Susanna Grant is a garden designer and co-director of Care, Not Capital, with the irrepressible John Little (we wrote about him here). With help from “lots of excellent gardeners and ecologists,” they offer a free program that helps to equip trainees with the skills needed for “modern gardening.” Susanna explains: “The main idea is shifting the emphasis and some of the budget away from hard landscaping and infrastructure towards planting, habitat creation—and gardeners.”
This little yard in North London was transformed by Susanna for like-minded clients, who had already successfully campaigned with their Islington neighbors to get the local authorities to install some planters on a sad stretch of sidewalk, which they described as a “disused piece of pavement.” They asked Susanna to make a wildlife garden there; then asked her to help them with their own disused backyard.
Above: A lot of plants and a consistent palette in the hardscaping make a small space seem bigger. “It was a tough brief as the owner wanted interesting plants: lots of planting plus room. I think it shows what you can fit in a space.” Above: “The back garden is tiny, north-facing and quite boxed in,” says Susanna. “It backs onto flats, and rather than try to pretend they weren’t there, I wanted to ensure the view from the house focused the eye on the planting—not up and beyond.” Above: “The client wanted interesting plants,” continues Susanna. “Although my scheme was predominantly quite woodland because of the aspect, there was an existing banana, nandina domestica and acer palmatum which I needed to work around. I added an Abutilon ‘Canary Bird’ right next to the house as it flowers for most of the year and picks up on the vibe of some of the existing plants.”
The depaving movement has become something of a national sport in the Netherlands, with municipalities competing to see who can remove the most paving from their town each year. Stateside the crusade to replace concrete and asphalt with permeable landscapes (ideally: gardens) may be slower to take hold, but it’s been around for nearly two decades, starting with Depave Portland in Oregon and spreading to communities across the country.
In Somerville, Massachusetts, Depave Somerville organizes “depaving parties” for homeowners. Landscape architect Sara Brunelle, one of the founders Lu La Studio, was selected for one of these volunteer-run events. So, one April day, an asphalt recycling dumpster and a crew of about 10 volunteers showed up to tear up the parking lot behind Brunelle’s house with crowbar and sledge hammers.
Brunelle and her business partner, landscape designer Katie Smith, had dreamed up a new permeable landscape for the yard, but they didn’t anticipate how gratifying the actual depaving would be. “It was truly joyful—like the best of a CrossFit gym and an awesome wild community,” says Brunelle. “It really was electric. Katie and I both have a background in urban gardening. This was an awesome moment of direct action.” It was also a little emotional: It began to rain right after the depaving was complete, and they realized the soil had not felt rain for at least 70 years. “That smell of rain on earth was so poignant,” Smith says. “That’s our responsibility as landscape architects to rehabilitate.”
Brunelle and Smith’s goal was to create a multi-functional, re-wilded garden for all the residents of the multi-family building. They managed to fit in an eating area, a play lawn, a permeable parking space, and a vegetable garden on the 30 feet by 40 feet lot.
Photography by Haley Dando, courtesy of Lu La Studio.
Before
Above: The gray-on-gray view of the parking lot from the street. Above: The yard behind Brunelle’s home was nothing but asphalt and a few conifers.
When a family came to Dirt Queen NYC seeking a backyard makeover, they really just wanted one thing: to be able to use their yard. The existing “garden” was a patchy stretch of grass with garages on three sides. Now that their kids were older, the family no longer felt they needed a lawn for playtime. Instead they craved an adult space for hosting dinner parties and a dedicated firepit area, which might even entice their teens to hang out at home.
Jarema Osofsky and Adam Bertulli, co-founders of Dirt Queen NYC, took stock of the existing conditions. The family wanted to keep the existing trees, including some arborvitae that were nicely screening the neighbor’s garage and some Norway maples that were creating dense shade on one half of the garden. Bertulli and Osofsky saw an opportunity to give their clients the function they craved, carving out two distinct garden rooms in the small space, while also creating a dynamic pollinator garden.
Here’s how they did it.
Photography by Brett Wood, courtesy of Dirt Queen NYC.
Before
Above: The yard was nothing but balding grass, arborvitae, and a stand of Norway maples. One impactful move Bertulli and Osofsky made was asking the neighbors if they could paint the back walls of their garages the same color. Luckily, they agreed.
After
Above: From uninspired and useless to inviting and functional. Above: Native flowering shrubs are the backbone of the new garden. For the garden’s midlayer, Osofsky used Clethra summersweet, oak leaf hydrangeas, and Viburnum dentatum, which she notes provides really beautiful berries for birds.
