Project Story
This new Traverse City home was built into a wooded hillside, leaving it nestled lower than the surrounding terrain. Once the foundation was poured, the homeowners faced a unique landscape challenge: the hill loomed right over the home, leaving them with a steep, restrictive grade and almost no functional outdoor living space.
The project demanded extreme precision from the start. Because of the tight, low-grade, and limited heavy-equipment access, the TruNorth crew had to transport more than 200 tons of Michigan Dry Stack Fieldstone in small batches of just three or four boulders at a time. TruNorth’s “stone artist” hand-placed every single rock to build double retaining walls, stabilizing the hill and opening up the area directly behind the home.
To connect the entire property, a long stairway builds a natural link between the front and back of the house, switching to native basalt stone at the front entrance. To bring sound and movement into the space, TruNorth built a low-maintenance, pondless stream that cascades down the rockwork. Instead of a conventional lawn, a sprawling wildflower meadow and native planting beds soften the heavy stone, bringing color into the wooded site while supporting local pollinators.
Project Features
- Double, hand-placed retaining walls
- Brick & natural stone pathways
- Wildflower meadow
- Custom pondless stream
- Nighttime landscape lighting
- Native basalt stone entry
Project Gallery
Before and During
What Your Neighbors Are Saying
“TruNorth has added to our dreams of living with nature! With a challenging build into a hill, the team rallied and created a rock wall that holds back the hill and at the same time has created an art installation. A waterfall, seasonal plantings, and a wildflower field that brings so much joy with each new day. By day, color for miles, by night, the lighting adds a glow that invites the sounds of the woods. We are thrilled with the project, team and continued support as we learn our new surroundings. Thank you TN Team!”
