Residential

Legacy Hillside Residence

Location: San Rafael, California, United States
Year: 2026
Type: Residential
Status: Concept design; not built
Area: About 1.3 acres

Aerial view of the pool terrace: a rectangular pool on a paved terrace below the house, with a dining table under a pergola, a lawn panel, and curving planted terraces falling away down the slope

01 / Overview

A garden for a multi-generational family home on a steep hillside above San Rafael Bay. The slope becomes a sequence of outdoor rooms for gathering, play and quiet retreat, planted with low-water, fire-conscious species suited to Marin County.

Services · Site inventory and analysis, Concept design, Site planning, Grading and terracing, Planting design, Lighting design, Hardscape materials

The site

The property sits on a steep hillside in San Rafael, in Marin County, looking out over the San Rafael canal and the bay. It is a 1940s house on a lot of about 1.3 acres, reached by narrow, winding roads with no sidewalks, and framed by mature oaks, plums and pines along its downhill edges. The ground is clay loam over weathered sandstone and shale. It drains well, but on these slopes heavy rain runs off fast, and bare soil erodes. The climate is Mediterranean: mild, wet winters, with most of the year's roughly 34 inches of rain falling between November and March, and long dry summers. The site lies in an area of wildfire risk, which limits the plants and features that can be used close to the house.

The brief

The house is home to a family whose children and grandchildren visit often. The goal was a resilient garden that balances sustainability, family activity, everyday comfort and restorative retreat. The analysis sorted the site into four zones by intensity of use: a welcoming zone for arrival at the street, an active zone for play, the pool and gathering, a retreat zone for quiet, view-oriented space, and a natural zone of ecological buffers along the edges. The steep ground rules out large-scale grading, so the design works with the landform through terracing, planting and surface treatment rather than flattening it.

Plan of the lot divided into four zones in colour: a welcoming zone at the street, a retreat zone beside the house, an active zone around the pool and a natural zone along the edges — Four zones, organised by how the spaces are used.

Three concepts

Three concepts were explored by hand: living within the woodland, which makes nature the main experience of the property; a family-focused hillside residence, which organises the garden into clear, easy-to-use outdoor areas; and a place to play, pause and restore, which balances active family spaces with quiet ones.

Three hand-drawn concept plans of the lot side by side, each with notes on entrances, gardens, lawn, woodland and orchard — Concepts 1, 2 and 3.

The concept plan

The final concept draws on all three. It sets out outdoor rooms for gathering, play and retreat; a better entry and arrival; stronger connections between house and garden; an upgraded pool terrace; a reimagined side patio; safer, clearer circulation; terraced spaces cut into the slope; views of the bay opened up and unwanted views screened; more shade; low-water, fire-smart planting; and less hardscape.

Coloured concept plan of the lot: the driveway along the street, the house at the centre, the pool and lawn beside it, and planted terraces around the edge — Concept plan.

Developing the plan

The concept was then drawn up as an illustrative plan, placing each room around the house: the patio off the master bedroom, a private garden, the pool area and wooden deck, an outdoor living and event space, the playground, the lawn, the orchard and the woodland edge.

Illustrative plan with trees and planting drawn around the house, patio, pool deck, carport, lawn and orchard — Illustrative plan.

Testing it on the slope

The garden was modelled in 3D to study the terraces, paths and pool terrace on the slope.

Early 3D model view of the house and pool terrace on the slope, with planting blocked in — Study model.

The site plan

A new welcoming area and a windbreak mark the arrival at the driveway. Beside the house, the pool terrace and outdoor living area become the centre of family life, with a dining terrace under a pergola, a lawn and an activity area. A playground gives the grandchildren a place of their own. On the quieter side, a retreat garden with sitting areas looks out towards the bay. A loop path with stairs and a step garden ties the rooms together and runs through woodland, berms and an orchard around the edge of the lot, and a retaining wall holds the terraces. An existing rock is kept as a feature.

Site plan of the wedge-shaped lot: the welcoming area and driveway at the street, the house at the centre, the pool, lawn and activity area beside it, and a loop path through woodland, orchard and step garden around the edge — Site plan.

Lighting

Lighting follows the way the garden is used: area lights along the driveway and the lawn, step lights on the stairs, wall lights around the house, and lights in the pool.

Planting

The palette of about 30 species combines California natives, Mediterranean plants and fruit trees, chosen to be drought-tolerant, fire-conscious and good at holding the slope. Coast live oak, California bay, western redbud and toyon form the canopy and screen; manzanita, ceanothus, sages, lavender and rosemary fill the slopes; and apple, pear, plum, lemon and pineapple guava make up the orchard. Defensive planting near the house keeps fuel low, and less hardscape and turf means less water.

Section

A section through the site shows the house on its terrace above the layered trees, shrubs and groundcover of the slope.

Paved outdoor living terrace with a long dining table, a pergola over an outdoor kitchen, and loungers — The outdoor living terrace. Render of the design model.

The house and pool terrace seen from below, above layered planting and a path winding up the hillside — The hillside from below. Render of the design model.

A path under flowering trees in the retreat garden, with a wooden bench set among shrubs — The retreat garden. Render of the design model.

Flowering trees, shrubs and lamp posts along a planted path beside the house — Along the retreat garden path. Render of the design model.

The pool terrace from above: loungers along the pool, a dining table beyond, and palms in the foreground — The pool terrace. Render of the design model.

Credits

All images are drawings and renders of the design model, not photographs. The scheme has not been built.

All work