The owners of a home that bordered a stand of woods asked for a hillside kitchen where they could feel truly away from it all. Christie's designed and installed a series of tree-lined terraces, retaining walls and a walkway of bluestone tile and granite steps, leading from the house and existing patio to the stone kitchen, complete with cedar pergola, bluestone tile floor, center-island range, and a bank of appliances built into a stone cabinet. Just beyond the center-island range is an eating area with outdoor table and chairs.

The clients can be 20 feet from the house, enjoying all the pleasures of an outdoor living room surrounded by a canopy of trees. In the design plan, the option of building a nearby pergola provides for another space of quiet seclusion.