Designers Greg and Terri Lee created a landscape that seamlessly connects indoor and outdoor living areas.

The front of the home features an elegant entryway, complete with energy-efficient LED lighting. Each light uses 2.5 watts of power, compared to the 30 watts used with conventional lighting.

The owner of this tucked-away Kaneohe property smiles when she recounts the origin of her river-rock fountain. “All of the rocks that form the water feature are rocks that my father collected going to the mountain with his Volkswagen,” she says. “I always think about him when I look at it.”

The rocks are just some of many salvaged elements recovered from this home’s original landscape. After her father passed away, the homeowner decided to build a new home on the same lot. “In interviewing three architects, all three said it would be easiest just to take it down. It couldn’t be ‘just a remodel,’” the homeowner says.

Because the home needed to be rebuilt, the landscape also needed an entirely new design. But there were certain objects—special plants and stones—that reminded the homeowner of her father, and she wanted to incorporate them into the new plan.

It was the perfect project for designers Greg and Terri Lee, of Landscapes by Tropical Images. “This place still has her dad’s spirit and you can feel it here, even though it’s a new home,” says Terri. “That was important for her. Her father was really a plant advocate, so we wanted to bring some of those plantings back.”

The homeowner’s decision to go with Greg and Terri was a no-brainer. The three had met at the BIA Home Building and Remodeling Show several years earlier. After that first meeting, the Lees completed a landscape design project for the homeowner at a different location. Greg and Terri understood the sentimental value of this lot and they were up to the challenge.

Landscape designers Greg and Terri Lee turned an otherwise plain barrier wall into a living wall visible from the home's family room and kitchen.

“It was a little tricky,” admits Greg. “I remember walking through her dad’s home before it was torn down to get an idea of where the lines—the bushes—would be.” The plan was difficult to visualize without some help, so Greg produced virtual images—hypothetical “pictures” of the new yard. “It looks exactly like it will when it’s done,” says Greg. The images proved invaluable to the homeowner, who had trouble visualizing the end result.

Together, the homeowner and designers worked to create the perfect outdoor setting for the new home.

Now, the backyard allows for views of Kaneohe Bay without compromising privacy, thanks to the original embellished barrier wall (salvaged during construction). The all-important handmade river-rock fountain flows into a newly designed pool. Hapuu and ti ferns, as well as old, faithful bromeliads from the homeowner’s father’s collection border the space and mix in with new, complementary tropical plants. 

To support the indoor/outdoor feel of the new home, the Lees made sure the view of the bay from the living room was unobstructed by plants. For height, they planted taller palms on either side of the landscape. Around the side of the home, a previously plain barrier wall was transformed into a living wall, teeming with lush plant life. “You have a wall back here that’s dead smack in the middle of your view channel,” says Greg. “So I said, ‘Let’s make it into living art.’”
As a cost-cutting measure, the homeowner laid her own sod, forming the foreground of the property, to offset the price of producing the living wall. “I felt like a part of the process, like someone who didn’t just sit around, but someone who contributed,” she says.

“This kind of resolute involvement on the part of the homeowner is key,” says Terri. “Probably the best element to a successful project is doing your homework. [The homeowner] has always known what direction she wanted to go.”

In the end, the project was a success. “We were designing with things from before and trying to make the new things look like they’d always been here,” says Greg. “She’s got a lot of cool things inside and outside. I think her dad and I would have gotten along very well.”  

The Lees kept the home's original barrier wall intact. It provides enough privacy for the homeowner while still allowing for the view of Kaneohe Bay beyond.