Taking A Test Drive


Finishing up a long project feels great.  This time, I was invited back for a Sunday afternoon reception along with every other contractor that had been involved in the design and construction of the addition, and the landscape that followed.  Lake houses tend to have lots that are deep and narrow, which places homes in close proximity to one another.  My clients had the opportunity to buy the property next door to them, and decided to add onto their house.  Driving up yesterday I was pleased the most about the driveway.  The old drive curved off to the right, to the neighboring property. In the course of the project, it was redone in such a way that the approach leads physically and visually to the front door.     

The white concrete aggregate pavement you see here on the left belonged to my client.  The asphalt drive swinging to the right-the original road.  This surface had to be redone not only for aesthetic reasons, but for circulation.  I did not want a drive that led vistors to choose the addition/side door in lieu of the proper front door. 

The stripes of brick set in the concrete aggregate run on either side of a 4′ by 8′ fountain cistern. This describes on the ground plane what is now the center section of the house. This landscape/driveway element divides the drivecourt space into three distinct areas, and additionally provides for a good amount of parking.  A large drivecourt was a necessity; the house is beyond walking distance from the main road. The driveway approach actually services three homes, so onsite parking was a must.

To the far right in this picture is a short run of decomposed granite that connects to the main drivecourt, so there can be parking and circulation in and out when they entertain. No one could tell from here that there were 12 cars parked on the drivecourt.  I like landscapes that are good looking as much as I like landscapes that work. 

On the water side, the main job of the landscape was to integrate the two properties and make them feel as though they had always been one. This requires taking a lot of the existing landscape apart, and relocating it.  A previous post I wrote on this project detailed a flat plane of grass bisected by granite X’s and boxwood dots.  This elements extends across the entire width of the property.  Both the repetition and size of this feature help to unify the two spaces.  I was so pleased-Buck had a hard time spotting what was original, and what was added.

What had been the end of the house is now a backdrop for another seating area on a level different than the original bluestone terrace. The firebowl set at seat height provides a dining table for larger gatherings.

The covered porch terrace is set at the same height as the original terrace.  The stainless steel firebowl has its own cozily enclosed space.  I am sure it will be comfortably out of the wind on a chilly fall day. The covered porch with an outdoor kitchen is immediately adjacent to a large fenced vegetable garden.  

The enormously and formidably talented Jeffrey King was there with his partner and kids in tow.  He was responsible for all of the interior design-which is fabulous by the way. Don’t ask for pictures-that story is for him to tell. He was involved in every facet of this project from start to finish-he has a gift for encouraging the best from others. The house and garden was full of people.  There were places to visit, and sit for a while, eat, converse-both inside and out. It was a delightful party; a house and garden full of people is a good thing. 

The vegetable garden is the hit of the landscape. The raised beds are filled with Steve’s soil recipe-which includes a generous percentage of worm castings. Everything she made for the reception except the chicken came out of this garden-much to everyone’s delight. The food was out out of this world. They have not only given away scads of vegetables, but they have played a version of bocce here, and held two dinner parties set at a pair of long wood tables that have been in the family a long time.  My favorite part-the wood gate is an exact replica of my client’s father’s vegetable garden gate in Italy.  Design development and installation that works its way around to what is personal, and matters to a client -this is the point at which a design relationship gets to be thick, substantive, lively-and good all around.


Little did I know that the basement has a room which houses wine making and sausage making equipment passed on to them from family.  Apparently father and son will be making wine.  All the way home, all I could think about was where to plant some grapes.

Posted on: August 23, 2010 Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Garden Design, Landscape Design

Sunday Opinion: Remembering Brian Killian

I met the late interior designer Brian Killian every bit of 30 years ago through a client of his-Priscilla whose last name I can no longer remember. I do graphically remember refinishing all of her hardwood floors in her house.  I went on to do more work for him-and not the kind of work you would think. I was not even dreaming of doing landscape design then.  I supported myself, via a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, I sold my art work here and there.  I painted little abstract watercolors, limed cabinets, did finishes-I did odd jobs for him.   I even persuaded my Mom to have him redo her living room for her.  He was opinionated, bossy, and delightful.  I knew the moment I met him he was a designer with an extraordinary, truly extraordinary gift.  Everyone who met him knew this-not just me.

There were a good many years when I lost track of him.  I was a local landscape designer-he was an interior designer who was well on his way to becoming nationally known.  He walked into Detroit Garden Works for the first time one day, not having any idea it belonged to me.  I came around the corner, we both held our breath.  He recovered immediately; “Did we not know each other when we were young?”.  I burst out laughing-of course we had.  We went on to do some business, and become friends. We were friends of a different sort.  I did not travel in his circle, nor did he in mine.  But we would meet not often, but regularly for dinner, and talk. Somehow we had common ground.   He was one of those people one meets only rarely-wicked talented.  His work, should you have ever seen it, was breathtakingly beautiful- truly original. 

We had a running conversation on the following topic.  He believed there would be one project that would come his way that would be the defining moment, the epitome of his career. Everything he had done would build to this defining project.  I understand this thinking.  The entire summer season long I photograph projects over and over again, in the hope I will record with my camera that one defining moment. Every year I finally realize that there is not the one defining moment as much as there is that one photograph that perfectly captures the process of that season.  In any event, I do not really subscribe to that notion that any one project defines a design life.  I so much more stand on the side of a body of work, a lifetime of work, a series of moments. 

