Drought-Tolerant Curb Refresh
A water-wise front yard renovation in Tustin — 1,800 sq ft of lawn replaced with a meadow-style buffalo-grass alternative, structural natives, and a clean decomposed-granite walkway.
Tustin, CA
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What the homeowner wanted.
Replace 1,800 sq ft of front lawn in Tustin with a low-water front yard design eligible for the local turf-replacement rebate program.
Site conditions and constraints.
HOA front-yard architectural review and a homeowner concerned about losing the soft 'lawn look' from the street.
How we resolved it.
A meadow-style buffalo-grass alternative ringed with structural California natives and a clean decomposed-granite walkway — rebate-ready paperwork and HOA-ready presentation drawings included.
How the project actually unfolded.
The Tustin homeowners had wanted to pull the lawn for years and kept stalling on two questions: 'will the HOA approve it?' and 'will it still look like a yard?' Two prior consultations had pitched gravel-and-rock front yards that scared them off.
We built the design around a meadow-style buffalo-grass alternative — soft, walkable, low-water — ringed with structural California natives so the planting had backbone from the street. A clean decomposed-granite walkway replaced the cracked concrete path. The HOA submittal included a rendered street view side-by-side with the existing photo so the design committee could see exactly what would change.
Approval came back in one review cycle. The contractor installed during the rebate program window and the paperwork was filed the week after substantial completion.
What changed for the homeowner.
1,800 sq ft of lawn replaced, full turf-replacement rebate approved, and a front yard the homeowners describe as 'softer than the lawn ever was.' Two neighbors on the same block have since asked for the contractor's number.
Inside the drought-tolerant curb refresh.
Renderings, plans, and finished views from the Tustin, CA project — each captioned with what it shows and why it mattered.
More water-wise landscaping work.
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