Venice Canals Project

The house was a new construction entirely made of steel. It occupied almost the entire plot of land and no perimeter fence had yet been constructed. Walkers along the canal regularly approached the house to offer sometimes unwelcome architectural critiques.

Construction in the area is highly regulated by the coastal commission. Their rules prohibit extensive use of concrete as a paving material, as a high percentage of the surface area must be permeable to percolation.

The homeowner wanted a deck, a fire pit, and privacy from passersby.

La Cañada Project

This project was centered around a remodel of a particularly nasty 1970s pool. The pool was surrounded by fake concrete boulders and looked like the set of Star Trek the first series.


The homeowners have three children who loved using the pool and loved the jump from the boulders, unperturbed by their visual offensiveness. To replace the boulders, concrete jumping pads were constructed.


The house is a mid-century and the property is beautifully situated at the edge of the Angeles National Forest. The owners wanted a garden that reflected the idyllic location and architectural character of the house, while fulfilling the function of an entertaining but beautiful play-space for the family.

The boulders were jackhammered out, the pool was re-plastered and re-tiled, and an ugly existing chain link fence was replaced by a modern hardwood construction.


Built in benches were constructed and drought tolerant planting installed to cope with the harsh winds and high temperatures of the area.

Palisades Garden

My clients had bought the house in 1970, when it was first built, and had decided to remodel extensively. Essentially they were tearing up the old house and rebuilding from the ground up. The new house was to have walls of glass to take advantage of commanding views of the Pacific Ocean, the Santa Monica Mountains, and the city of Santa Monica below.


The garden plans were to be drawn up before the house was built, which presented a challenge, as it was hard to tell how much light certain areas of the garden might receive. The drawings took many months, and many changes were made during the design process.


The clients were very involved in the design of their garden, and had a very clear idea of what they wanted. One of them is a computer scientist, the other a successful painter. The practical and the aesthetic married. It was a pleasure to design this garden, and I still visit often to see how things are doing and to have tea with the homeowners. They subsequently commissioned me to design a garden for their daughter, who lives nearby.