We contested this topic vigorously-no kidding, for years.  One night at the shop, before we went to dinner, he had me so steamed about this, I accidentally backed my Suburban into the rear end of his Mercedes coupe. His manners were perfect.  He waved off all of my next day plans to get his car fixed-he would not think of, nor permit, burdening me with that. He was like that.   His staff and contractors both loved and endured him.  He had a vision-God help anyone who did not get in line behind that.  But I am here to say he was a perfect gentleman in the important sense of those words.  He practiced his faith.  He was full of praise for anything he felt deserved that.  But even gentlemen can be dead wrong;  I told him so frequently.  I had seen some projects of his in their entirety, and glimpses of others.  Walking into a room that he had designed and installed was an experience that is very hard to describe. It was as if that room was not a room, but an entire world with its own visual language and laws. Anything else that might have been on your mind either vanished, or was vanquished. His work made me gasp.  I scolded him for not seeing that- in what he had already created.      

Brian’s idea of that defining project had much to do with Bobby McAlpine.  Should you not know him, he is an architect who lives and practices in Alabama.  Brian was very clear that should he ever be drafted by Bobby McAlpine to do the interiors for a home Bobby designed and built, it could be a seminal and defining project.  I looked up his website.  What I could see there of his work, or in an occasional magazine article-astonishing.   

I had not thought so much about Brian or Bobby recently until a few weeks ago.  When I read that Rizzoli had recently published a monograph on the work of Bobby McAlpine, I ordered it. It is called “The Home Within Us”.   I have been reading and looking at the pictures on and off ever since.  The architecture and interiors are extraordinary. Should you have a compelling interest in design, I highly recommend this book.  What is written is every bit as interesting as what has been photographed.   One never knows how exposure to beautiful work might change the way you see things.  I know when I see work of this caliber, I am energized.  I have been thinking even more these last few days about Brian.  How he influenced me, and my work.  I am sure he is so busy redesigning the Pearly Gates that he scarcely has time to review what he accomplished while he was here, but I can attest- the beauty of his work was considerable.  I doubt it matters if you never had the chance to see his work. One can’t possibly see all the great work that is out there to be seen. There are brilliant designers all over this planet.   Maybe there is just such a moment just down the street, waiting for you.  For certain,  there is a very long list of those people whose beautiful work greatly enriches the lives of others.  Those truly extraordinary lives, their gorgeous work-they make my life better.

Brian Killian made my life better.

Posted on: August 22, 2010 5 Comments
Filed Under: Strictly Opinion

At A Glance: Peaking?

Posted on: August 22, 2010 2 Comments
Filed Under: Detroit Garden Works, Picture This Tagged With:

Sit Wherever You Like

The garden bench at the far end of this bocce court is a simple three piece affair made from 10 inch thick slabs of Canadian granite.  It took more than a few men to haul it to this spot, and set it up.  Short of an earthquake, it will probably still be sitting quietly in this spot 100 years from now. A courtside bench is a utilitarian gesture-nonetheless, I like the look of it here.  Though I don’t often sit in the garden, I like having that opportunity.     

This classic English Chippendale style painted bench lightens the look of a massive stone wall. The curved seat makes it comfortable for longer than a moment.  This picture was taken on a sunny, very early spring day; I remember the warmth radiating from the stone made it a very comfortable place to sit.  Garden benches do a great job of providing a place to enjoy a moment outdoors. 

Very old age has blurred the detail of the carved limestone legs and feet of this English bench.  The feet remind me of a Clydesdale draft horse; this bench has a very strong and sturdy look.  Though the legs are massive, the bench is short.  It has a charmingly eccentric appearance that could make a shady spot in a garden seem more like an enchanted forest.    

The long and low oak bench was made specifically for this spot on a pool deck next to a Belgian oak box.  Both pieces are finished with marine varnish that is redone every few years.  The warm golden brown color is a beautiful contrast to the white, greys and blues that dominate. 

These galvanized and acid washed steel benches are reproductions of an antique French bench.  The original bench was painted white; the paint is worn through and the steel has rusted in a number of places.  Though the style and size of both are identical, the difference in finish makes them look entirely different.  It is interesting how a color or a finish can change the identity of any object.   

This country style bench is painted a beautiful French blue. A sitting area facing the garden-the person who owns this bench gives away what he considers the important view, by how he has placed the furniture.  It is not so usual to walk into a space, and see the back of a bench.  He clearly is interested in a front row seat in his garden. 


These oak and steel benches were made to match an existing Belgian table with a concrete top. Benches at a dining table are friendly-people can sit elbow to elbow.  This white oak will weather to a soft medium grey.   

This grand Victorian cast iron bench with stylised fern leaves is flanked by a pair of antique English limestone pedestals.  Very formal and elegant, it compliments a formally designed shaded garden.  Cast iron in a garden will need to be repainted once in a while; the combination of iron , oxygen and water invariably result in rust. This seems like a fairly minor amount of maintenance for a garden ornament as lovely as this.    


This bench, home to a resting French concrete deer, puts a pair of cylindrical planters in contact with an old composite science lab table top.  No one said a place to sit in a garden has to be fancy, it just has to seat you in a style that pleases your eye.  There’s nothing quite like sitting out in the garden.

Posted on: August 21, 2010 2 Comments
Filed Under: Garden Ornament Tagged With: , , ,