Traditional Projects 

Traditional Pool & Landscape - Cedarburg

Midwest Luxe
2018 Gold Award for Excellence in Residential Landscape Design and Construction - Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association

Featured in M Magazine, May 2018

With three teenage daughters, our clients decided it was time to add a swimming pool to their backyard. The existing landscape was virtually a blank slate, as there were minimal plantings against the house. An exposed aggregate patio was too small for the type of entertaining the family liked to do. Besides being given the task of locating the pool, our client asked that we raise the patio to be flush with the floor of the home. They also asked that we re-use as much of the existing fence as possible. A great starting point for the design was achieved when the client shared photos from Houzz.com of a pergola/ patio layout they liked.

Working with those photos for design inspiration, we set about determining where the new patio and pool would be located, knowing their placement in relation to each other was critical. So as not to block the view from the living room windows, the main patio occupies the space from the patio doors to the corner of the house. It is paved with Valders Rustic Pavers in tones of cream, gray and white. The pergola was stretched to match the main patio so that larger groups of people beyond family could be accommodated. The "extra" bay on the pergola was centered on the patio doors, with Valders Rustic Paver stone steppers in the lawn connecting visually to the pool deck. Additional steppers were inlaid in the pool deck concrete in line with the center of the doors. This visual axis then separates the pool space from the fire pit area.

The natural stone fire pit was custom made of radial cut Valders stone and is centered on the long axis of the swimming pool. The same stone is used for the low retaining walls around the patio. These walls were necessary in order to raise the patio to be flush with the floor in the home, providing ease of access when carrying food and beverages outside. Narrow planting beds surround the patio space, softening the stone walls. Valders buff stone steps at two locations coordinate with the stone walls. An additional patio space was created to the side for a grilling space and additional seating. Combined, the two patio spaces at the house provide visual balance to the length of the pool.

Concrete was chosen for the pool deck and fire pit areas for ease of maintenance and to stretch the budget. The existing fence was carefully removed to be reinstalled as the required pool fence, including the two gates. Only six additional fence sections were required. An area of lawn was designed to provide a visual buffer to the pool, as well as ensuring that the new backyard didn't end up being a sea of paving. Inside the fence, a mix of perennials, ornamental grasses and small shrubs surround the pool and fire pit area. Serviceberry trees anchor both ends of the backyard plantings, while taller flowering shrubs and upright junipers provide privacy screening from the neighborhood walking path. Low voltage lighting in key locations along with string lights added to the pergola by our client make the entire backyard enjoyable, even at night. Our clients now have a backyard for their daughters to enjoy that is equally adept for entertaining friends and other family. Even the dogs love it!

Traditional Pool & Landscape - Cedarburg, WI

Traditional Front Landscape - Shorewood

Our client in Shorewood, Wisconsin was in need of a new backyard after changing her one car garage into a two car. Her existing paver patio was torn up in the process and the backyard was a mess as evident in our before photo! She hired us to design a new patio along with the rest of the backyard. In conjunction with that work, it made sense to also design the rest of the property including a new stepper path down the side of the house, surrounded by new plantings. The existing front walk and steps were in great shape so we designed a new front yard around them. The Arts and Crafts bungalow made a cottage garden appropriate in terms of the style for the new gardens. A circular lawn creates the illusion of a larger front yard with a border bed surrounding it. The backyard was installed in 2018, with photos to come!

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

Traditional Landscape -  Shorewood, WI

Farmhouse Backyard Landscape - Hawthorn Woods, IL

Out client's home is in Hawthorn Woods, Illinois but he felt that there weren't any local landscape designers that were creative enough to design what he was looking for. Thanks to Houzz he found our portfolio and asked us if we'd be willing to work in Illinois. Their farmhouse style home was conducive to the cottage style gardens they were looking for and their goal was lots of color. The curving front walk was in great shape so we kept it intact and designed new plant beds around it. The biggest changes being the removal of some declining trees on the corner as well as the many evergreens that surrounded the foundation of the home. Even though the home was over 20 years old, we had a blank slate in the backyard as our clients had never installed a patio in all the years they had lived there. We chose patterned bluestone and brick for the paving to give the new patio an elegant touch. Our client already had a pergola kit waiting to be installed so we designed the space for it as well as a conversation set and fountain. Plant beds with long blooming perennials, ornamental grasses and flowering shrubs surround the patio space along with boxwood for evergreen color.

Farmhouse Landscape - Hawthorn Woods, IL

Traditional Front Landscape - River Hills

After a major remodeling added new rooms to the right side of their River Hills home, our clients called us to re-invent their landscaping. Our conceptual design shown here, focused on creating some symmetry and balance across the now longer front facade of the home. With the large driveway out front, we also designed an outdoor foyer of paving, to draw more attention to the front door. All new foundation plantings and low voltage landscape lights were included in the plan.

