To draw the dovecote (left) and chapel (right) into the French chateau’s dialogue, Doyle Herman Design Associates connected them to the entry grid with a strong cross axis.
The chateau could scarcely make a statement obscured behind a grove of trees with a rear approach.
The solution lay in strong lines and a no-nonsense entry drive accented by yew cones and boxwood edging.
Not only did the gate move to the fore, but it received a fresh coat of French blue paint, while its piers were taken down, numbered and reinstalled. To achieve the Old World patina on the new wall, it was preserved with a tile cap and plastered with a lime wash.
With a sharp new façade, the wall of the mews house now jives with the sharp new landscape.
The 1847 Georgian wall overlooking a scrub lot had to remain, but needed a facelift.
In the rear garden, an Irish sculpture of Mother and Child plays off the stone wall and stands in alliums about to pop open.
The one nod toward festive color created by salvias, verbenas and other blooms sets off the entertaining terrace.
In the inner courtyard, a glass and steel bridge forms a catwalk to connect the two buildings on the property.
Stone steps lead down to a terrace below grade in the inner courtyard.
Rather than just gravel, the pathways are delineated with Irish limestone pavers.
With the fastigiated hornbeams close at hand, the garden is almost inside.
In the rear garden, the wall that divides the mews house from the main residence is softened with a sculpture, trees and corresponding allium garden.
The sole nod toward lawn is in the rear garden where irregular paving echoes the modern motif.
Rather than a traditional front door, guests enter a passageway to the planted courtyard beyond.
The bank of windows etched in ivy demanded a clipped hornbeam hedge to give the guesthouse privacy.
To echo the beach on the façade overlooking the water, DHDA used different surface textures of gravel, brick and river stones.
With flowerbeds hugging the walls, but no strong story line, the garden lacked definition.
The boxwood parterre in front of the main house provides a smart entry.
