Where inspiration flows freely

IT’S hot and dry in sun-baked Ladera Ranch, butted against the steep Chiquita Ridge in south Orange County, yet water flows freely on a third of an acre newly crowned with a two-story Craftsman.

Water burbles and trickles at the foot of the grand front porch, along the grassy meadow that lines the entry drive and around the moss-garden side yard and backyard pool. Even a fire pit near the bar has water running down a marble slab.

“The house is full of water features everywhere you go,” says Jeff Rhode of Pacific Greenscape, landscape contractor for the Sunset Idea House 2005, open for self-guided tours through Oct. 16. “Water is displayed in a variety of forms: visual, audible, kinetic, relaxation, touch.”

Water is only one of the design inspirations spilling forth from the Idea House. Since 1998, Sunset magazine has presented a dozen other demonstration homes across the West, each showcasing architecture, interior decor, technology and landscape design. The Ladera Ranch house is the magazine’s first in Orange County.

Rhode leads the way around the garden, which is based on designs by landscape architect Jim Bazinet, working for Urban Arena, and by builder David Mulvaney. First stop: the front yard’s shimmering stream, cascading falls and tranquil pond outlined in Rosa ‘Red Carpet,’ golden Asteriscus maritimus and indigo ceanothus.

Water makes the entrance look more dynamic for visitors approaching the house, Rhode says. “And it gives you a sense of serenity while sitting on the front porch, relaxing or reading, or watching children play in the neighborhood.”

The side yard -- that usually ignored space -- has a mesmerizing wall of water, 6 feet high and 12 feet wide, that spills over copper and slate tile. It’s a “strong but peaceful sound,” Rhode says, that carries through the dining room’s French doors. Lighted at night, the wall is set among Scottish moss, Liriope spicata ‘Silver Dragon,’ papyrus, hydrangea and fern.

At the bar outside the great room? Not only a sink for preparing drinks, but also a resort-inspired fire pit with a back stone bathed with the wet stuff.

“Water percolates through the natural river rock, is dissipated from the sheet flow and drips into a 10-inch basin,” Rhode says. “This creates a stronger hollow dripping sound that echoes.”

The swerving, beckoning swimming pool is outlined in chunky natural boulders. The spa spills into a shallow “reef” area, splashing swimmers. Three elegant copper scuppers complement the Arts and Crafts architecture.

“The water rushes through to create lots of splash noise as well as visual sparkle,” Rhode says. “You can cool off after a hard day at work, have a pool party or warm up and relax in the spa under the stars.”

These effects -- visual and audible -- complement a garden that emphasizes water-wise native plants that are drip-irrigated where appropriate. “It’s the worse soil I have ever seen in the country,” says Peter O. Whiteley, Sunset senior writer. “It’s solid clay, so it’s a real challenge for the plants to adapt.”

As for the decorative water features: “They celebrate water,” he says, “but they don’t misuse it.”

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Sunset Idea House

Sunset magazine’s Orange County Idea House is open for self-guided tours through Oct. 16.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

Admission: $10; children 5 and younger free. Visitors 60 and older receive a $2 discount on Fridays.

Location: Ladera Ranch. From Interstate 5, exit at Crown Valley Parkway and drive east. Turn right onto Antonio Parkway, then left onto Windmill Avenue. Follow the signs to free parking and shuttles into the gated community.

More information: Call (800) 786-7375, or go to www.sunset.com/ih.

-- Janet Eastman