This trash-to-lushness story begins in the small town of Kyritz, Germany, when two creatives, Laura Muthesius and Nora Eisermann, decide to turn a historic apartment building into holiday rental units. The two performed their magic on the interiors (see their artful transformation of one of the flats over on Remodelista), but what to do with the backyard, which was unloved and unused, other than as a place to store trash bins?
The simple answer: add more plants and, in particular, more flowers. Aside from a hydrangea, the courtyard was devoid of color. After moving the garbage cans indoors to their own storage area and covering the hardscaping—uneven bricks and cobblestones laid out in a somewhat garish pattern—with a layer of gravel, Laura and Nora turned their attention to planting. More hydrangeas. A quince tree. Lots of oregano. American mint, anise hyssop, an aronia tree, climbing roses, lavender, sage, and potted olive trees.
“We wanted a wild-looking garden that has a Mediterranean feeling. We were a bit scared not to have enough light for the herbs like oregano and lavender, as it is not sunny all day in the backyard but it seems to be just enough as they are all growing so well,” they share. The plants were the costliest part of the landscape design but also “the best investment, as they just grow more and more beautiful each year.”
After moving in furniture to create outdoor living and dining spaces, and adding an outdoor kitchen (the chicest we’ve seen!), the once neglected courtyard is now their “secret little garden.” Let’s take a tour, and be sure to scroll to the end to see the space in its original state, complete with trash bins.
Above: Laura and Nora furnished the outdoor living area with pieces from Tine K Home’s bamboo collection. Above: “The ivy and wild vine that climb up the backside of the building is just so so charming and makes you feel like you are in a secret little garden.”
In the first decade of America’s post-war boom, a million and a half new houses were built, creating vast tracts of suburbia and giving young families their first opportunity to own a home. Nowadays, however, homebuyers who stumble on a 1940s relic in vintage condition often wonder if it’s worth it to buy a house that needs a major remodel?
For Raleigh and Michael Zwerin, the answer was yes. In 2004 they bought a circa-1944 cottage in Mill Valley, California. From the moment they moved in, baby in tow, they started thinking about the house they wished they had. Nearly a decade later, after having a second baby (and learning firsthand that the charming creeks that crisscrossed the neighborhood were prone to flood in winter), they asked architect Kelly Haegglund for help.
For Haegglund, who lives just a few blocks from the Zwerins, the challenge was to design a modern-family-sized house that didn’t loom like the Hulk over the rest of the neighborhood, where one-story bungalows and cottages were built on narrow lots. The result? A modern three-bedroom bungalow with pleasing architectural details borrowed from the Arts and Crafts era. A low-water landscape, designed by Mill Valley-based Bradanini & Associates, surrounds the house in year-round greenery.
Photography by Mimi Giboin.
Above: After searching for months for just the right dark stain color, Raleigh Zwerin suddenly saw it by accident when she drove by a house under construction in nearby San Francisco.
“I went back to that house in the city several times until I met the lead contractor and asked him for the color, but he said the owner of the house said it was proprietary information and he didn’t want to give it out,” says Raleigh. Luckily, though, the contractor took pity on her plight. “He said, ‘I’ll meet you somewhere and give you a shingle so you can match the color.’ We ended up in a rendezvous by the side of the road. He brought two shingles in his truck, I brought a box of cookies, and it was great.”
The custom trim color? The Zwerins also gleaned it from the same side-of-the-road exchange.
Above: A curtain of cape rush (Chrondopetalum elephantinum) will reach heights of from 4 to 6 feet, creating an airy screening layer behind the picket fece.
When Jane Orvis and Steve Hanson bought their 1950s house in Seward Park, Seattle, they kept the original pink-tiled bathroom. But what about the mid-century shrubbery, arranged around a lawn—did that have to stay? Most people would reply, “absolutely not,” but Jane, who is a keen gardener, wanted to take a more closed-loop approach and consulted with the landscape architect Jonathan Hallet, of Supernature. On a joint visit to the Seattle Arboretum, a trio of plants in the New Zealand garden caught their attention: a topiarist’s hebe, red tussock grass, and a shrub similar to manzanita. They had all the “lightness and air and movement” that Jane’s garden was in need of.
“We stuck with the desaturated greens and off-greens typical of New Zealand plants,” says Jonathan. “We were trying to make it feel more like a dry garden, which it is.” He and Jane also planted natives, and plants from the coasts of Oregon and Northern California. “The overall tough and dry plant palette helped in creating a more climate-adapted garden that will tolerate Seattle’s increasingly long, dry and hot summers, with little supplemental irrigation required.”
