Greenwich Home

RBLA was asked to site a new house, driveway and grounds for a family in Greenwich, CT on a cleared parcel. Just under 2 acres. Emphasizing classic principles of balance, form and scale, functional garden rooms were set within a mature natural landscape just beyond the property to create the illusion of an even larger garden.

Collaborating closely with the owners to provide all the outdoor amenities they requested, the master plan set key view alignments from the house and carried them often the full depth of the property. The home was positioned to allow an elegant front courtyard comfortably positioned away from the street. A secondary courtyard for owner access to their four-car garage was discretely positioned at the side of the home. To organize the rear garden rooms closest to the house, RBLA and the architects collaborated on an enfilade of three covered and semi-covered outdoor living spaces serving the family room, kitchen and primary bedroom. Nestled among abundant plantings, the primary garden rooms are set 18” above the main lawn and pool gardens, to increase views beyond. 

Moving from the rear three-zone framework into the landscape from the house, a generous lawn is centered on the house. RBLA located the swimming pool garden alongside the main lawn, subtly separating it with a low stone wall and hedge. Accessed via oversized bluestone steppingstones set in lawn, the pool is close enough to access entertaining areas on the house’s lower level, but tucked away to maintain a central, open greensward and view corridor from the heart of the home. At the site’s perimeter, a tapestry of evergreens provides complete privacy from the street and neighbors. By varying the foreground plant groupings, the limits of the property are obscured. 

Though elegant and refined, landscape, exuberant seasonal displays of perennials and annuals bring joy to the owners and their guests.  Punctuated by a series of garden destinations including benches, custom firepit and pool, the brand-new garden feels as though it was always meant to be.