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Mid-Century Russell Barr Williamson Landscape -  Bayside, WI

This 1958 Mid-Century Modern home designed by Russell Barr Williamson had an existing flagstone patio that was failing. The original stones were cracked and fragmenting and there wasn't enough room for practical modern-day entertaining. Our clients contacted us because of our love of MCM homes and our background in architecture and art, knowing that we would do this home justice with a design for a new patio. 

Concrete was chosen as it is period correct but also budget friendly. Our clients wanted more room for entertaining as well as dedicated spots for their hot tub and grill. They also requested an area for a fire pit. With the angles of the home as our inspiration, we designed a patio space defined by two overlapping trapezoids. Separating the two main spaces is a cut out bed for tall ornamental grasses. This line of grasses points to the centerline of the circular dining room on the home, which then creates a visual axis out to the fire pit patio. Bluestone steppers create a path from the patio to the fire pit area. A line of boxwoods forms a border around the curved outer edge of the patio, intersecting with the line of ornamental grasses. Flowering shrubs and perennials round out the plantings with low voltage landscape lighting placed strategically around the patio.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and Hannah Paulson, landscape designer

Mid-Century Modern Front Landscape - Fox Point, WI

Hand drawn and ink-rendered conceptual landscape design for the front yard of this mid-century modern home in Fox Point, Wisconsin. The home was designed by Abe Tannenbaum, one of Milwaukee's most prolific mid-century architects. Our client wanted to do something different than lawn around the existing front walk which consisted of concrete circles original to the home. We moved about 25% of the circles and had new ones poured to match to better connect with the half-circle driveway in front of the home. We also added a small sitting area to the right of the front door in bluestone. 

The existing masonry address wall was retained but we designed new plantings around it to carry through on the circle theme inspired by the front walk. All new plantings were designed across the front of the home, including linear groups of 'Karl Foerster' grass to emphasize the vertical elements on the home. The plantings become more natural in placement and layout on the edge of the property. New low voltage landscape lighting was also part of our design.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and hand rendered by Hannah Paulson, landscape designer

Mid-Century Tannenbaum Landscape - Fox Point, WI

Modern Front Landscape - Belgium, WI

This design was especially fun to work on as it centered on a newly constructed modern home in Belgium, Wisconsin. Our clients wanted something that would enhance and compliment the architecture of their custom designed home. Our design includes the new front walk along with the prairie inspired plantings and landscape lighting.

For the backyard portion of the design we created new upper and lower patios and plantings that coordinate with the front beds for a cohesive plant palette. Bluestone steppers connect the various concrete paved areas.

For the site, our clients wanted to keep at least 50% of the site as natural vegetation. We designed the boundaries for mowed lawn and included  screening plantings for privacy. Native trees and shrubs were used throughout the overall site.

Before photos included. Phase one scheduled for spring of 2022.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and hand rendered by Hannah Paulson, landscape designer.

Modern New Home Landscape - Belgium, WI

Modern Backyard Patio - Mesa, AZ

This newly constructed home in Mesa, Arizona offered us a blank slate and also the opportunity for us to design with an entirely new palette of plants. After researching plants approved by the HOA and discussions with our client, we narrowed down the mix of native woody plants and succulents and set to work on the plans. For the front yard we kept the design more minimalistic, as the space was limited. The backyard is where we had some fun, splitting the area into three zones. The foreground zone is similar to the front landscape with more open space and less plants. The second zone wraps around most of the back of the property and the east side. The idea was a lusher, denser planting that helps to hide the ubiquitous concrete block privacy wall. The third zone required some buy-in from our client, as we proposed an enclosed area where a rescued desert tortoise could live. Our clients loved the idea and they are looking forward to the day that they can provide a home for this native, endangered reptile.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and Kristin Klimaszewski

Modern New Home Landscape - Mesa, AZ

Modern Backyard Landscape - Fox Point, WI

Our clients had decorated the inside of their Fox Point, WI home in a modern style so they asked us to create a landscape design that also had that flavor. For the front yard our goal was to downplay the driveway across the front of the house. The new concrete front walk directs visitors to the front door and creates an area for passengers to exit their vehicles easily off the driveway. A bluestone pad off the front walk is meant for a future bench.

The design also included the backyard where the existing patio space was too small for entertaining, so we designed a new expanded concrete patio with room for grilling, dining and lounging. The bluestone dining area has a custom cedar pergola overhead with built-in downlighting. For phase 1, our clients chose to not include the fire pit area we had designed. Beach pebble runnels help to visually separate the outdoor rooms of the patio and slate chip in some of the plant beds adds a Zen aspect to the design. 

