Recent Projects
Previous assignment:
Rental house on the Peninsula. WA
Lake House. Renton WA
New Assignments:
Lake House #2 Renton WA.
Lake House #3 Renton WA.
Port Orchard WA. Waterfront Property.
Peninsula House
Give it life…
The Peninsula House: It took four months to turn a neglected rental property into a house with warmth and identity. The property was overgrown in back desolate in front. The interior was stripped of all it’s original identity.
The contemporary house was designed and built by a Professor of Architecture and his artist wife (by hand) in the 1980’s as a retirement residence. Their canvas provided a good foundation to design a reverent but new identity inside and out. The moment I entered the house I knew it’s builders were special but I wasn’t yet aware of it’s history. It was gratifying to discover the house was a labor of love crafted by hand.
I designed a landscape with a hint of Mediterranean in front and Japanese influence in back. By sculpting the mature trees, adding placed rock raised flower beds, and planting shrubs asymmetrically… the neglect turned to warmth.
With three wall colors I defined and accentuated the unique wall planes of the original design. I furnished it with basic IKEA furniture. It was my first time walking the maze in the IKEA showroom. In all the years that I had shopped for clients I had never purchased IKEA furniture. In this case it was appropriate to do so. The the owner called to inform me the house sold in one week.
Lake House 1
The Lake House…still a work in progress
but has been a highly successful Air B&B for 4 years.
The above photo taken in 2023.
Some houses represent a moment in time that deserve to be preserved.
I’ve been on this assignment for 5 years. The below photos show what the property looked like just a few years ago. With a clear design plan a client can take intermediate steps to transforming a property by upgrading a Business or residence. The earlier photos demonstrate that a good landscaping plan will take time but when the shrubs and perennials mature the result is an environment that is a unique artistic expression.
The Assignment:
Get the Air B&B up and running as soon as possible. Execute a design that provides a foundation for the business with planned upgrades in steps as the business grows.
The challenge:
Renovate or update 4 separate units with budgetary constraints that would require resourcefulness on every level. Everything would be simple and basic but with planned improvements as the business grows. There was no budget for new furniture, accessories, or art. The focus would be on rendering the spaces habitable… simply create clean architectural space initially.
Created an overall design scheme for the property.
Simplified all architectural aspects of the house.
Re-worked floor plans.
Introduced standards to streamline the decision making process.
Provided a list of priorities on individual project timelines.
Evaluated existing electrical, plumbing, drainage, septic schemes and instituted plans for upgrades.
Designed removable ceilings in the lower units to allow for plumbing and electrical access for future upgrades.
Determined what was salvageable on the property and what needed to be removed or replaced.
Created a determination for the landscaping even though it would be postponed to the second year of upgrades.
Created a long term vision for the business.
The Interiors...
The one bedroom unit. Basic but functional. The bedroom becomes a home office when needed . Custom Murphy bed provides a restful sleep then folds up when not in use.
Functional storage:
An affordable custom wall system with 12 linear ft. of hanging space, inner tray drawers for clothing, a hamper, shoe storage, 6 linear ft. of file storage and a 60” desk. The Bedroom / Office relationship is an organic pairing both comfortable and practical.
Studio:
Like many spaces that are broken up by home owners for various reasons this space was contorted with tiny rooms, unusable areas and very little closet space.
Studio:
These are photos of the studio right after the main construction was completed. The space was designed for a yet to be built movable wall to close off the bedroom when needed. What was 2 cramped, dark rooms is now an bright and open space. A three drawer dresser is recessed into 1/2 of the original closet (on the left). The other side of the original closet is a recessed refrigerator on the kitchen side. There are now 3 storage areas…a walk in closet with a 6 drawer highboy and 6 linear ft of hanging space, a second large 4ft. closet, and 3rd storage area. Furniture, accessories, art has not yet been purchased.
View of the recessed refrigerator. The galley kitchen is basic but appropriate for both short and long term stays.
The electric stove and microwave were purchased used.
The before…
The before photo of what is now known as the Triangular Bed. The area was a 60’ patch of desolation with 4 large tree trunks.
The Gardens…
The goal was to create a unique experience for the guest. Creating multiple gardens would hopefully provide the guest with an inspiring environment that compliments the natural surroundings. A total of 13 plantings were designed with more to come as the project unfolds.
Work with what is…
When a property is large hundreds of specimens are needed. Resourcefulness was necessary. Divide one clump of ornamental grass into several specimens. Take 16 cuttings from one Hydrangea Macrophyla then be patient.
Photo taken 2023 shrubs begin to mature, a have presence and anchor the flower bed.
Photo taken 2020 before recent upgrades to property.
There was no budget for mature shrubs. There had to be a garden within a few months to greet guests. The half man boulders were found under a pile of rubble in the front of the property and re-purposed to border the bed in a free hand curve. This is called the Triangular Bed because of it’s three sided shape. This photo is the second year incarnation.
Mature
Overgrown mature trees and shrubs can be tamed. The overgrowth was cut back in increments to allow the trees and shrubs to recover. The root-bound soil was dug up with an excavator to allow new specimens to be planted.
Lake House 2
Lake House #2 is a 1970’s contemporary that in my opinion was 30 years ahead of its time. The beautiful windows and window lines make the house totally unique. The house sits on a one acre property.
This is an ongoing assignment. This is my second year working on this assignment. The gardens on this property were mature and well cared for. I was called in to identify areas that could be improved upon and to create a more cohesive and artistic palette. In my opinion this client is herself a master gardener and I felt eager to collaborate to see what the possible outcome would be.
The first thing I did was to bring all the mature and overgrown shrubs back into proportion with the house and with each other. There have to be priorities established with every planting and the specimens themselves determine this. There is always an awkward phase when downsizing mature shrubs. The client had to trust that the changes were going to radically improve the environment. Now it’s one year later and the gardens have taken on a mystique that only such a unique circumstance can produce.
Lake House #3
Known as “The Cabin” I’ve been consulting on this property for about 4 months on a major landscape renewal and redesign. When I first viewed the property it was heavily overgrown and hadn’t been touched in more than a decade but what was hidden in all the overgrowth astounded me. The original landscape design in the front of the house (commissioned in the 1960’s) was done by a renowned Japanese Landscape Designer. This discovery made my course of action easy to determine…I would utilize the original design as the foundational structure and give it a renewed life within the clients parameters… “minimal maintenance requirements”. I had to make the majority of the design decisions with the clients blessing.
This photo is the before of the new Zen Garden
As the overgrowth was cleared away there was one discovery after another. Immense specifically shaped granite boulders had been placed around the property. Magnificent mature specimens were hidden waiting to be dug out. This project was similar to digging for buried treasure.
Although the majority of the original shrubs had perished long ago the few that survived the many years of summer drought had sculptural trunk shapes that were magnificent.
Back view of a mature Lace Leaf Maple trunk shape.
The after effect:
In this case I envisioned a minimalist approach but in alignment with the original design. A Zen meditation garden motif seemed the be the path of least resistance. The layer of gravel is very thick and the weed growth would be minimal therefore meeting the clients requirements.
This is an ongoing project. After the above area was completed a second commission on the property was initiated.
Credits
Robert Oliver Design
Photographs