A Mediterranean Dream Realized

This project is about the space around the house rather than the rooms inside it. Antique limestone slabs finished by hand frame the pool, chosen because the stone stays kind underfoot and holds its color through sun, rain and frost. Below the terrace, salvaged limestone blocks were selected and laid one at a time into a retaining wall that works as a sculptural boundary between the garden and the hillside. Weathered limestone paving carries the terrace itself, cool to walk on and full of tonal variation, so the loungers and the long table sit on a surface that already looks settled. At the end of the garden a cottage built by hand from irregular reclaimed blocks, each in a slightly different hue, holds an outdoor oven and a dining area with the vines falling away beyond it. Nothing here looks newly installed. It looks like the ground it stands on.