garden rooms & hardscape

Even with the additional lot, the site presented a host of restrictions. Zoning and environmental

conservation rules were non-negotiable. The sloping site has an eight-foot drop, front to back. And, although the original lot is oceanfront, it’s also on a main street in a dense, historic neighborhood. Visual privacy and a barrier to sound were paramount concerns. “Planting trees does nothing

to create quiet,” Frank Shirley says. “You do that with density, with obstruction. Thus we have the tall privacy fences, the stone walls. And buildings. We staggered the new shed, and the new garage behind it, to create an auditory barrier.

“The owner knew she wanted a fire pit, and that became a garden room next to her studio–shed,” Shirley says. Behind it is access to the carriage house.

Every element of the design, from site layout to details, has a well-considered hierarchy. Consider the design of the privacy fence. “It’s tall, at least six feet, and solid,” Shirley points out. “What keeps it in scale is breaking it up, with a gridded frieze topping the lower section—like a Victorian wall division.”

Frank Shirley Architects’ design was augmented with hardscape and gardens by the Sudbury Design Group.

approach ABOVE (left) from The the mudroom in the carriage house takes you past its porch onto a flagstone path toward stone steps, which lead to the area with the fire pit.

(right) Existing storage sheds on the property line got new lighting and paint colors to help them blend into the overall design.

LEFT stones Concentric interplanted flagwith creeping thyme create a patterned “rug” for this private garden room.

ABOVE From the outdoor parking area near the garage, a short flight of stone steps leads to the fire pit, which is protectively enclosed by a high fence.

ABOVE One end of the property becomes less formal as it approaches the Atlantic shore.

RIGHT A series of planters borders the low porch on the house.

BELOW Ornaments and statuary near the pool were existing—whimsical purchases that attest to the homeowner’s good eye.

ABOVE Granite cobbles are used as curbs in the formal gardens and as a border in the parking area.