Landscape Design

"Landscaping was strategically planned to cope the home seamlessly into the rock, with access paths from the house to the lake barely visible in some places," adds the firm.

Walls of glass, horizontal roof planes, and a natural material palette enable this expansive home to feel like an extension of a dramatic boulder-strewn landscape in Idaho.

Surrounded by rugged beauty, the home was designed with a faceted exterior optimized for wraparound views unique in each room.

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

City Cabin | Olson Kundig

The house sits on a 1,206-square-foot, flag-shaped plot in a residential neighborhood where homes are built very close to each other.

Katsura trees, climbing hydrangeas, and basalt stepping stones create a pleasing passageway between the lower back deck and the new garage. “What could have been leftover space, I wanted to be a promenade,” says Andrea.

McLean chose artificial turf for the front yard, where Hana Bea and her sister, Pilar, 9, play as Sharen looks on.

For plantings, landscaper Aaron Teer helped select leafy specimens like the lion’s mane Japanese maples on the lower level.

The cedar decks were left to bleach in the sun for one summer and then finished with a light gray wash. Metal Solair chairs are in keeping with the tricolor palette of black, white, and green.

Hana Bea, 6, follows the concrete pavers that lead from the front yard to the side entrance.

A black-stained Western red cedar fence now runs along the perimeter of Sharen McLean and Mark Derraugh’s property in Vancouver, part of a complete revamping of the couple’s outdoor space. The project was spearheaded by Sharen’s daughter, Andrea McLean, whose daughters and nephew make the most of the urban oasis.

The wood-slatted louvers to provide shade from the setting sun and a breathtaking view.

The main house was given a contemporary look by way of a metal roof and a black exterior.

"The graceful ovoid arcs through the site, and the wood deck, concrete pavers, and a custom-fabricated steel planter all curve as they meet the line," explain the designers. "The shed itself tucks into the arc by only a very specific amount, a glowing anchor point in the yard."

"The homeowners hoped to transform their lot into a unified, beautiful, indoor-outdoor oasis linking their home, yard, and a new backyard shed in a designed experience where every detail would come together to compose the many smaller sub-spaces into an integrated whole," notes the design firm.

Concrete pavers line the new hardscape, which steps up to a deck built of ipe wood. Ipe wood has also been used for the built-in benches and fencing.