“Most garden plants used in the Pacific Northwest are borrowed from Japanese or East Coast or British styles—plants like hydrangea that want summer water, which we don’t have,” says Jonathan. “Seattle has long, hot summers with a Mediterranean climate and we wanted to make a garden that was ready for that. We also tried to give it plenty of evergreen structure, so it feels full and good in the winter.”
Below, Jonathan explains what went into this mid-century landscape makeover.
Before
Above: The former front garden: A static combination of shaped bright greens and pinks in front of the mid-century house. “The typical landscape of the 1970s was lumps and lawn,” says Jonathan. “We wanted to break that up and we knew the lawn was always going to go. It was thirsty and spongey and wasn’t needed—and it was taking all the flat real estate that we wanted for making a lively counterpoint with plants.” Above: “So many topiaries were removed and yet it still feels like there’s a lot,” he says.
When Stephanie Wong and her partner, Daniel Watson, found their future home in Atwater Village back in 2021, they saw potential behind the concrete lot and dated details. “During the search, we saw so many quick flips with cheap finishes and cookie cutter design choices. Although the property needed work, we were glad to design it in a way that matched our personal vision,” Stephanie describes. It was their first renovation and first landscape project. The result is a thoughtfully updated 1920s Spanish-style property the couple dubbed Finca Glenfeliz. Join us for a tour of the garden.
Above: The building seen here is former two-car garage converted into a small studio the couple now rents for production through Peerspace. The etched terracotta pots at the entrance are from Plant Provisions. Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz.
Stephanie works as Brand Director for ORCA, an LA-based landscape design and outdoor product studio founded by Molly Sedlacek. “The garden renovation was actually what brought me to work with ORCA in the first place,” she says. “I fell in love with the landscape design process. It truly is an art form.”
Above: Shown here is a Catalina Ironwood tree, a California native found at Devil Mountain Nursery. As for the grass, “we went with a native California no-mow mix which requires less water, feels more wild, and looks less manicured,” Stephanie explains. “We wanted this zone to feel like a meadow so we brought in a chunk wood stool from Angel City Lumber and natural stone.” Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz.
Above: For added privacy from the street, they replaced the open wrought iron gate with a cedar gate. The gravel is Del Rio Pea Gravel and the path is made up of Utah Sunrise Flagstones from Bourget Bros. It’s lined with two vegetable gardens that Daniel built of redwood and a mix of California natives and Australian species. Photograph by Marc Gabor for Finca Glenfeliz.
For the first phase, Stephanie and Daniel worked with landscape designer Nola Talmadge at Field Sound who created the overall layout and plant palette while procuring hard-to-find materials like the flagstones, plants, and boulders. Inspired by the gardens of Mexico and the Mediterranean, the couple brought it in a warmer palette of pebbles, grasses, and stone. They demolished the concrete driveway that runs the length of the property from the street to the garage. From there they brought in bigger trees, boulders, laid flagstones, and pea gravel.
For the second phase, Stephanie and Daniel focused on the finishes themselves. Since joining ORCA, they’ve installed ORCA pavers to create a landing off the back studio and cladded the front porch in ORCA tiles to hide the cracked concrete. “The most rewarding part was seeing so much life in our garden after we removed the concrete and dying grass. I started seeing butterflies, bees, and birds creating a mini ecosystem in our backyard,” says Stephanie.
Above: For the minimal outdoor shower, the idea was to feel immersed in plant life. They sourced two pieces of Deodar Cedar beams from Angel City Lumber and planted Acacia iteaphylla on either side. Photograph by Austin John for Finca Glenfeliz.
With 10 years of experience in social and content creation, and a lifetime passion for storied vintage and architectural charm, I spend my time at AT Media running the social media department. I joined the Apartment Therapy team in 2019 to manage their social media, expanding to The Kitchn soon after, and Cubby and Dorm Therapy social in the years to follow. Previously, I served as the social media editor at InStyle Magazine.
When I’m not on social media, you can find me at my local antique market hunting for new treasures to bring home. I’m passionate in my belief that every piece in your home should ignite a conversation, whether that’s a memory, its history, or why it’s so special to you. It’s the personalized touches that really turn a space into a home.
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
No matter how many room makeovers and professionally staged spaces we see — and we’ve seen a lot — we never fail to be impressed by the power of a simple coat of paint to breathe new life into a home. “Paint is the most transformative tool,” agrees professional home stager Daniel Coffman of Staged Spaces in Monrovia, California. “I always say, ‘new paint … new house!’” And that was certainly the case with this three bedroom, two bathroom home that Coffman and his partner Jacen Crehan took from dingy and dated to fresh and welcoming.
