Design Tips from the Bridgehampton House
Cottage Living Idea House 2005 I teamed up with the folks at Cottage Living magazine to create a garden home for their Idea House in Bridgehampton, on the eastern end of Long Island, NY.
I'm really excited about how it turned out. Instead of the usual focus on the house and it's interior, the garden is an integral part of the total design. I created several garden rooms to showcase how the area around a home can be transformed into several distinctly different settings that extend a family's living space outdoors.
In designing the garden I made a point to only use materials that can be purchased directly from a retail store so there is no need to go through a designer to acquire the same products for your garden.
These ideas can be applied to any size landscape, whether it is as small as a postage stamp or as big as a prairie.
Reconnect with Your Garden
One of my favorite aspects of the garden at the Cottage Living Idea House is that it is designed for living, not just as a pretty landscape. A good garden offers a space to enjoy favorite activities, whether it is reading, playing games or just hanging around.
Give your garden a personal touch by setting up an area for one of your favorite activities. You don't need a lot of space or money. It's as simple as pulling out a comfortable chair and side table for reading, or if you like to cook, pot up a few herbs and vegetables. An expanse of lawn can easily be transformed into a croquet "field."
I find that the more time I spend in my garden, not gardening, the more I realize the opportunities for creating green getaways. The yard becomes an extension of my home's living space with areas for play, resting and enjoying nature.
Use Interior Colors to Inspire You
When creating a color scheme for your garden look inside for inspiration. By drawing on your home's interior colors you can create a harmonious blend of hues that helps blur the line between indoors and out.
And the dominant interior color does not have to be the one you use in your garden. For instance, the master suite at the Cottage Living Idea House was done up in tomato red and orange. Rather than extend these colors outdoors, I used the chartreuse and chocolate highlights also used in the room.
Fabulous Fabric!
 |
 |
 |
I've found there are a lot of creative ways you can use fabric in the garden. Consider using panels or drapes of fabric to create enclosure.
At the Cottage Living Idea House, I designed a lattice cabana at one end of the pool. Because of zoning restrictions the walls and roof cannot be enclosed. To work around this problem I hung panels of fabric from both the lattice walls and the rafters in the ceiling. The result was a tent of color that creates a sheltered spot for sunbathers. We used a fabric from Sunbrella. They offer a huge selection of fabrics that are water proof, long lasting and easily cleaned with bleach and water.
Create a Welcoming Entrance
A simple place to try your hand at blurring the lines between indoors and out is by creating a welcoming entry. Now the idea is to extend the foyer of your house all the way to the street or edge of the drive where your guests arrive.
If you already have a walk in place you are in luck, but if not you can easily add one with flagstone or even crushed gravel.
To mark the beginning of the path at the Cottage Living Idea House I used a freestanding gate and posts (Walpole Woodworkers Westchester Pedestrian Gate), but you can achieve a similar effect with something as simple and inexpensive as a pair of evergreens.
Bring the garden right to your threshold by accenting the front stoop, porch or stairs with a cluster of containers. A fragrant plant positioned close to the door is a nice touch, giving your guests a reason to linger in the garden just a few minutes longer.
Color Matching
 |
 |
Don't worry about making an exact match. In fact, I find selecting flowers and foliage that are a notch or two darker or lighter in value than the interior color creates a more lively color echo.
When bringing a saturated color out into the garden on a painted surface it is best to apply a light wash of brown or gray to help it blend into the setting. Bright interior colors often look garish in full sunlight.