Modern Projects

Modern Front Landscape - New Berlin

Modern Prairie
2019 Gold Award Residential Design - Association of Professional Landscape Designers
2018 Gold Award for Excellence in Residential Landscape Design and Construction - Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association

The existing landscape around our clients' prairie-style home was dull and dated. It had originally been intended to have the flavor of an Asian garden, but it did not succeed on that point. The Prairie architecture of the home was still conducive to that style, so we were tasked with blending Asian, Prairie and the Mid-Century aesthetic that the husband preferred. His wife had one simple request – keep the flowering perennials simple and minimal. 

We focused first on creating a new front walk in a combination of concrete and bluestone. The square of irregular bluestone was placed on axis with the front door while also sitting on the diagonal with the Prairie-style urn which was the only element retained from the existing landscape. A new concrete patio was added to the right of the front porch for informal seating. Full range bluestone square steppers were placed along the edge of the driveway within slate chip mulch, to enhance accessibility for passengers exiting cars on the drive. A simplified palette of flowering perennials, grasses and shrubs fill the planting beds surrounding the new walk and patio. Per our client’s request, there are no red, yellow or orange flowers. Servicberry trees add a vertical element and privacy around the new front patio and a Firebird crabapple anchors the front bed.

As we were close to completing the design, our client made one last request: could we include a sentinel stone somewhere in the landscape? After doing research on the significance of sentinel stones in Asian gardens, we set about to find the perfect stone. We visited multiple quarries until we found just the right stone, sending our client’s photos from the quarry for their approval.  We suggested in turn that the stone might offer the perfect location for house numbers. We chose the house number plaque's shape, finish and font, and presented it to our client and they loved it. Once installed, the stone really was the finishing touch for this revitalized landscape. We were even asked to help choose new paint colors for the home, and the result is shown here.


Modern Front Landscape - New Berlin, WI

Modern Farmhouse Front Landscape - Fox Point

Our client originally hired us to the the landscape for their condo in downtown Milwaukee. When they recently purchased a new home in a suburb of Milwaukee they reached out to us again. It was a spec built home so it came with minimal landscaping which our clients were not happy with. The existing front walk was not very welcoming and the other walkway on the side of the house had been poorly installed. We were able to re-use some of the existing plants in our design which included a new front walk, address marker at the end of the driveway and landscape lighting as well as new trees. 

Project installed in spring of 2020 so check back for photos of the completed project!

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and Hannah Paulson.

Modern Farmhouse Front Landscape - Fox Point, WI

Mid century Vibe Concrete Patio - Bayside

Midcentury Marvelous
Originally a 1950’s Cape Cod ranch, our client’s home was transformed into this contemporary interpretation of a mid-century modern home. Regretfully, the landscape did not receive the same amount of attention as the home did during the major remodel. 

Our clients understood that the new landscape should reflect a mid-century modern aesthetic and asked that a little bit of Asian flavor be added to the mix.
For the front of the home, we focused on creating a visual statement with a new, segmented bluestone front walk. It replaced a plain, curved path that had no relationship to the architecture of the home. Bold, but simply shaped planting beds contain a limited palette of plants and colors to suit our clients’ tastes. Areas of various types of stone mulch reflect an Asian style adding texture and contrast with the plants.

The backyard was a blank canvas for us as the original patio had been removed during the remodel of the home. Our client requested areas for dining, lounging, and for hanging out around a fire pit. They also wanted enough lawn left for their young daughter to play in, which was a challenge while keeping the patio spaces functional. Colored concrete was chosen as the patio material in keeping with the mid-century modern theme and coordinates well with the color of the cultured stone on the home. Beach pebble inlays help define the spaces visually, while bluestone steppers and slate chip mulch are repeated materials from the front yard. Many of the same plants from the front are also repeated in the backyard, with the addition of some shade loving plants around the patio and lot perimeter for privacy.  


Mid century Vibe Landscape - Bayside, WI

Modern Front Yard - Shorewood

Even though our client's home is more traditional, they prefer the clean lines of California style. A new front walk and angled plant beds give this Shorewood front yard a modern feel. The backyard space was extremely limited but our clients still wanted room for dining, a hot tub and a linear gas fire. Turning the grid of the entire patio and plant beds at an angle to the house makes the space feel much larger than it is. Backyard scheduled for completion in spring of 2020.

