INNOVATION IN DESIGN AWARDS 2010
 

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TO HAVE AND EAT one's cake is a tricky maneuver, but that was the challenge presented to Dickson DeMarche of The LaurelRock Company. Here was a narrow two-acre property, half the site ankle-deep in wetlands, in need of more garage, more parking, a patio, pool and spa, and a pergola. What's a designer to do?

GROUND ROUND (click image for larger view)

In this case, it took careful study and some graceful, but efficient, decisions to divide and accommodate—but with imagination. Rather than simply add on to the existing garages, DeMarche built a standalone carriage house, which lends privacy to the new pool and patio behind the house. A turnabout drive encircling a large shade tree adds extra parking.

The pool and patio form one long space—the patio is set close to the house, the pool farther out—and the two areas are cleanly divided by a lush perennial border and lightweight iron fence. Off the family room, a patio is designed for three-season use, with a low stone fire pit and a built-in masonry grill. The hot-season pool and spa are farther out, neatly tucked beneath a soaring pergola. Natural pathways, planted borders and a curved drive unite the whole, binding the manmade to its natural surroundings.