Creating a "House Within a Garden" in Santa Monica

From Exposed Slope to Private Retreat

Bill and Debbi Wisher's Southern California garden sloped down to the house from a rear garage, with no screening from the street. Landscape architect Pamela Palmer and designer Miriam Rainville carved a 16-by-27-foot rectangle from the lawn, added retaining walls on three sides to maintain the original level, and transformed the space into a private backyard retreat—"a house within a garden"—suitable for entertaining or relaxing.