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Collection by Ellen Gavin

GARDEN

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Josie’s tepee playhouse stands on a platform, where she and her friends erect sets for their theatrical productions.
Josie’s tepee playhouse stands on a platform, where she and her friends erect sets for their theatrical productions.
To disrupt the viewer’s sense up up and down, a bicycle was added to this massive green wall inside the courtyard of an old Colonial building in Mexico City.
To disrupt the viewer’s sense up up and down, a bicycle was added to this massive green wall inside the courtyard of an old Colonial building in Mexico City.
@urbansoule: The living wall is growing!
@urbansoule: The living wall is growing!
A custom bar sits underneath a retractable skylight. The material palette of the interior is simple, with white walls and concrete flooring.
A custom bar sits underneath a retractable skylight. The material palette of the interior is simple, with white walls and concrete flooring.
In the backyard, Lena combined a hammock from a former home with Maya chaises from Room & Board. A Woolly Pockets green wall system holds a variety of succulents. “They’re beautiful and architectural,” Lena says of the plants. “And I can’t kill them, which makes me so happy.”
In the backyard, Lena combined a hammock from a former home with Maya chaises from Room & Board. A Woolly Pockets green wall system holds a variety of succulents. “They’re beautiful and architectural,” Lena says of the plants. “And I can’t kill them, which makes me so happy.”
Viarengo added a custom stainless-steel slide to the property’s guest cottage. A green-wall system by Florafelt adds life to the vertical space.
Viarengo added a custom stainless-steel slide to the property’s guest cottage. A green-wall system by Florafelt adds life to the vertical space.
In the Mission District yard Monica Viarengo created for the Sharkey family, outdoor chalkboard paint by Sydney Harbour applied to marine-grade plywood offers a gallery for creativity. A mural by local artist Erik Otto—inspired by the neighborhood—brightens the back of the space.
In the Mission District yard Monica Viarengo created for the Sharkey family, outdoor chalkboard paint by Sydney Harbour applied to marine-grade plywood offers a gallery for creativity. A mural by local artist Erik Otto—inspired by the neighborhood—brightens the back of the space.
Some 35 percent of the materials from the renovation were resurrected in the yard: Redwood panels became fencing. Blocks cut from original concrete patios form the snake wall. And Purdy plans to crochet colorful cozies over various branches and stumps.
Some 35 percent of the materials from the renovation were resurrected in the yard: Redwood panels became fencing. Blocks cut from original concrete patios form the snake wall. And Purdy plans to crochet colorful cozies over various branches and stumps.
How a highly productive collaboration among a trio of creative Angelenas—and a good dose of Barragán—turned a dark and beleaguered midcentury house into a family home for the ages.
How a highly productive collaboration among a trio of creative Angelenas—and a good dose of Barragán—turned a dark and beleaguered midcentury house into a family home for the ages.
The first thing landscape designer Laura Cooper asked Devis and Purdy was to recall childhood gardens and outdoor play. In that spirit, she designed their backyard, integrating the high ground with the low just outside the “kids’ wing.” The resulting series of outdoor rooms on this quarter-acre is full of memory and play.
The first thing landscape designer Laura Cooper asked Devis and Purdy was to recall childhood gardens and outdoor play. In that spirit, she designed their backyard, integrating the high ground with the low just outside the “kids’ wing.” The resulting series of outdoor rooms on this quarter-acre is full of memory and play.
Near the house, Cooper clustered lush, big-leafed plants philodendron, purple heart, and flowering canna. Farther out, vegetable gardens sprout in raised beds, and thyme and mint thrive beneath citrus trees. Native California silver wild rye and matilija poppies bind the slope, bordering the low “snake wall” that winds around the yard, narrowly ducking beneath a big ficus tree with just enough clearance for a sprinting kid. Wide stadium steps connect the garden levels, turning the steep hillside into amphitheater seating.
Near the house, Cooper clustered lush, big-leafed plants philodendron, purple heart, and flowering canna. Farther out, vegetable gardens sprout in raised beds, and thyme and mint thrive beneath citrus trees. Native California silver wild rye and matilija poppies bind the slope, bordering the low “snake wall” that winds around the yard, narrowly ducking beneath a big ficus tree with just enough clearance for a sprinting kid. Wide stadium steps connect the garden levels, turning the steep hillside into amphitheater seating.
Continuing the material palette, the back patio is furnished with a custom granite-and-steel table and vintage Eames fiberglass chairs.
Continuing the material palette, the back patio is furnished with a custom granite-and-steel table and vintage Eames fiberglass chairs.
To most eyes, Ezequiel Farca’s 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City looked like a teardown. Even the lot itself—shallow and crammed against a steep hillside—wasn’t particularly alluring. But Farca saw through all the restraints to create a spa-like refuge in one of the world’s most energetic cities. "It’s is such a hectic place. You’re bombarded by so much information the moment you step into the streets," says Farca, who first gained prominence as a furniture and interior designer. "So we envisioned this house as a retreat, a kind of a temple." The rooftop courtyard is lined with a verdant mix of indigenous plants, including banana trees, palm trees, lion’s claw, Mexican breadfruit, and native vines. The chaise longues were designed for Farca’s EF Collection.
To most eyes, Ezequiel Farca’s 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City looked like a teardown. Even the lot itself—shallow and crammed against a steep hillside—wasn’t particularly alluring. But Farca saw through all the restraints to create a spa-like refuge in one of the world’s most energetic cities. "It’s is such a hectic place. You’re bombarded by so much information the moment you step into the streets," says Farca, who first gained prominence as a furniture and interior designer. "So we envisioned this house as a retreat, a kind of a temple." The rooftop courtyard is lined with a verdant mix of indigenous plants, including banana trees, palm trees, lion’s claw, Mexican breadfruit, and native vines. The chaise longues were designed for Farca’s EF Collection.