With the new addition came a workout room on the back corner of the house. We designed a new bluestone patio outside this room for relaxing before or after a workout session. We also enhanced the plant beds around the remainder of the home and around the existing patio and fire pit area as part of our design. Our client had also recently added a She-Shed and we created a new cutting garden behind the shed.  

Our client's dream is to have a large vegetable garden in the style of formal English gardens so we designed the layout you see here. A fountain off the She-Shed ties the garden to the rest of the backyard. A rustic fence and boxwood hedges surround the garden with raised vegetable planters and gravel paths between them. An herb garden with obelisk is the focal point in the center. 

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

Traditional Landscape - River Hills, WI

Traditional Pool and Fire Pit - Cedarburg

Backyard Resort
2015 Gold Award for Excellence in Residential Landscape Design and Construction - Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association 

2012 Silver Award of Excellence - Midwest Region - Association of Pool & Spa Professionals

This Cedarburg, Wisconsin project proved challenging – fitting an 18’ x 44’ swimming pool on a narrow 60’ x 124’ lot, while still allowing room for entertaining, circulation and planting beds. We centered the pool on the view from the home’s dinette, leaving ample room for the desired pool pavilion and fire pit, along with planting beds all around.  The design is based on a home-resort theme, with relaxation as well as entertaining the two major functions of the space. The built-in fire pit and the pavilion are both centered on the long axis of the pool, giving each a stunning viewpoint where the rest of the world melts away. A hammock area surrounded by perennials and ornamental grass sits at the opposite end of the pool. Long blooming perennials and flowering shrubs line the pool patio’s edge, softening the code required pool fence. Outside of the fence, river birch and juniper screen the neighbors. This landscape also boasts a lawn area large enough for a family game of football, as well as a secret garden for one of the client’s favorite plants, hosta. The pool pavilion is a great place for the family to eat or watch a baseball game on the flat panel TV. The fire pit extends the season well into fall, and also allows for early enjoyment in the spring.  As soon as the heat hits in summer, the true vacation begins and the pool becomes a welcome respite for family and friends alike.

Designed by Ginkgo Leaf Studio and Installed by Mayer Landscapes LLC.

Traditional Landscape and Pool - Cedarburg, WI

Traditional Front Landscape - Port Washington

We designed a front yard makeover for the home of an architect that we work with. A new front walk of bluestone and clay brick replaces a faded concrete paver walk. All new plantings will update the front of the home, replacing the original 1990's landscaping. Scheduled for installation in spring of 2020.

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

Traditional Front Landscape - Port Washington, WI

Traditional Bluestone Patio - Fox Point

Serving up Luxury
Our clients’ historic home (built by a member of the Evinrude family) had a lot of old world detailing, but no outdoor living space in the backyard. When we were hired to provide a landscape design for the entire property, the restoration of the existing tennis court had already been scheduled. As part of the landscape design, we were to create a new patio space. Being that our clients are tennis fanatics, our goal was to connect the house to the tennis court, using the full range bluestone main patio as the visual bridge. To further highlight the importance of tennis in our clients' lifestyle, the orientation of the patio was determined by the angle of the court, rather than making it parallel to the house.

The home’s Tudor architecture might dictate traditional materials, but our clients’ eclectic decorating style allowed us to mix things up a bit. Dramatic masonry seat walls divide the main patio into multiple spaces for dining, fire pit table, and hot tub. The hot tub was special ordered without cladding so that veneer stone could be installed to match the seat walls, giving it a custom look.

Additional paved spaces include a grilling patio just outside the kitchen, which is big enough for a small table for two. A viewing patio for family and friends to watch tennis matches was placed in line with the net. The last of the unique outdoor rooms in the backyard is the “Zen” patio placed on axis with and viewable from the family’s music room. Soon to be surrounded by a hedge, this space is a quiet retreat from the busier main patio.

Our clients also asked us to create a more visible path to the front door that was more in character with the impressive home. The new walk sweeps dramatically around one of the large crabapples that was saved, with full range bluestone circular landings at both ends. In order to maintain a connection to the home’s historic past, we had the vintage bluestone salvaged from the original front walk and a back path. It was then blended into the paving patterns in both front and back hardscaping. All new plantings throughout the property consisting of flowering trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, and long-blooming perennials provide the final touch with lots of color and seasonal interest. The resort-like backyard is now a far cry from the original empty lawn.


