Situated on a steep hillside on a lot with over 40 feet of grade change, Laurelhurst Hillside Garden weaves together a series of vibrant new gardens and outdoor living spaces for a active young couple’s home. Organized around a series of concrete and steel terraces, the landscape design encourages guests to enjoy intimate garden experiences and outward views to the neighborhood and Lake Washington.  

 
The main entrance to the house sits over 20 above the street and was cut off from view, creating a challenge for guests as well as the owners.  The backyard, with existing mature Japanese maple trees and occasional views to Lake Washington, rose steeply from the back deck and was not readily accessible from the home.  The Roddens asked that their landscape be designed in a way that would allow a more gracious connection between the house and outdoor spaces so they could be outside and enjoy the full extent of their property.   
 
The couple and their two daughters wanted a way to be outdoors and socialize, cook, and relax with friends and family.  Wittman Estes imagined a series of interconnected spaces for both the front and back yards, and envisioned a terraced landscape with a variety of open spaces woven into lush plantings.  In the front, a new custom mailbox and house number demarcates the entrance and starts at the street to create a more gracious entry for guests to climb the hillside and enjoy the lush plantings and views along the path to the front door. Wide landings paved with custom pre-cast pavers are linked by steel and concrete steps, and bracketed by 3’ tall carbon steel planters with billowing grasses.   

In the backyard, an ipe hardwood deck opens out from the kitchen and dining room, and steps down to the focal point of the landscape: the sunken courtyard.  Featuring custom hardwood screens, plate steel retaining walls, ipe wood benches and handmade cushions by La Fabrique, the courtyard is both intimate and expansive.  With a fireplace in the center, the space offers a cozy refuge for small groups of friends to gather, while pathways connect the courtyard to the deck, the landscape terraces below, and the front entry landscape down the hillside towards the street.  Ascending once more from the patio, wood steps rise to an elevated garden with wide views from a relaxing hammock. 

Project Credits 

Architect: Wittman Estes Architecture+Landscape 

Design Team: Matt Wittman and Jody Estes 

Structural Engineer: Josh Welch 

Builder: Matt Eads, Terrain Build 

Photography: Miranda Estes

Indoor Outdoor Connections 

Ipe deck and steps 

Precast concrete terraces 

Fleetwood Multislide doors 

Filtered views from the living and dining room to the gardens and Lake Washington beyond 

Landscape materials 

Carbon steel planters and retaining walls 

Custom concrete firepit by Wittman Estes 

Precast narrow modular pavers by Stepstone  

Ipe hardwood screens and benches 

Custon carbon steel mailbox and entry marker by Wittman Estes 

Crushed granite pathways 

Custom cushions with Sunbrella textiles by La Fabrique 

Planting Materials: 

Ginkgo biloba "Fairmont' Maidenhair Tree 

Hamamelis x intermedia 'Arnold Promise' Witch Hazel 

Acanthus mollis Bear's Breech  

Anemone x hybrida 'September Charm' Pink Windflower 

Calluna vulgaris 'Flamingo' Mauve Heath  

Calluna vulgaris 'Kinlochruel' Dbl White Heath  

Calluna vulgaris 'Selly' Rosy Red Heath  

Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' Japanese Sedge  

Clematis 'Snow Queen' White Clematis  

Crocosmia 'Twilight Fairy Crimson' Red Montbretia  

Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba' White Bleeding Heart  

Erica x darleyensis 'Alba' White Heather  

Erica x darleyensis 'Golden Sport' Gold Leaf Heather  

Fatsia japonica Japanese Aralia  

Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ Japanese Forest Grass  

Helleborus orientalis 'Spring Party' Lenten rose  

Liriope muscari 'Big Blue' Lily Turf  

Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light' Maiden Grass  

Miscanthus sinensis 'Yaku Jima' Dwarf Maiden Grass  

Nassella tenuissima Mexican Feather Grass  

Rhus typhina 'Tiger's Eye' Tiger's Eye Sumac  

Ribes sanguineum Red Flowering Currant  

Sarcococca hookeriana humilis Dwarf Sweet Box  

Sarcococca rustica Sweet Box  

Trachelospermum jasminoides Star Jasmine  

Tulipa White Tulip