The garden as an extension of home.Design visualization
01The approach
A whole day, within one garden.
This residential proposal, developed as part of my practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, reimagines a narrow backyard as a sequence of outdoor rooms. Work, play, conversation, and quiet observation share the same landscape.
The starting points are already on site: a mature feature tree, a change in level, and the connection to the house. The design works with these conditions to make everyday outdoor life feel natural, comfortable, and easy to navigate.
01 / Retain
Begin with the tree.
The existing canopy becomes the garden’s anchor. Planting, seating, and paths gather around it.
02 / Connect
Let the levels guide.
Broad steps and planted transitions connect the raised terrace, lawn, and outdoor living room.
03 / Balance
Make room for both.
An open band for family activity sits alongside quieter spaces for tea, work, and contemplation.
02Spatial organization
Many moments. One connected landscape.
A pair of complementary activity bands gives the garden structure. A curved, planted centre softens the transitions between them.
Garden plan / spatial design study
WORK + UNWIND
A quieter destination
The office and tea room anchor the far end. A shaded terrace offers a place to pause, stretch, or sit outdoors.
Lawn, climbing play, and sand form a continuous activity zone, with sightlines back to the lounge.
Lawn · Adventure play · Sand playGATHER + OBSERVE
A garden within the garden
The retained tree, a water feature, and a Japanese-inspired courtyard create a sequence of intimate places.
Feature tree · Woodland lounge · Water garden · Japanese courtyard · Fire pit lounge
An overview of the proposed outdoor rooms and their relationships.
03Life in the garden
Designed around the ordinary, everyday.
Each space has its own character. Together, they support a day that moves between company and solitude, energy and stillness.
A shaded terrace beside the office and tea room.
A slower beginning
Tea, a little work, a moment outside.
Set at the upper end of the garden, the studio and terrace form a more private retreat. A broad parasol makes the paved platform adaptable: a place for conversation, or a clear surface for yoga and stretching.
Play spaces share the lawn edge and remain connected to the lounge.
Room to discover
Small adventures, close to home.
The slide, climbing frame, and timber-edged sandpit sit together along the lawn. Their arrangement keeps activity in view while leaving the centre open for movement and informal play.
A Japanese-inspired courtyard offers a quieter register.
A different pace
Stone, shade, and a pause.
Curving gravel bands, stepping stones, and layered foliage turn a narrow edge into a place to look into. A restrained material palette connects this contemplative corner to the wider garden.
Detail study / paving and planted edges
↔Design development
Finding the heart of the garden.
Studies of the central space explore a different balance between planting, occupation, and water. The surrounding circulation and family spaces provide a consistent frame.
Study / Planted centre
A landscape to wander through.
A denser perennial border brings foliage, small paths, and seasonal accents into the foreground.
Study / Inhabited centre
A clearing to spend time in.
A timber platform makes the centre more directly usable, creating another place to gather beneath the tree.
A third expression
Water as a focal point.
A round fountain shifts the emphasis toward movement and atmosphere. Stepping stones weave through the planting, linking the central space to the quieter courtyard edge.
Design studies shown for comparison.
04Material + planting
A soft landscape. A clear structure.
Timber, pale gravel, natural stone, and planting establish a consistent language across the garden. Contrast comes from texture and light as much as from colour.
TimberWarmth & inhabitation
Natural stoneMovement & thresholds
Pale gravelQuiet & contrast
Layered foliageDepth & enclosure
Planting design / selected drawing extract. Open the image to inspect the botanical callouts.
STRUCTURE
Canopy & enclosure
Retained mature trees provide the framework, supported by maple accents and a layered shrub edge.
Acer palmatum · Buxus · Myrsine africanaTEXTURE
Shade & softness
Broad leaves and finer fern textures build depth within the more sheltered planting areas.
Dryopteris · Hosta · Farfugium japonicumACCENT
Flower & fragrance
Flowering and aromatic plants introduce contrast at the terrace, paths, and garden borders.
Hydrangea · Agapanthus · Rosemary
Selected plants from the proposal palette; placement and irrigation need to respond to each bed’s sun exposure and water requirements.
05The design in motion
A walk through the possibilities.
The design film moves between the garden’s outdoor rooms and alternative treatments of the centre, exploring atmosphere, scale, and everyday use.
Garden of Everyday RitualsDesign visualization · Original audio
A residential landscape study
A garden does not need to be an escape from life. It can make room for more of it.
The project brings together site-responsive planning, family-oriented outdoor spaces, and a detailed planting proposal. It reflects an approach to residential practice grounded in how a place is used, from the overall plan to the smallest threshold.
Landscape design / Peilin LiDesign proposal and visualizations; not built photography.
