M A S T E R S O F T R A D E | M AT T P R E U S S
W R I T T E N B Y C O N S TA N C E D U N N
From full-ser vice flora and fauna to striking
backyard transformations
PHOTOGRAPHS:
COURTESY
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CUTTING
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We're going to
give you a esh
idea. at esh idea
of custom outdoor
living. You've built
that million-dollar
house—let's create
that same design
outside.
"
"
"It's really an extension of the house," says Matt Preuss of the
outdoor spaces he and his crew transform into innovative, fresh-
air lounges. When he first lays eyes on a new client's yard, the
landscape designer and builder has a goal: "To erase those defined
areas between indoor living spaces and the outside. To create a
seamless transition."
It's a skill and art that Preuss has honed since he first fell in
love with landscaping as a 14-year-old in Indiana. "My mother
was a real estate agent," he explains, "so I cut grass and ran my
own maintenance company all through high school." Since those
adolescent days, "you could say working outside has been in my
blood," he adds. What followed was a landscape architecture
degree at Ball State University in Indiana, then a move to Southern
California, lured by its weather. It was a fine fit for Preuss, with its
agreeable year-round climate and inhabitants who yearn to spend as
much time as possible outdoors—from sunny poolside days to starry
nights in front of a crackling fire—and in stylish comfort.
In 2004, Preuss started Cutting Edge Landscape Design in the
South Bay, titling it a landscape design-build firm in order to describe
the breadth of his services. "We're about outdoor living," he says.
"Your backyard is our domain." A domain that Preuss and his crew
can reconfigure with elaborate green spaces, decked with pergolas.
C U T T I NG E D GE
L A N DS CA PE DESIGN
