Priscilla and Kirk Englewood have recently purchased this small lot on the shores of Kelly’s Island in Lake Erie. After raising three children and assisting them in completing college, they decided to step into their next dream. They are setting the stage to retire from their current engineering positions, build this cottage by the water, and put their efforts into a new home-based company.
The Englewoods are very friendly, but very private people. They enjoy planting and maintaining their lavish annual and perennial gardens at their current residence, and look forward to doing the same at their new cottage. They love to walk and play tennis, and to cook. Being a rather organized and formal couple, they envision a formal landscape to accent their small but formal house. They would like to have a two – level entry terrace with a place to set a few chairs, a small table, and some potted plants. They enjoy sitting outside to talk, read, or listen to music. Although they enjoy the spectacular views from their front yard in all directions toward the water,
they would still like their front yard to seem more private than open. They would prefer to have friends and neighbors walk onto their property from a designated place along the proposed sidewalk, as well as from the driveway. They love the idea of a wrought-iron fence and gate near the front face of the house to keep their several Lhasa Apso dogs in the backyard.
Alternative #2: Residence of Katherine and Donald Glengary
The Glengarys are pleasant people who love the outdoors. They enjoy bird watching, stargazing, and yoga. They have a rather formal landscape at their current home, but look forward to a more casual, playful, and imaginative landscape at this new cottage. They like curved forms, especially arcs. With the architecture of the house consisting of stone and wood, they feel it would be appropriate to incorporate the same materials into the landscape. They would like to have a two-level deck at the main entry of the house. They plan to have a few chairs, a small table, and potted plants to help create a pleasant space for reading, relaxing, and performing their morning yoga exercises. They would like to provide an expansive walkway along the driveway to offer a warm and welcoming entrance to their home. They would prefer to have a fairly flat lawn area as a setting for the house. Because there is a small hill along the front yard, they envision a raised lawn with a low wall to retain the soil. They are not in favor of any fences, because they would feel too confined to their front yard.
Alternative #3: Residence of Amy and Travis Allendorf
The Allendorfs are a very gregarious couple. They enjoy having neighbors over to visit, eat, and play card games. They enjoy sitting, reading, lying in the sun, and listening to music. Although they plan to spend some time on their boat fishing and sightseeing, they are mostly planning to have enjoyable, restful, and fun times with their friends and neighbors. They are active people who love to walk, golf, and play tennis. Being very casual, they anticipate having a rather natural-looking front yard. They prefer circular and flowing lines over straight or angled lines in a landscape design. Although they are a friendly couple, they would like to have some sense of separation from the street and sidewalk. With their front yard being a major focus of their outdoor living, some privacy would be appropriate. In addition, they would love to have some trees lined up along some of the arcs of the design, so as to create the sense of having a curved front yard, rather than a rectangular one.