Traditional Landscape - Fox Point, WI

Traditional Landscape & Patio - Cedarburg

For the front yard landscape of this Cedarburg home, we created new foundation plantings around the two existing ornamental trees. New plantings down both sides of the driveway update the balance of the front and side yard. After constructing a new garage behind their home, our clients wanted a new and expanded patio space. The tight boundaries of the site forced us to be very creative with the layout of the fire pit and hot tub within the overall patio space. Three serviceberry trees help to give the patio a sense of enclosure.

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



Traditional Landscape & Patio - Cedarburg, WI

Lake Home Perennial Garden - Oconomowoc

 Château de Fleurs
2016 Gold Award for Excellence in Residential Landscape Design and Construction - Wisconsin Landscape Contractors Association 

The impetus for our clients to contact us was the failure of an existing concrete block retaining wall. Their goal was to do more than just replace the wall. In their minds, the entire property needed a complete makeover with the first phase focusing on the front. The subdivision interestingly was once part of a monastery, and an original stone wall and columns marking the boundary of the monastery grounds sat on the corner of our clients’ property. To highlight this historic element, we suggested building a matching stone column which could double as an address marker and lamp post. 

Because the home sits on the shore of Lac La Belle, we focused on using more natural materials for the balance of the hardscaping. The retaining wall alongside the driveway was recreated in Fond du Lac outcropping with tiered areas for plants. Our client wanted plant variety, which we accomplished along with continuous color and seasonal interest.

As the existing stamped concrete front porch and steps were deteriorating, our client asked for suggestions. Knowing that the phase two patio we had designed would be full range bluestone, we suggested the same material for the porch with blue bluestone treads. A new colored concrete driveway was part of phase one, so we took that as an opportunity to create an “outdoor foyer” in front of the steps.

The new landscape stops passersby in their tracks and makes the French Country style home feel more at place with its site and surroundings.

Traditional Lake Home Landscape - Oconomowoc, WI

Transitional Front Landscape - Waukesha

The front yard conceptual plan for this newly constructed home in Waukesha includes a new concrete front walk with faux stone cobble edge. The curves of the walk and bedlines soften the overall design while still giving it a modern feel. The backyard includes a new concrete patio with fire pit area and a composite deck. The patio also has the faux cobble edge. Stone steppers create a path from the driveway to the backyard. The plantings are a long blooming mix or perennials, ornamental grasses, flowering shrubs and ornamental trees.

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

Transitional New Home Landscape - Waukesha, WI

Mequon - Garden Terrace

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

After adding a new living room to their home along with a kitchen remodel, our client realized it might be time to replace their deteriorating wood deck. It was original to the home when it was built and didn't fit well with the new addition that included many windows. Our idea was to replace the deck with a new, expanded patio that would wrap around the addition, making patio and home feel like they were designed together. 

We also suggested materials more appropriate with the architecture of the home including full range patterned bluestone for the patio surface. Clay pavers were chosen to coordinate with the existing brick porch on the front of the home, and add detail as a border around the bluestone. A combination sailor/ soldier course of the same pavers, outlines the circular dining area. New bluestone landings were created, with custom-cut lannon stone steps, making it easier for our clients to step out onto the new patio with food in their arms when entertaining. The grade around the entire patio was also reshaped to make the patio flush with the surrounding lawn. This was an improvement over the existing deck, as it had been a half step higher than the backyard which created a tripping hazard.

Our client also loved perennials and gardening, so we made sure to surround the patio with long-blooming plants, including 'Rozanne' geranium and Double Knock Out shrub rose. With the patio wrapping around the new addition to the home, we also wanted to create a garden of color in front of the new windows. The palette of plants in this area included a mixture of tall and short perennials with bloom times from early spring ('Caesar's Brother' Siberian iris) to high summer. Included in this mix were 'Feuerland' achillea, 'Goldsturm' rudbeckia, 'Blue Fortune' agastache, and 'Jacob Cline' monarda. The latter plant guaranteed to be a hummingbird magnet! A curved group of boxwood outlines the edge of the dining area, while 'Autumn Brilliance' serviceberry adds a vertical accent. One of our favorite perennials, 'Summer Beauty' allium, was used in the foreground of the plant beds surrounding the patio, acting as an accent around the edge. 

After the completion of the patio, our client was so happy with the results that they retained us to redesign other parts of their property, including a new front walk to match the patio.

Traditional Patio + Landscape - Mequon, WI

Traditional Front Landscape - Mequon

For this Mequon home, we were tasked with creating a landscape design around the existing concrete walk. A brick soldier course edge was proposed to dress up the concrete. The foundation plantings and those around the front walk include a mix of long blooming perennials, ornamental grasses, and flowering shrubs. Ornamental flowering trees anchor both ends of the front yard.

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

Traditional Front Landscape - Mequon, WI

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