendy restaurants and chic shops; it intersects entertaining city life with calm residential places. And if all that isn’t enough, Laurel Heights was chosen as one of the most popular neighborhoods for renters in San Francisco in February.
As we reached our client’s home at 156 Parker Avenue, we could see why. The house itself is beautiful, with well-tended plants at the front. The back wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what the client was looking for, either.
The client wanted a peaceful, contemporary retreat where they could escape the challenges of city life. They had purchased a natural rock sculpture that weighed over one ton, and wanted us to design a garden to showcase it. The rock sculpture and an accompanying water feature were to be the focal point.
We came up with a design in which the sculpture would be installed in a custom-made concrete water basin. Two troughs would empty water into the basin from the left and right, pointing toward the sculpture. Once the design was finished, we got to work.
Our first step was to replace the old fence with custom fences. These fences were built all the way around, using finished redwood that was fastened in horizontally. Supervisor Dukey the Dog surveyed the site and kept a watch to make sure we did the job right.
In addition to the redwood fencing a new, wrap-around redwood deck was laid to help transition from the house to the landscape. The railing is stainless cable safety railing, which allows for a contemporary look without losing its functionality or helpfulness. Once the fence was up, we could get to the really exciting part of our one-month project.
We built the forms for the focal point and poured in the concrete. While we waited for the concrete to set, we laid the black basalt patio.
Once the concrete had set, the basin was filled and the one-ton sculpture brought in, then craned into the finished basin. Have you ever tried to haul a one-ton sculpture through a house without breaking anything? It was a big challenge. In fact, because of the lay of the land, all of the materials had to be brought through the house and out the back door. I’m happy to say that nothing was harmed in the fulfilling of this contemporary landscape design.
Hidden from view behind the water feature is a biological filtration system with an 18 watt UV light to kill algae. We also upgraded the filtration and added an additional 40 watt UV light because that corner gets a lot of sun and can be a breeding ground for algae.
When creating the design, we had envisioned a ripple effect at night, caused by the two cascades from the troughs. With the proper landscape lighting, the ripples would reflect onto the sculpture and the background behind the sculpture.
Approximately twenty light fixtures were installed on three different circuits, controlled by a remote device. We installed under lights to cause the rippling effect. The outcome was stunning.
As well as the water feature, the client wanted a custom-made fire pit with built-in seating so they could escape the chills of the San Francisco evening. We built the gas fire pit with the focal point as the background. The built-in seating is made out of the same warm redwood as the deck and fencing.
We also brought in turquoise boulders set around the patio to double as seating.
The Bar-B-Q area has a gas line stub out in the corner for easy hook up. It also has articulation light fixtures for illumination while cooking in the evening.
Before & After
Overall, we’re very pleased with the results. It exceeded our expectations, and we’re proud to add this one to our landscaping project portfolio as another job well done!
Need help on your landscaping project? Are you looking for ideas for your contemporary landscape design? Call us at 415-265-2697 or contact us for a free consultation. Let us help you realize your landscaping dreams!
