After years of neglect and an extensive remake of the interior, there was almost no trace of the original garden.

Our design criteria called for an approach that would span the gap between the historic early modernist house and current taste in landscape design.

We used a combination of classic square pavers and diagonally scored new poured patios. Some original sections of paving were salvaged, and then blended with the new concrete work through the application of acid-based charcoal-colored concrete stains. The slate used in some interior applications extends out onto front and rear landings.

The design is open and minimal, so that the owner can add to her collection of sculpture and garden furnishings over time. In the plantings, we wanted to suggest the flavor of the era in which the house was built, without becoming strangled in the juniper, agapanthus and lawn vernacular of that period.

As a tribute to the Eichler era, we did dig and divide some existing agapanthus that seemed to be original to the garden. They have responded with wild abandon.