Architects Annie Laurie Graviel and Arthur Furman (pictured above) are soon to be able to see the couple behind the company Side angle sideit’s finished Renovation of Their 1939 Austin Bungalowthey turned their attention to the outside. “It was like the day we finished the renovation. We realized we needed to eat outside,” Graviel said. The couple loved how they created an intimate indoor and outdoor connection with their home’s H-shaped footprints and especially the patio between the two rear wings. Inspired by their focus on outdoor living in the home, they stretched out the roof of one wing to create a meal pavilion from the kitchen.
However, the rest of the garden was a bit of a puzzle. Located in the drainage easement route, the garden had moat-like waterways for managing stormwater runoff and traversing the sloped garden. The architects made plans to fit the pool, but called on their friend Landscape Architect Cameron Campbell to give him a second opinion on what they designed.
Campbell saw the possibility that Furman and Graviel had no. He completely rethinks the outline of the garden and creates a new plan to build the pool on the slopes through a series of terraces. “It was way better than what we thought we had to do,” Graviel says. While Campbell’s design requires a significant increase in site work, the couple knew that they would eventually improve their flow and increase the available space.
Campbell designed a terrace built from reinforced concrete masonry blocks covered in Chukum, a type of Mexican plaster, where rainwater passes through four levels, slowing down and filters it into a planting bed. “He designed it to have a lot of planting areas that soften everything,” says Gravier. He also recommended native and climate-adaptable plants, such as native dwarf palmetto, bamboo murries and silver ponyfoot. In the area closest to the dining area, Gravier sowed native Texas wildflowers, such as cornflow, black-eyed Susan and sunflowers, attracting pollinators.
Furman and Graviel love how much use they get from their new gardens, but Graviel is probably even more excited about how much their garden is, bustling with birds and bees. “Every little movement we made, every plant, every tree — everything we did was a little invitation to insects and bees,” says Gravier. “How better it’s blows my mind. Before it becomes a hill of grass.”
Below is a reconsidered, re-entered tour of scenery.
Photo by Casey Dunn Side angle side.
