Rhyne Designs 13th Anniversary
It is Rhyne Designs’ lucky 13th anniversary, and we feel very fortunate for continued success and all the wonderful clients and design collaborators we’ve worked with! Here’s the annual update highlighting some favorite projects from the past year:
Finished Work
Quite a few of Rhyne Designs’ projects have been installed recently, all over the Bay Area from Petaluma to Napa to Livermore. I am really excited to see the front yard of this home near Petaluma installed and thriving (pictured below). Inspired by a client with a lot of planting knowledge, we designed a fun combination of plant textures and flowers using California natives and other drought tolerant species from the Mediterranean. These plants were selected for high habitat value and are arranged in clusters to complement some beautiful boulders and maintain open gravel spaces in between for fire safety.
In North Napa, a fun design for a small front yard came out nicely, with locally sourced stone walls and a small vineyard that frames the walkway to the front door (pictured here). Closer to the house is a small sitting area and colorful plantings like White Carpet Rose and Mexican Sage. Once the vines grow in, they will have a lovely green screen from the street and some wine to enjoy as well!
In San Rafael, Rhyne Designs developed plans to remodel the yards of two separate houses owned by members of the same family. We worked with existing plants and classic paving materials like brick but added modern touches with the landscape lighting choices and geometric planting arrangements. The designs also removed large lawn areas in both yards and replaced them with drought-tolerant plantings and more efficient irrigation. We hope to return to these gardens soon and get some photos of the finished results!
Lastly, in Livermore we worked with a client with a keen design sense to convert a small backyard into a fantastic series of outdoor rooms. Rhyne Designs was brought in to help add some Napa Valley style to the landscape and tie into Livermore’s growing wine country scene. The backyard improvements include an outdoor living area framed by a fireplace on one end and space for projecting movies on the other. Next to this is an outdoor kitchen with a peaked-roof trellis and fun chandelier. Beyond that are raised vegetable beds, a wood Japanese soaking tub and perimeter screen plantings. All the paving materials and paint colors were carefully coordinated with the remodelling of the house to have an elegant color scheme of faded black, rusted steel and touches of warm ivory white and dark green.
Projects Under Construction
Rhyne Designs has several projects currently under construction, with several more lining up as the weather improves. Just outside the City of Napa our design for the remodel of a large backyard is almost to the planting stage. It includes a refinished swimming pool with new paving, a new back patio with a lawn for the kids and dogs, a large prefabricated gazebo structure for outdoor living and dining, a vegetable garden, and plenty of nice planted areas about to come to life just in time for Spring!
On the other side of Napa a very exciting project is underway, transforming a neglected backyard area between three buildings into a unifying outdoor space for the family and guests to gather. The design centers on two covered outdoor living spaces with a full outdoor kitchen, dining area, and sitting area with a brick fireplace. Working with some unique Tudor style architecture, this landscape design uses simple structures that don’t compete with the house and brick paving accents that tie in with the existing materials without getting too historical, as shown in the drawing below.
Current Design Activity
Among the various projects currently on the digital drawing boards at Rhyne Designs are two exciting residential estates in Napa County. One involves a large property of rolling hills and hay fields that we have been master planning in collaboration with an Architect. The property will have a new house that stretches out to enclose a very nice courtyard space and orient various rooms to different views. The rest of the property will be developed with several blocks of vineyards, an orchard and vegetable farm, a pond linked to the house with a seasonal stream, as well as some open grasslands. Worked in among these elements is a network of pathways and some fun sitting areas, each with a unique character ranging from a classic gazebo to a very modern outdoor living room with amazing views. This will be built in phases and the detailed design is ongoing, with some construction starting later this year.
Secondly, in the heart of the Napa Valley near Oakville, Rhyne Designs is developing the landscape design for a four-acre residential property that has remnants of an Olive tree orchard. The project includes a five bedroom house, detached garage, guest house, swimming pool, outdoor kitchen / living room pavilion, outdoor dining among the Olive trees, and a pickleball court. Plantings are used to define a variety of outdoor living spaces with some unique plant combinations to keep things interesting year-round while keeping the irrigation water use low.
Looking Ahead
We are looking forward to another great year and are very thankful to everyone that has trusted Rhyne Designs for their landscape design work! Leaving you with this image from a tour last summer of the DiRosa Center For Contemporary Art in Napa, worth a visit! (sculpture by Ray Beldner).