Before and After: West Lowell

From raw hillside to outdoor rooms in Lafayette.

A before-and-after look at craft, continuity, and Northern California texture—spaces built for real evenings outside.

Some projects stay with you long after the last plant is installed. The Lowell residence in Lafayette, California is one of those. What began as an underutilized hillside property on a private road evolved into something we're incredibly proud of — a nature-conscious outdoor retreat that earned us a Gold Award from the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) in the Residential Category Over $100,000.

We're sharing the full story here — the vision, the process, and what it took to bring this transformation to life.

What the Judges Said

We were honored to receive the APLD Gold Award for this project, and the judges' feedback captured exactly what we set out to achieve:

"This design beautifully integrates the built landscape with the existing surrounds, while extensive plants and layering connect the spaces. Tree protection and the use of low-water plants and natives are commendable and demonstrate respect for the environment. The spaces are appropriately sized and well defined." — APLD Judges' Panel

Hearing that the spaces feel "appropriately sized and well defined" means everything to us. Proportion and flow are often invisible when done right — and that invisibility is exactly what we're after.

Featuring our West Lowell project.

---

The Before: Beautiful Bones, Unrealized Potential

The property sat on a quiet private road in Lafayette with all the ingredients for something extraordinary — mature heritage oaks, towering redwoods, and natural topography that most designers dream about working with. But the landscape wasn’t developed to the newly built gorgeous residence. The outdoor spaces were calling for cohesive, reflective design of how this active, social family actually lived.

They wanted the landscape to feel like a seamless extension of their home — not an afterthought.

The Vision: Outdoor Living, Elevated

Our design philosophy at Envision Landscape Studio is rooted in one core belief — great landscape design should feel like home. Like it could only ever exist in that exact place, a retreat, a place you find to be your sanctuary.

For this Lafayette hillside property, that meant designing around three pillars:

Recreation & Relaxation — A large, resort-style pool became the centerpiece of the design, surrounded by a natural play lawn that gave the family room to breathe, play, and gather. Every element was sized and positioned to feel generous without overwhelming the land.

Timeless, Sustainable Design — We made deliberate choices to honor the site. The mature heritage oaks and redwoods were preserved and celebrated rather than worked around. Native, low-water plantings were layered throughout to soften hardscape edges and reinforce the property's deep connection to its natural surroundings. Solar energy integration and low-voltage lighting kept the project environmentally responsible from the ground up.

Social Entertaining at Its Best — At the heart of the outdoor living space sits a covered "California Room" — a heated lounge and central bar area designed for year-round use. Heat-resistant porcelain tile hardscapes bring durability and style without competing with the natural beauty around them.

The Design Details That Made the Difference

What separates a good landscape from an award-winning one is rarely one dramatic decision — it's the accumulation of thoughtful ones.

We minimized concrete use throughout the project, opting instead for materials that age beautifully and tread lightly on the environment. Real turf was selected intentionally. Planting palettes were chosen not just for aesthetics, but for their ability to support the local ecosystem and thrive with minimal irrigation.

The layering of native plantings was particularly intentional. Rather than creating a hard visual line between the built environment and the natural hillside, we used soft, flowing plant material to blur that boundary — so the landscape feels like it belongs to the land, not placed on top of it.

After: Water becomes the horizon—tile wraps the pool and pulls the whole yard into one composed plane.

Before: Infrastructure first: lines in the ground, foundational work to make the build intentional.

Before: Surrounded in mud and unuseable, unintiving spaces.

Before: Entrance was unapproachable - nothing a little hands-on finishing can’t fix.

Before: No access to surround the nooks of the home, no connections to support the flow of the property.

After: Grounded with a porcelain outdoor rated rile that connect both patios, planting softening the edges of every corner — outdoor room, stay a while — complete.

After: Concrete sand-etched stepping pads with living joints, perennials framing the approach. Warmth of the front door is now matched to the entire entry of the home.

After: Stepping pads to carry connective language through the home, a private master-suite patio tucked into planting.

Our Approach to Transformative Landscape Design

Every project we take on begins with listening. We want to understand how a family moves through their days, how they entertain, where they want to feel peaceful, where they need energy and function. The Lowell project is a beautiful example of what's possible when landscape design is treated as an integral part of the home — not a finishing touch.

We work primarily in Contra Costa and the greater East Bay, bringing the same nature-forward, detail-driven approach to every site we touch. Whether we're working with a flat suburban lot or a dramatic hillside like this one, our process remains the same: honor the land, reflect the people, and build something that lasts.

If you're curious about what's possible for your property, we'd love to start a conversation.

xx,

Danielle