Traditional Landscape - Fox Point, WI

Serving up Luxury

Our clients’ historic home (built by a member of the Evinrude family) had a lot of old world detailing, but no outdoor living space in the backyard. When we were hired to provide a landscape design for the entire property, the restoration of the existing tennis court had already been scheduled. As part of the landscape design, we were to create a new patio space. Being that our clients are tennis fanatics, our goal was to connect the house to the tennis court, using the full range bluestone main patio as the visual bridge. To further highlight the importance of tennis in our clients' lifestyle, the orientation of the patio was determined by the angle of the court, rather than making it parallel to the house.

The home’s Tudor architecture might dictate traditional materials, but our clients’ eclectic decorating style allowed us to mix things up a bit. Dramatic masonry seat walls divide the main patio into multiple spaces for dining, fire pit table, and hot tub. The hot tub was special ordered without cladding so that veneer stone could be installed to match the seat walls, giving it a custom look.

Additional paved spaces include a grilling patio just outside the kitchen, which is big enough for a small table for two. A viewing patio for family and friends to watch tennis matches was placed in line with the net. The last of the unique outdoor rooms in the backyard is the “Zen” patio placed on axis with and viewable from the family’s music room. Soon to be surrounded by a hedge, this space is a quiet retreat from the busier main patio.

Our clients also asked us to create a more visible path to the front door that was more in character with the impressive home. The new walk sweeps dramatically around one of the large crabapples that was saved, with full range bluestone circular landings at both ends. In order to maintain a connection to the home’s historic past, we had the vintage bluestone salvaged from the original front walk and a back path. It was then blended into the paving patterns in both front and back hardscaping. All new plantings throughout the property consisting of flowering trees, shrubs, ornamental grasses, and long-blooming perennials provide the final touch with lots of color and seasonal interest. The resort-like backyard is now a far cry from the original empty lawn.