"We were looking for something old, and this house spoke to us immediately," says Nancy, who recalls first seeing the house at night. "I remember it was pitch black, and Jeremy and I sort of sneaked into the gates to peek at it."

Daylight revealed a romantic Mediterranean-style structure. Nancy says it was a eureka moment for them. "The house was 65 years old and in complete harmony with Jeremy's California roots," says Nancy. "It felt like an old friend, and soon after buying it, we began the tweaking that eventually evolved into a total makeover."

Early in the remodeling phase, Nancy had an idea that would completely change the personality of the house, as well as the land upon which it is sited. "I decided we should reorient the house by creating a new entrance on the quiet side of the building to replace the original street-side front door," she says. With the house reconfigured, the landscape of the one-acre property was destined to become a great garden.

Enter Dallas landscape architect Paul Fields of Lambert Landscape Company. "It was apparent to me that the homeowners' tastes had to be reflected in their garden," says Fields. "My ambition was to create something that would connote the old-world look they longed for."

Fields -- who says he thinks three-dimensionally -- usually has a vision for a garden within an hour of visiting a site. After his initial encounter with the Halbreichs' house, he imagined a series of formal outdoor rooms that would extend the scope of the house with many levels of lushly layered terracing, which he describes as "green architecture."