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LANDSCAPING IN THOUSAND OAKS

 

This is a very special property in the city of Thousand Oaks, California.  Through a gate and up two blocks of winding driveway brings one to a large, Spanish style single story house.  It sits on top of a hill on just over 4 acres and has a beautiful view of the city in the distance between two hills.

 

We got involved with the landscape design of this property after the owners had lived there a dozen years and finally decided to do the place up the way they had always wanted it.  We began working on the design and started with the most obvious design feature of this home, which was the view.  Much of it was blocked with the previous landscape which had tall hedges around two of the key patios.  This was changed out to a custom iron railing.  The material used for the new railing was black wrought iron.  Commonly nowadays iron tubing is used for this but this rail is actual custom built solid iron with Spanish details to go with the house.  The same railing was used for the staircases and the other patios.  This type of iron should last a very long time

 

 

The swimming pool was completely redone, replacing the old brick with a new stone look.  A waterfall and slide were added with a custom fire pit as well built into the faux rock at the back of the waterfall.  All of the outdoor flooring became either new flagstone or a textured concrete with a faux rock stain.  These two materials go very well together.

 

 

 

 

 

The house was given a new finish with smooth, Santa Barbara style stucco.  All of the new garden walls were given the same new warmer color and smooth finish that was used on the house.  Brass lighting fixtures were built into the new walls to cast a subtle light on the pathways and staircases at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the front entry, 5 natural basalt columns were used to create a unique water feature.  The water reservoir and pumps are underground and completely out of view.  The water is pumped through the center of each column where it then runs down the sides and disappears in the pebbles covering the landscape in that area.  The old concrete driveway also had a new finish with a natural looking textured overlay which was stained to match the other textured concrete on the patios.  Even the inside of the garage got a natural stone-like textured overlay.  This is an extremely durable product that can be given any texture and color combination giving old concrete a completely new look.

To say that every detail was taken into account might be an understatement on this project.  All the utility boxes, electric conduits, etc. anywhere on the house were painted to match the new stucco so they didn’t stand out.  The inside of the garage had all the holes and scratches patched and the walls and utility boxes were freshly painted.  Outdoor lighting was mounted in some of the trees to catch just the right angle on certain features and the flagpole was given special lighting designed to run all night long.  Most of the outdoor light was cast up onto the walls and up into the trees and shrubs.  The property has a magical feel at night, and day or night it is a wonderful place to visit.

 

 

Bruce Larsen
Larsen Landscape
Ventura County, CA