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

Modern Landscape - Shorewood, WI

Contemporary Patio and Fire Bowl - Brookfield

Eclectic Craftsman
2015 Gold Award - Best Specialty Wall Project in Residential Design and Wisconsin Masonry Alliance Excellence in Hardscape Project of the Year

2012 Gold Award for Excellence in Residential Landscape Design and Construction - Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association

This modern interpretation of a craftsman styled home was the inspiration for the eclectic and contemporary landscape design.  Low garden walls which match the house veneer were incorporated to offer a sense of enclosure and add a bold architectural element to define the public and semi-private spaces. 

Upon entering into the back yard through the home’s breezeway, the stage is set with the signature element of the design; a theatrical 5’ diameter fire pit and split fieldstone radial bench.  The 100 year old cast iron fire pit began its life as a syrup kettle in which sugar cane was melted and still shows the foundry mark from Georgia.  

To bridge the change in levels between the upper and lower terrace, a stunning set of convex and concave limestone steps integrate with patterned bluestone to create the dramatic landing.    

A restrained palette of perennials and ornamental grasses combined with native shrub and tree species adds refinement and seclusion to the entire property.  Additional details include bluestone medallions set in concrete, extensive landscape lighting, and a well engineered irrigation system.  




Contemporary Landscape - Brookfield, WI

Contemporary Patio & Hot Tub - Lake Forest

Our client's contemporary home in Lake Forest, Illinois had a tired landscape. For the front of the home we worked around the existing bluestone walk and raised stone planters. New shrubs and perennials were added and the planting beds were re-shaped. A linear group of columnar, purple beech anchor the right side of the front yard.

The existing deck at our client's home was failing and too small for real entertaining. We designed an expanded new bluestone patio with an edge that mimics the cut outs of the front walk. The columnar, purple beech are repeated, screening the main patio from the new hot tub area. A gas fire bowl area was designed and is visually separated from the rest of the patio by 'Skyracer' molinia grasses. Bluestone stepping stones connect the main patio to an existing gazebo and the hot tub patio. Slate chip mulch borders the home in conjunction with the large roof overhangs. 

The existing pond on the property was too rustic and out of control for our client's tastes. To make it feel more like it was part of the house and surrounding landscape, we went in a slightly Asian direction creating a cantilevered deck over the water and a slate chip Zen garden around it. Skyracer grasses with beach pebble mulch are repeated from the patio plantings along with the bluestone steppers. We proposed an arc-shaped Corten steel water feature to replace the existing rubble rock waterfall.

Our client wanted more privacy along the south lot line in conjunction with their new patio so we designed in shade tolerant shrubs and trees to fill in the existing treeline including hemlocks for year round screening. We also designed new plantings along the driveway to improve the visual approach to the home.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and Hannah Paulson

Contemporary Landscape - Lake Forest, IL

Modern Front Yard Landscape - Racine

Our client was in the middle of remodeling the inside and exterior of his minimalist home in Racine when his architect contacted us to see if we'd be interested in designing a landscape that would be appropriate for the home. Arguably austere but also dramatic, with an open view to Lake Michigan through the middle of the home, it is referred to as the Glass House. With a new deck added to the front of the home as part of the remodel, our task was to connect it to the driveway on the north side. The whole design was influenced by the linear architecture of the home, so a simple concrete walk was designed, with overlapping geometry in relation to the deck. Slate chip mulch was used around the deck for an Asian garden feel, and it is carried around the house as a maintenance strip to aid in mowing the lawn. A long boxwood hedge was designed as a green fence, giving our client some privacy on the deck. Japanese tree lilacs anchor both ends of the front walk. An additional boxwood hedge was added on the north side of the home to screen utilities, and three serviceberry trees were added to replace a large, diseased tree that had been removed. Additional trees were incorporated into the design that our client may implement in the next few years.

Modern Landscape - Racine, WI

Modern Landscape Makeover - Fox Point

Hand drawn and ink rendered conceptual design for the front yard of this Fox Point, WI home. Our goal was to downplay the driveway across the front of the house. The new front walk directs visitors to the front door and creates an area for passengers to exit their vehicles easily.

The design also included the backyard where the existing patio space was too small for entertaining, so we designed a new expanded patio with room for grilling, dining and lounging. The dining area will have a pergola overhead with a separate fire pit area beyond. 

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

Modern Landscape - Fox Point, WI

Contemporary New Home Landscape - Caledonia

Contemporary New Home Landscape - Caledonia, WI

Modern Backyard and Pool - New Berlin

Our client wanted a modern design for the landscape around his new home in New Berlin, WI. They specifically asked for a front yard patio space so we created a modern courtyard. Concrete was used for its clean look in the larger paved areas while bluestone was used to highlight the walk itself. Pebble runnels divide the courtyard space visually, while angled bedlines make it clear this is not your typical suburban landscape.

