Carmelina

Carmelina is a contemporary residential landscape in Brentwood designed as a layered outdoor environment that balances modern architecture, structured landscape geometry, and lush California planting. Designed for a residence by William Hefner, the property extends the clean architectural language of the home into a series of terraces, garden spaces, and outdoor living environments organized around openness, privacy, and connection to the surrounding landscape.

The landscape blends zen inspired restraint with warm natural materials, layered planting, and expansive lawn spaces that soften the dark industrial character of the architecture. Broad terraces and stepped lawn transitions create a strong relationship between the residence, pool, and lower garden while reinforcing the calm and immersive atmosphere of the property.

Design Approach

The landscape is organized through a series of elevated terraces, retaining walls, and stepped lawn planes that establish clear spatial relationships between architecture, pool, garden, and outdoor gathering areas. Horizontal lines within the hardscape composition reinforce the strong architectural geometry of the residence while maintaining openness across the site.

A layered planting palette composed of bamboo, ornamental grasses, flowering perennials, sculptural shrubs, and privacy planting creates softness and texture throughout the landscape. Planting was carefully integrated to frame views, provide enclosure, and reinforce the tranquil garden character while balancing the bold materiality of the home.

Outdoor living spaces were designed to function as extensions of the architecture, supporting both intimate daily use and large scale entertaining. Broad terraces surrounding the pool transition into expansive lawn areas through linear grass steps and integrated retaining elements that blur the relationship between hardscape and landscape.

Material selections remain restrained and contemporary, allowing planting, texture, light, and shadow to shape the atmosphere of the site. Stone walls, architectural concrete, steel detailing, and clean paving compositions reinforce the modern residential character of the property while maintaining a warm and livable outdoor environment.

The result is a contemporary residential landscape that integrates modern architecture, outdoor living, layered planting, and resort inspired spatial planning into a cohesive Brentwood estate environment.