Realtor Jack Harriman of John Hart Real Estate brought the project — a 1957 Southern California Rambler Ranch in Arcadia, California that he was selling for a family member — to Coffman and Crehan for their makeover expertise because the home was in need of a significant amount of help. “This place needed work! The owner had smoked in the house for over 20 years and had left the walls thick with smoke stains,” says Coffman. Adding to the challenge was the fact that the sellers had only a limited budget to improve the space. That’s where paint — the least expensive yet most impactful decorating tool — came in.
The living room, which Coffman envisioned as an updated hang-out space for relaxing at the end of the day, got a new, warm gray color scheme on the walls and fireplace. The walls were painted with Benjamin Moore’s “Coventry Gray”, while the trim was freshened up with Benjamin Moore’s “Chantilly Lace”, a classic white. The biggest paint transformation was the fireplace. “The fireplaces in these homes are quite large and always take up space in a dark, ominous way. And the contrast of the original red brick and the yellowish wall color was jarring!” says Coffman. “A smoother connection from wall color to fireplace — which was painted Benjamin Moore’s “Temptation” in a matte finish — left it looking like a connected piece of the room and a welcome focal point.” Completing the new color story, the floors were refinished with a darker stain. “Even after sanding, lighter was not an option with the amount of wear,” says Coffman.
With the painting finished, the staging team layered in furniture and decor to show potential buyers how the living room — the first space anyone visiting the house sees — could be arranged. “Since this house was built in the 1950s, we wanted to keep the furnishing mid-Mod inspired,” says Coffman. In addition, dated vertical blinds and too-short drapes were taken down and replaced with longer dark blue drapes that echo the color in a pair of chairs positioned opposite the sofa. The design relied on mostly solid fabrics with some pattern just on the sofa throw pillows. A neutral, textured rug added warmth and the space to the left of the fireplace became a stylish moment with a console, mirror, lamp, and vases.
Earlier this week, Remodelista readers were treated to a tour of a row house in Ghent that was was formerly “charmless” and now fresh and chic thanks to its resourceful new owners, Arthur Verraes and Kelly Desmedt, who did much of the remodeling work themselves. Today, we’re visiting the elements that make the outdoor space equally cool.
While Arthur, architect and founder of Atelier Avondzon, led the house renovation, his girlfriend Kelly, a corporate lawyer, is the mastermind behind the overhaul of the back garden. She had no prior experience with gardening. “I grew up without having a garden myself and knew nothing about plants,” says Kelly, who discovered her green thumb during the COVID pandemic, when they purchased the house. “Ever since, I’ve been thinking about studying to become a landscape architect or to do something with it in a more professional way. For now, I’m indulging this passion by helping out friends and family from time to time and by designing our next project.”
The landscape design was actually the first thing the couple tackled, before turning their attention to the house renovation. “I would definitely recommend this sequence. The moment we were able to move, it already felt like home and the garden was already in full bloom,” she says. “Not to mention, this allowed us to plant trees that we wouldn’t be able to plant afterwards (urban townhouse).”
Below, she gives us a tour of the newly reimagined outdoor space. (Be sure to scroll to the bottom for the before images.)
Above: Arthur and their dog posing at the front door of their remodeled row house. Two simple changes to the exterior transformed the entire look: 1) painting the garage door, gutter, and window frames green and 2) adding a wisteria to frame the front door.
Above: The couple tackled the backyard before renovating the house. Next to them on the lower left is a Mediterranean spurge shrub (Euphorbia characias). Above: “We wanted to create an intimate, green, and cozy environment. a perfect place to catch some morning sun, to have a coffee next to the master bedroom or a place to cool down on a hot summer day. That’s why we decided to plant multiple trees in it, despite the small space,” says Kelly. The tree on the left is an Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense).
Above: Arthur and Kelly added these concrete steps that lead to a green roof above. The stairs serve as plant shelves as well for their collection of potted succulents. Above: Kelly chose gravel for the hardscaping for environmental reasons. “We really wanted to ensure a permeable surface. [Flooding] is a big problem in Belgium.”
The table and bench are from Logan Industrial, the hutch is a Herman Miller piece, and the subtly mismatched chairs suit the vibe perfectly. Nate loves to entertain his friends and host dinner parties. He says that the dining table is usually ready for six people, but he has two leaves for the table to expand up to 10. It’s a tight squeeze at 10 people, but he’s made it work before!
Tying everything together is the large-scale painting on the wall, which was painted by Nate’s great-aunt, the late artist Shirley Gorelick. “I love her work so much and am so happy I have a space to honor her in my home,” Nate says.
