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There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a good “before” photo next to its corresponding “after” photo. Here are some of our favorites.

Our clients bought a beautiful home in the Oakland Hills. The challenge: they wanted some outdoor living space, but the lot was so steep, it seemed near impossible. Our design team worked cleverly with the terrain to create a patio outside the living room. And terraced a dramatic stairwell into the hill to make the…

Our client bought this house because of its perfect location, but she needed to do a complete restoration to make it into her dream house. We coordinated closely with the architects to create a modern garden that honored the home’s stately architecture. Our first goal was to tame a sizeable slope to create outdoor living…

While these young homeowners appreciated the Asian influence mid century modern home they purchased in Oakland, they wanted an update to reflect their modern sensibility. Our design team imagined several outdoor “rooms” for the family: kitchen, dining area, living area and even a sport court for the kids. We worked with the slope of the…

Our design team was called in to help a retired couple rethink their backyard situated on a beautiful hill in Moraga. We found a home poorly connected to the outdoor space with awkward access points and a somewhat treacherous stairway up the hill. We totally redesigned how the interior connected to the exterior. We installed…

Sometimes a garden has good bones but needs an update. And, sometimes the updates are major overhauls. For this project we removed a cracked and dated swimming pool that was unused and much too large for the space. Our clients wanted to create areas for eating, socializing, and soaking in their new hot tub. Care…

When our clients moved into their Lafayette home, it nearly matched their clean, modern tastes. The central feature of the back yard was a kidney bean shaped pool that was too large and too deep for the space. The pool was redesigned in a linear and more compact form to allow for soaking and lounging…

A front entrance on the downslope and fairly close to the road can feel unwelcoming. But with a talented design eye, it can be transformed into an inviting courtyard garden. We redesigned the entry stairs to wind down into a lush garden, rather than making a straight line to the front door. This curve created…

This Orinda garden was designed for entertaining. We replaced the lawn with a multi-level patio, including a serious chef’s kitchen with both a gas and Kamodo grill, refrigerator, warming drawers, wok burner, sink and bar. A two-tiered steel arbor lets light in on the kitchen level and provides constant shade on the living room level—a…

Several design details prevented this suburban home from having the Montana meadow feel the homeowners were dreaming of. Relocating the driveway that had dominated the front yard to the side of the house made space for an entry path to wind through grassy berms. We removed a large maple with roots threatening the foundation of…