The front yard of this home designed by E. Cobb Architects in Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood already had plenty of curb appeal, but the home’s new owner wanted to add a pool to splash around with his grandkids on a warm day. So he tapped Ian Butcher, AIA, founding partner of Best Practice Architecture to create the space.
Rafael Soldi
It was a full-circle moment of sorts for Ian since he was on the original design team of the home at the start of his career. “I was familiar with the property before starting the project,” Ian says. “I have also worked with the home’s new owner, a local art collector, on various projects over the years. It was a huge honor to be able to revisit the project from my early days as a young architect and to create a new space for a friend with a creative vision.”
Rafael Soldi
With the original house and landscape already in good shape aesthetically, the challenge was to design a pool that fit into the space, but still make it fun and playful. “To this end we maintained a simple material palette of concrete and wood, then where we made any changes to the original landscape or the house, we did so with precision to not draw attention to the changes,” Ian says. “The new door, which provides more direct access from the house to the pool, was carefully placed to work with the existing concrete structure and detailed to match the existing architecture.”
Rafael Soldi
Ian and team lowered the grassy area adjacent to the pool to match the elevation of the house and its connecting patio. The change created a long concrete bench at the pool’s edge and a second bench at the southwest corner. “Since this was our office’s first in-ground pool design, we learned how hard it is to detail a pool to look so simple,”
The website greengrove.cc is an aggregator of news from open sources. The source is indicated at the beginning and at the end of the announcement. You can send a complaint on the news if you find it unreliable.
When it comes to pruning your garden as well as shrubs and trees around your yard, it can be a bit intimidating, especially if you haven't done it before. Especially with the fall season, it can be tricky dealing with unexpected weather and more. Fortunately, it's not as complicated as you may think. Just make sure to avoid these pruning mistakes this upcoming fall season.
As the crisp air of autumn approaches, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of nature’s generosity by expanding your garden without spending a penny. During this season, many common garden plants and shrubs enter a stage of growth that makes them ideal for propagation. By taking semi-hardwood stem cuttings, you can easily root a variety of plants, such as weigela, hydrangea, and daphne. This simple gardening technique can help you cultivate a flourishing garden with minimal cost. Why Autumn is Perfect for Plant Cutting
Lavender has been trending as the most sought-after hedge plant in the last few years in the gardening world. Why? Because there’s much more to this timeless classic than meets the eye, or nose, for that matter! We’re pretty sure this article will convince you to grow lavender as a hedge in your garden. Tune in to find out!
For Collin Lines planting flowers is about more than just pretty bouquets. It’s her way of joining the fight against breast cancer. While she’s always had a love for fresh blooms, it wasn’t until 2016 that she had the idea to open Zinnia Happiness Farms, a small you-pick spot in Tiger, Georgia, where all the proceeds go toward breast cancer research.
If you’re a fan of the quintessential indoor-outdoor Western lifestyle that comes along with expansive floor-to-ceiling glass, a warm wash of natural light, breezeways that maximize airflow, and surrounding serene landscape, you can thank famed architect Cliff May. Regarded as the founding father of the iconic California ranch house, May’s work has been repeatedly published in Sunset since the 1930s. What made his work stand out at the time was how he designed homes not so much based on architecture but on the way people wanted to live in them. Making the most of the Western climate, his goal was to provide a closer relationship with nature through garden courtyards and blur the line between how we use interior and exterior spaces. May in turn created private sanctuaries where families could relax and enjoy a lifestyle of informal outdoor living. He invented the way most people want to live in the West, and his influence is felt throughout the region some 90 years later.
As ADUs (accessory dwelling units) become more and more popular, their designs become more sophisticated. Take for example, this Santa Monica ADU and garage with its angled façades and laser-cut aluminum screens that create a lantern-like effect at night.
There is nothing worse than finding an adorable home decor DIY, buying a ton of materials, and starting a project—only to find it's a hundred times more complicated than it appeared in the slick, edited video you saved on socials.