Research Garden DesignBrowse photos, get design ideas & see the hottest plants
Photo by : Jeff Mcnamara .
Although it ’s often taken for grant that a garden get better with age , it is n’t always true in reality . However , according to Bruce Eckerson , primary room decorator for Wesley Stout Associates , this " Shaker Modern " garden in Westport , Connecticut , has most definitely improved over metre , thanks to its " inherent structure and ease . " He explains that " great clients " ( both of whom are themselves room decorator ) and " a location with a strong traditional identity " were the serendipitous combining that bring forth a successful alchemy of classic and contemporaneous .
The proprietor ' accumulation of mid - century modern piece of furniture initially intrigue Eckerson ; he was impressed at how naturally they settled it into the whittle - down inside of their traditional New England house . This spark the realization that his essential job as designer of the garden was to " take the traditional cutis of the house and put a contemporary twist on it , " and he adhered to this precept consistently throughout the design process . The stern , simple public face of the house offer barely a hint of a whole other world of intimate entertaining space and garden rooms beyond . In this property of just under an Akka , the cay to create concord was a precisely defined and elaborated construct . And that was how Eckerson and his client arrived at the mantra " simple , subtle , sublime and still . " Having distilled their vision , they followed through rigorously .
pop out with the entering through the garden gate , the design works to both hide and divulge the site . The outdoor " foyer " moderate a long , narrow koi pond that soundlessly reflects the pure geometry of the home and service department .
This room spread out onto the dining royal court , which is the central outdoor space with a dining tabular array under the canopy of four linden tree Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree flank by a 20 - fundament - longsighted water bulwark . A cantilevered granite staircase anchors the corner of the court , climb up the nine - foot grade change up to the kitty , play lawn and outdoor living way . The outdoor keep way is nestled in the corner of the house framed by the master bedroom suite and the workout room . With lineal accession out from both room , the outdoor life room is an extension of these interior blank space . A large outdoor fireplace anchors the space .
The owners particularly admire designers Russell Page and Dan Kiley and Eckerson mention to them both . Page ’s special gift of combining French - prompt formalness with relaxed touches of wildness and intimacy came to the fore in the arrangement of rooms around different social functions — dining , model and swimming . Kiley ’s modernity seem in the expression of boundaries and volumes — space overlap , trees massed together , cut down edges to outline place .
Eckerson advisedly limited the pallet of landscape painting materials ; strict editing was 2d nature to the clients and thus key to the garden they wanted . To visually reenforce the interconnection of outdoor distance , granite was used for pavement and walls . untainted - steel rail , granite finishes , teak article of furniture and handrail , and a policy of mostly lily-white heyday ( plus a few patrician ) assure the look stay in line with the original " Shaker Modern " idea . cut back Holly and boxwood with white hydrangea and rhododendrons reign ; interfering perennial borders were weigh at odds with the guiding aesthetic . The result is a harmonious and extremely personalized place . Like a beautiful objet d’art of Shaker furniture , the out-of-door outer space are unite and terminate in a simple , functional manner that reveals a integrated vision . For further information , call 203 - 966 - 3100 or seewesleystout.com .
