The goal was to build a family home on pristine acreage unfolding across the Santa Lucia Preserve. Respect for the environment included a restoration of graded areas and the preservation of California Live Oaks, particularly the oak that had lived a long life in the center of the property. They transplanted the tree with a wide enough cut to take its habitat with it, that it could continue to thrive. What once was an open range has been enhanced by a hacienda of stucco and stone, softened by a kaleidoscope of native plantings near the house. Stone paths set in gravel of decomposed granite, framed by low-profile walls, wander among native grasses. Garden beds filled with larger gravel are punctuated by native plantings. On the perimeter, a meadow of native bunch grass was installed, extending the garden into the natural landscape.
