LOCATION Denver, Colo.
COMPANY Designs by Sundown
DETAILS When someone’s dream home and landscape pops up in the neighborhood, it’s hard not to look.
After years of designing, planning and building, Designs by Sundown’s (DBS) “Americana Estate” stands proudly in this historical Denver suburb, taking on a French chateau style (really, they imported limestone from France) that seamlessly blends the property’s interior and exterior features into one composition.
Keven Winkelmann, PLA, senior landscape architect for DBS and the project’s designer, says lots of thought and effort went into providing natural privacy to the house while still letting passerby view the finished product.
“We did want to still allow peek-a-boo views to the house but not full-blown ‘here’s-my-big-house’ views,” Winkelmann says. “(The client) obviously did want people to see the beautiful house that they built.”
Winkelmann says being smart with the location and type of vegetation was one of the biggest factors for privacy. Mature Colorado spruce trees were spaded and relocated from the original house, and blue and green fastigiate spruce, Hicks yew, dwarf Korean lilac hedges, Alleghany viburnum, flowering pear trees and more were all selected to provide the needed screening and aesthetics.
The rebuild of the house and landscape also added several outdoor features such as a 20-by-40-foot pool and fountain, a large fire pit, expansive patio areas and even an outdoor kitchen to host large gatherings.
In the end, DBS won a gold award from the 2024 National Association of Landscape Professionals’ Awards of Excellence program for this project.
