Before and After: Punto de Paciencia
Hi Folks! One of my favorite things on the internet is a good ‘ole BEFORE and AFTER. Just to be able to see a place that someone saw the potential, beauty, and life waiting to bloom is really, truly special. So, as my toddlers say, “ it’s my turn!” to show you an amazing transformation at my friend’s home here in San Diego. I was lucky enough to do the landscape plans and I couldn’t have asked for better clients… it was so fun to work on! Also, props to the architect Flock Architecture and the Interior Designer, Krys Montgomery (previously featured on my last Guest Post about 2021 Kitchen Trends).
PS: If you want to see more pictures of the project, head on over to KHLA.
Without further ado…drumroll please!
Ta-dah! Yes, this is seriously the same house. Here we are looking at the front door courtyard area from the driveway. Amazing right?!? With the new design, I wanted to streamline the landscape by aligning the paving with the architecture to carry the “clean” theme throughout the property. And just because you have a contemporary design does not mean you need to have a sterile landscape, in fact, quite the opposite! The intent was to have the landscape enhance the home and provide balance. So, I wanted the landscape to feel lush and natural looking helping to soften everything up. Another design tool I used to create more of a contemporary design (but to still enable freedom in the forms) was by using a monochromatic palette…meaning this project (like many of the other projects I do) could be called 50 shades of green.
The picture on the left is not exactly a “before” shot, but more of a progress shot (the house has been updated, but not the yard yet). You can see the Jacaranda tree in the circular planter which everyone was so happy we were able to preserve through the craziness that is a remodel. To create mass chaos and utter confusion for you, my innocent reader, the picture on the right is actually facing the opposite direction. Find the Jacaranda tree to help you orient yourself…In the “after” shot we are looking towards the entry/front door courtyard area and garage/driveway. Those fence post cactus were wee little babes when we took this picture, but soon they will be quite the showstopper against that blank canvas behind them creating a dramatic entry and to again provide balance to the more natural looking landscape around the Jacaranda tree. And, because I know you were wondering, the groundcover between the pavers is Dymondia.
Let’s walk to the backyard, shall we? The great thing about this yard was that we were able to borrow their fabulous view to enhance the design. The clients wanted a natural feeling grassy meadow which we incorporated by being more formal closer towards the home and then we really let lose closer to the edge.
We are still in the backyard, now we are just looking towards the house at the beginning of the meadow. Again, wow! Behind the design: there is a large patio immediately outside the huge sliding glass doors, perfect for entertaining. Also, this path that we are standing on is perfectly aligned with the path from the front door in the front yard (bet you didn’t know that). Again, we worked with some of their existing trees - this time some pretty established fruit trees line the wall edge.
Adjacent to their kitchen I used some outdoor cement tiles to make it feel like an outdoor rug in this area for a secondary smaller patio area for tea parties etc.
There you have it! I hope you enjoyed this Before and After!