New Jersey, USA
Allen CT
13
Native Plant Species
1
rain Garden
1
driveway
Sustainable design
The development of this project has been over a period of 5 years. We began by redesigning and installing a new driveway. The existing driveway was an out-of-date asphalt surface that created massive amounts of runoff during rainstorms. The new drive is made with pavers coupled with river rock and a steel edge as the finishing touch. The driveway is now 100% permeable and eliminates any excess stormwater going into the municipal system to cause flooding downstream.
Idyllic atmosphere
A Symphony of colors
We have created a highly natural garden for the front yard by using a series of native-ish plants. The garden started around the perimeter of the house but overtime has invaded the side yards and replacing almost all of the lawn. The plantings provide a symphony of colors and textures throughout the year.
Perhaps the most visible alteration we’ve created is renovating the siding and roof of the house. This change was envisioned over a period of meetings with the owners where we looked at both the materials that would work as well as the way these materials would be applied. We landed on using a standing seam metal roof atop the house - specifying a 1.5” high seam over the more standard 1” high seam. The roof was combined with large gutters and fascia.
The house was constructed in the 1960s and has a fairly wide soffit. The lines of the roof had sagged over the years so part of the project was to realign the soffit with the fascia to form super straight lines along the front of the house. The same was done for the head of the garage door. We used an LVL to give the door opening a crisp look for afar. The garage door was replaced with a new all black semi-transparent retractable door.
The siding chosen for the house is sustainability harvested Cumaru, a hardwood with a beautiful array of tonal variety. The Cumaru wraps around the entire house and faces the entire soffit. However, a segment of the siding uses the same standing seam material as the roof. This touch allowed for a play between the top and side of the house and embraced a darker finish for the walls.
Native plants
Native planting is at the core of everything we do. Creating healthy habitats for butterflies and birds, it helps your garden thrive. See below a selection of native plants that were used in this project.
Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra 'Summer Sun'
amsonia hubrichtii
sanguisorba officinalis
veronicastrum virginicum
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Create a space like this
We love creating sustainable spaces, if you’ve got one in mind we’d love to hear from you.