There’s Been Rough Times and Tough Times -We’re Still Here!

My sincere apologies. It’s been much too long since my blog appeared in those inboxes of yours, but there is a reason you haven’t heard from us. We have worked hard to complete the hardscape elements on the property. Our vision finally materialized, and we are ready to show you what we created on our flat and slanted piece of earth. Golden Gate would not be the same without these intrinsic elements shining on our steep hillside. Let’s start with the entrance to the property.

The Pedestrian Entrance

The new pedestrian landing appears through a funky, old-world charcoal-colored gate with blobs of speckled white paint, framed with ancient, rusted edges complete with a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Newly built whimsical rock columns hold up the archaic 200 pound gate that is one of two that crossed the pond from England to be a part of our project. The floor of the 8’x 8’pedestrian landing is made from 12” x 12” alabaster squares of Academy Tan granite with red and yellow vintage bricks lining the platform’s borders.

Entering the gate, tawny chiseled bricks top off an oversized cream-colored stucco planter filled with silver blue lavender and feisty Gazania Regens – luscious red, brilliant yellow, and vibrant orange flowers that bloom year-round.

Descending from the entrance landing, steps of granite and brick become a gently sloping pathway that curves down through the front garden past archaic rusted urns at the end of the olive clusters. Purple flowering rosemary lines the flaxen trail as it approaches a second iron gate above two crescent steps leading to the driveway and garage. Please note that our gardens on both sides of the pathway are newly planted and will take time to grow.

Spindle in the Garden

Farther down the path, a roughhewn brick spindle with a black lantern on top marks the turn to the lower garden alongside high stucco retaining walls capped with terracotta barrel tiles.

Marching down from the corner of the garage, a dramatic escalier formed from granite tiles and ivory stucco, hugs the exterior wall beneath the small red window. Its large square steps showcase a collection of old-fashioned rust colored urns with handles on their hips displaying wild lime-green asparagus ferns. Turning right, blond granite steps descend to the entrance patio and front door. Across the patch of orange, peach and red hex tiles, 100-year-old Belgian bricks outline the rubbly, polka-dotted demi-lune step at the front door. A large inlaid X represents an ancient element of Spanish Revival architecture.

Casa Golden Gate

The façade of our restored home accurately represents its 98-year-old self with one exception: we expanded the arched alcove around the entrance and replaced the original single door with a pair of dusky gold French doors that also repeat the X pattern. Paying homage to the dwelling’s roots, the surrounding windows match the shapes, location and deep red color of their 1927 ancestors.

Inside the Retaining Wall

The former unassuming single-entry door directly faced a retaining wall a few feet away and created a tunnel-like feeling in approach to the otherwise large and welcoming home. To bring the entrance more in line with the scale of the house, we pushed the retaining wall 12’ back from the structure to create a more open feeling. The new wall was erected in a whimsical C-shape, applying old colorful terracotta pavers on the ridge to vary the height and create interest.

Recently placed jasmine plants with tiny white flowers climb up sticks of wood to grow vertically onto the stucco wall in a semi-circle. One day soon the stone frog will hopefully spew water into the surrounding concrete bowl to create a mini fountain with a birdbath.

Bronze-colored metal planters placed along the rangy stucco wall on the west portion of the patio give it color and dimension with pink, white and purple blooming Bacopa flowers below the colorful rock wall above.

Second English Gate

The mate to the second gate stands at the driveway above the garden as a sentry between the colorful rock columns built by our talented mason. Charcoal lanterns mounted on the columns to light the inner garden, and two vintage red concrete balls perched on top of the rock columns announce the opening to the second entrance.

Inner Garden Pathway

Peeking into the garden from the second gate, we see the granite and brick pathway leading to the steps at the street entrance. Closer in are three beloved antique urns containing more of those brilliant Gazania Regens, and to the left of the urns, yellow and green Jabonica, fiery red Pina Colada and purple Mexican Sage are installed in clusters.

Driveway, Garden Gate & Garage

We painted the oversized garage door with C-2 Roasted Tomato, complementing our red windows and doors. Finding crates of gray, gold and red Italian cobblestones at a local stone yard was beyond a stroke of luck, and they were perfect for the driveway. To the right is another view of the upper gate and its two chunky rock columns.

Stay tuned for more hardscape elements to come…..

In the coming weeks we will be busy preparing Golden Gate for a charity garden tour that our community has organized for May 6. Following the event, the next blog will contain images and descriptions of additional hardscape features in our back and west gardens.

Fingers crossed, we will get our move-in permit any day now and begin moving furnishings into the property after four long years of construction to complete our project.

Thanks so much for your patience these last few months and years! We so appreciate your incredible comments that kept us going on this long, crazy journey. We couldn’t have done this without all of you urging us on with your kind words of warmth, enthusiasm and love!!!

Happy Spring and Hugs to all of you,
Linda, Marshall and Tobywan-Kenobe