Frederic Church designed his house and surroundings as a unified work of art, a home for his family, and a place of beauty and repose. The Churches first used the name Olana for the house and grounds in 1878, possibly adapting the name of the ancient Middle Eastern fortress city of Olane, whose setting above beautiful mountains and a fertile river valley may have suggested similarities to their hilltop home. Working with architect Calvert Vaux, Church developed architectural ideas much as he planned a work of art, beginning with pencil sketches and then more finished color sketches, but instead of painting a large canvas he built his vision in wood, stone, and brick within a designed landscape. Drawing on residences he had seen during journeys to Europe and the Middle East, on volumes of Eastern Art, and on designs found in collections of sketches and photographs, he created the elaborate ornamentation of the house. He also carefully planned the views experienced by visitors as they moved through the property, hiding the house with foliage until they reached the intersection of the south approach road and the east lawn, screening it again farther along to direct attention to a panoramic view, and finally revealing its east and south facades at the angle favored in a Picturesque Landscape composition.