New England Home Features A Landscape Design By KMLA

Kimberly Mercurio Landscape Architecture is Featured in New England Home Magazine

The work of Kimberly Mercurio Landscape Architecture with locations in Cambridge and Woods Hole, Massachusetts was featured in the September 2018 edition of New England Home magazine. The project located in Orleans, Massachusetts was featured in the magazine article titled Tour a Cape Cod Home that Seamlessly Blends with The Natural Landscape. This recent New England Home article takes a look at the process of transforming a seaside house into a modern, inventive new space for the homeowners.

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Reimagining the Home Within The Landscape

The process started with Hutker Architects. Largely limited to working within the homes existing foundation, they leveled the middle of the structure to create a new “life space” consisting of an undivided living room, dining room, and kitchen. Set between the bedroom and garage wings which were left intact, the center of the house was built from the ground up with an eye towards unifying the exterior design as well as maximum transparency and minimal intrusion on the natural landscape.

The homeowners and local coastal resource commission wanted to tie the new structure into the landscape in a way that was natural and subtle. To achieve this goal, the home was clad in unstained western cedar was accented with a locally sourced stone in the retaining walls and chimney enhancing the harmony between the structure and the surrounding landscape's native trees and grasses. This natural setting became the basic canvas that was then enhanced by KMLA.

A Landscape Design With Native Plants

Kimberly Mercurio Landscape Architects worked with the homeowner and brought a vision for their home's setting by adding native plants like hydrangea, bayberry, inkberry, milkweed, New England aster, and butterfly weed while removing any invasive growth. “Everything needed to be as minimalist and low-maintenance as possible,” including the low-water lawn, Mercurio explains.

The front of the home includes three doors and a row of transom windows to let natural light in from both the east and west. The rear of the main living space is almost entirely windows and doors including a sitting area that projects into the landscape towards the harbor. Sliding glass doors open to a wide patio that features The subtle landscaping provided homeowners an unobstructed water view over the two-foot-high stone retaining wall. Thanks to KMLA’s creative landscape design this harbor front home sits amid a landscape that incorporates local elements and native plantings to create stunning and relaxing vistas allowing the homeowners to enjoy their property from inside and out.

Click Here To Read The Full Article on New England Home.

Project Team

Architecture: Hutker Architects
Interior design: Robin Gannon, Robin Gannon Interiors
Builder: Von Thaden Builders
Landscape design: Kimberly Mercurio Landscape Architecture