Landscape lighting was designed for the entire project as shown in the evening photos. We also designed the stone and cedar address marker at the end of the driveway.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and hand rendered by landscape designer Hannah Paulson

Modern Landscape Makeover - Fox Point, WI

Mid-Century Backyard - Bayside, WI

Midwest Mid-Century

2022 Silver Award Residential Design - Association of Professional Landscape Designers

Our clients had already decorated the inside of their cute midcentury ranch in Bayside, WI with period correct furnishings when they contacted us. They had made an attempt at making their landscape midcentury, but in the end they knew they needed to call in for professional help. Since midcentury landscapes are our specialty, it was a perfect fit for us to work with them on renovating the entire property. The existing half circle concrete patio was in great shape, but it was surrounded by looming arborvitae that were original to the house. They were so large that the patio was essentially cut off from the rest of the backyard.

We designed all new plantings for the backyard, based on a circular theme to play off the patio geometry. We replicated the granite stone mulch our client had already used in the front yard. For the front part of the property we simply refined and adjusted what our client had already started, to create a cohesive whole between front and back. One of our favorite medium-sized projects!

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD. 

Mid-Century Landscape - Bayside, WI

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Mid century Front Landscape - Racine

Modern Concrete and Bluestone Walk - New Berlin

Mid century Vibe Backyard - Bayside

Contemporary Patio and Fire Bowl - Brookfield

Brookfield - Stately Elegance

<div class="rt-pg" style="text-align:center">At Ginkgo Leaf Studio, we believe exceptional landscape design is creating art through nature’s inspiration. This is our passion.</div><div class="rt-pg"></div>

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I’ve worked with Alice on a few renovation projects and am still floored by her dedication to design and space planning. Never have I experienced a hiccup or missed communication with Atelier Cohen, and home projects tend to create those sorts of problems! They are professional, approachable, and innovative in a way that anyone with any level of home renovating or staging experience will feel like they are in good hands.

Alice’s eye, advice, and service is extremely rare in this business. If you get the chance to work with them, don’t think twice about it!

I had the pleasure of working with Alice on redecorating my childhood home that hadn’t been touched up since I was a teen in the 80’s. I knew it needed a huge refresh aesthetically, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I had a consultation with Alice about my hazy ideas and she was able to understand my tastes and needs after just one chat! The whole design process was so streamlined and thorough that my fears of things going awry totally vanished after the first few meetings. She walked me through every step of the process, from sharing sketches and moodboards to purchasing the final pieces of furniture and decoration. Working with Alice at Atelier Cohen has got to be my greatest investment, I highly recommend their services.

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I’ve worked with Maison Kitchen and Bath on a few renovation projects and am still floored by their dedication to design and construction. Never have I experienced a hiccup or missed communication with them, and home projects tend to create those sorts of problems! They are professional, approachable, and innovative in a way that anyone with any level of home renovating experience will feel like they are in good hands.

Their advice and service through all stages of any project large or small is extremely rare in this business. If you get the chance to work with them, don’t think twice about it!

I had the pleasure of working with Maison Kitchen and Bath on renovating my childhood home that hadn’t been touched up since it was built in the 50’s. I’m quite environmentally minded, so I knew the appliances and electrical elements needed an update. I also knew it needed a bit of a refresh aesthetically, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I had a consultation with them about my hazy ideas and they were able to understand my tastes and needs after just one chat! The whole renovation process was so streamlined and thorough that my fears of things going awry totally vanished after the first few weeks. Working with Maison Kitchen and Bath has got to be my greatest investment, I highly recommend their services.

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I’ve worked with Haus Design and Build on a few renovation projects and am still floored by their dedication to design and construction. Never have I experienced a hiccup or missed communication with them, and home projects tend to create those sorts of problems! They are professional, approachable, and innovative in a way that anyone with any level of home renovating experience will feel like they are in good hands.

Their advice and service through all stages of any project large or small is extremely rare in this business. If you get the chance to work with them, don’t think twice about it!

I had the pleasure of working with Haus Design + Build on renovating my childhood home that hadn’t been touched up since it was built in the 50’s. I’m quite environmentally minded, so I knew the appliances and electrical elements needed an update. I also knew it needed a bit of a refresh aesthetically, but I wasn’t sure where to start. I had a consultation with them about my hazy ideas and they were able to understand my tastes and needs after just one chat! The whole construction process was so streamlined and thorough that my fears of things going awry totally vanished after the first few weeks. Working with Haus DB has got to be my greatest investment, I highly recommend their services.

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