A property which sits on top of a ridge above Cold Spring, NY with Hudson river views to the west and protected park land to the east required more usable external space. By re-configuring the drive and parking to re-imagine a courtyard, and adding a screened and open porch and deck, the amount of usable garden space will be infinitely increased. Vistas were developed from important rooms in the house, further connecting the house to the rolling landscape outside.
A sheltered and currently unused space to the east of the house was the perfect spot to create a new courtyard. We explored several design options for the courtyard. The brief was to make the courtyard usable and green throughout the seasons. The designs got more intricate the further we got into the process as the value of the space revealed itself so much so, that vehicular access was dispensed with and it became a garden courtyard, designed for entertaining and sitting and relaxing. The final design (last in the sequence of images) will have a long water feature on the central axis, which will hold the courtyard and a pergola on 3 sides will provide enclosure.
