Starting the visual conversation between a 1920s traditional home and a do-it-yourself cob construction meditation house on the same property in Montford required several skilled translators.
The disparate styles of each structure spoke to the design sense of homeowners Jim Bixby and Paul Thorpe. But they felt that the buildings which shared their property weren’t really conversing with each other. With a porch addition by local architect Diana Bellgowan and a landscape plan designed by Matthew Sprouse of Sitework Studios and contracted by Jonathan Berrier of Berrier Select Landscapes, all the elements now communicate fluently.
Starting out, Bixby and Thorpe had few directives. “We like curves, we like native plants, and we wanted a fire pit,” says Bixby, a principal of Asheville’s 828:design. Sprouse says the project was a great opportunity to design for clients who actually work and entertain in the garden day-to-day. “Jim and Paul really use and enjoy their space, and take an active role in the development of their garden,” Sprouse says. “It’s a living, breathing thing for them.”
The landscape design was based on the curved line of the porch, Sprouse says. From there, he repeated the curvilinear form in the pathways and sitting walls that define the space between the home and the cob house. The stained-concrete cap on the walls echoes the floor surface in the screened-in porch, and over time, the surface has developed a patina that complements the flagstone and river-gravel pathways.
The plantings—including royal ferns, native azaleas, oak-leaf hydrangea and seasonal grasses—provide an unstructured fringe that eases transitions between the buildings and the hardscaping elements. A row of soft-textured magnolias forms a “green wall” between the driveway and the garden, providing privacy and a sense of intimacy in the garden. The space is peaceful and harmonious, but not without a few well-placed visual surprises—a pop of citrusy foliage against the deep aubergine of the house, a captivating focal-point sculpture. The overall effect is a well-articulated vision that speaks volumes about thoughtful design.
Local Resources: Diana Bellgowan – architecture; Sitework Studios – landscape planning; Berrier Select Landscapes – landscaping