Sage Outdoor Designs » landscape design

It’s no secret I am obsessed with tile. Honestly though with all the options out there, how could I not be? These hand painted tiles from Fireclay tile can be specified with whatever color combination you would like. Which is a great way to bring a more modern twist to the classical theme of painted tiles and brick. I also love the look of alternating brick on every other step riser creating these punctuated bands of color against the classic white stucco. Buen trabajo!

How can you not love this wall?

I am always looking for great new textures to make vertical surfaces more interesting, which is why I really love this weaving stone cladding from Island Stone.  By using wedge shaped veneer pieces they have created a cladding that really brings life to an ordinarily flat surface.  It really seems to move in and out and change in front of your eyes.  It’s just one of those materials that you can’t help but want to touch.

Can’t wait to use it in a water feature.

What do you think, awesome or just odd? This outdoor sofa, chair, and coffee table is part of the Stones Collection, and I’m leaning towards awesome. Of course, I’m not sure if I’d want my outdoor furniture to be cooler than I am…

I love it when genius meets gorgeous. Really, that’s pretty much my favorite thing.

This is one of those times: a beautifully designed modern outdoor umbrella that opens like a fan. No more struggling to lift open the typical umbrella, because it sweeps closed instead. And, well,  just look at it! Lovely.

And this is only the tip of the iceberg- almost everything made by Extremis is worth a closer look. Check out their website here.

In the hectic, overstimulated, digital lives we lead these days, I have noticed more of my clients are craving serenity in their outdoor living spaces. One of the things that I find is so helpful to creating as space is the addition of the sound of gently moving water. It doesn’t have to be much, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, I’d say the trend right now is that simpler is better.

I love this little water feature for exactly that reason: it is so simple and so peaceful. All it is is a metal trough with three bubblers. They surrounded the trough with black beach pebbles, and behind it there are a few ornamental grasses to sway in the breeze. It couldn’t be much more peaceful.

But what about saving water, you ask? I think a small fountain like this is completely appropriate for a waterwise garden. Did you know that if you compare 100 sq.ft. of lawn to 100 sq.ft. of the exposed surface of a swimming pool or fountain, you lose more water from the lawn? In both cases you have some water loss from evaporation, but the lawn also transpires, pulling water out of the soil and losing it through the pores in its leaves/blades. Plants that are more drought tolerant use a lot of tricky methods to cut down on water loss from transpiration, but turf grass didn’t evolve that way.

So if you want a very waterwise garden, consider getting rid of the lawn, replacing it with some fantastic outdoor living space, and allowing yourself (and the birds, too) a small fountain.