We carried the theme of concrete and bluestone for the paving into the backyard design. A grilling patio was created off the upper patio doors with stone steps leading down to the future swimming pool. A lower level patio of bluestone is next to the house with additional bluestone seating areas around the pool. The angles in the design also allowed for the pool to fit on the flatter part of the existing backyard grade.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and Hannah Paulson

Modern New Home Landscape + Pool - New Berlin, WI

Modern New Home Landscape - Mequon

Stylish Sanctuary
2017 Gold Award for Excellence in Residential Landscape Design and Construction - Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association 

Our client, a former architect in Poland, had set a high bar for the landscape around her new home. After she made many design decisions that impacted both the interior and exterior of the home, she wanted to work with someone who spoke the same design language. When she found out the owner of our firm had a degree in architecture, she hired us. Her only design guidance for us was to have the landscape reflect her contemporary tastes, not the more traditional flavor of her neighborhood.

We chose concrete as the front walk material for its clean, modern look. The inner and outer panels are centered on the front door, while the three middle panels are offset. Beach pebble runnels separate the panels in the walk. Bold, continuously blooming color is provided by the many perennials, while the grasses and shrubs add structure to the front planting beds. 

Long-blooming perennials and flowering shrubs flank both sides of the house, connecting front yard to back yard. Entertaining space was important for our client, including dining, lounging and fire pit areas.  A cast concrete gas fire bowl was chosen to fit the contemporary feel our client so wanted, while the paving around the fire bowl is concrete with beach pebble base to mimic the front walk.  The simply detailed pergola overhead adds a vertical element to the patio, and further defines the outdoor dining room. Low voltage, LED lighting highlights the landscaping throughout.

Modern New Home Landscape - Mequon, WI

Modern Front Landscape - Mequon

For this new, modern home our landscape design coordinates with the architecture of the home and the clean lines that our client requested. A patterned bluestone outdoor foyer connects the driveway to the large front porch. Simple, linear plantings with blocks of color are the basis for the plant palette. Our client also asked for a Japanese maple which we tucked into the corner off the porch.

Even though our client's new home sat on a wooded lot, they asked us to add plantings for privacy and interest along the edge of the natural area. Spruce trees add winter interest, along with red-twig dogwood. Forsythia and serviceberry add spring color along the driveway.

For the backyard portion of the design, we did not need to design a patio space, as the home already had an immense covered deck off the back of the house. We did want to create exit points off the deck with stepping stones of bluestone. The grid of steppers in the center mimic the footprint of the bluestone foyer from the front yard. Slate chip mulch forms a border around the entire house under the large roof overhangs. A small bluestone grilling patio was added off the corner of the home.

Due to the heavy shade of the surrounding woods, we added hemlocks to provide privacy for our clients year-round. Understory trees with great fall color were also interspersed within the natural areas.

Designed by James Drzewiecki, APLD and Hannah Paulson



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I’ve always dreamed of having a clean, modernist home, and I’m happy to say that Alice and her team at Atelier Cohen led the way to making that dream a reality! I couldn’t be more happy with the project, my house looks like it could be featured in a Kinfolk magazine. I expressed my wishes of having a clean, natural interior aesthetic and they truly delivered – the natural light in my newly designed home is to die for. They also helped me turn my dated, drab living room into a spacious and cozy space in which I can’t wait to host a party. I couldn’t recommend Alice more, if you’re looking for easy collaboration and top-notch design, you have to reach out to them!

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.

I’ve always dreamed of having a clean, modern farmhouse kitchen, and I’m happy to say that Maison Kitchen and Bath led the way to making that dream a reality! I couldn’t be more happy with the project, our kitchen looks like it could be the envy of Pinterest. I expressed my wishes of having a light, airy feel with natural but polished finishes, and they truly delivered – the kitchen in my home is to die for. They also helped me turn my claustrophobic galley kitchen into a beautiful open-space plan that makes me actually want to cook and entertain in the kitchen. I couldn’t recommend Maison K&B more, if you’re looking for easy collaboration and top-notch design, you have to reach out to them!

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.

I’ve always dreamed of having a clean, modernist home, and I’m happy to say that Haus Design + Build led the way to making that dream a reality! I couldn’t be more happy with the project, my house looks like it could be featured on Architecture Digest. I expressed my wishes of having high ceilings and large windows, and they truly delivered – the natural light in my new home is to die for. They also helped me turn my claustrophobic galley kitchen into a beautiful open-space plan that makes me actually want to cook and entertain in the kitchen. I couldn’t recommend Haus DB more, if you’re looking for easy collaboration and top-notch design, you have to reach out to them!

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.