FHA Mortgage Insurance goes up April 9th

I wanted to let you know that FHA upfront Mortgage insurance (UFMIP) increases from 1% to 1.75% of the    loan amount effective 4/9.  At the same time, the monthly MI will go up .10 bps.

Call me so we can look at homes, get your offer in and save a lot of money!  You do not have to be closed by April 9th, you just have to be under contract and have a FHA case number by then.

Below is a comparison of FHA purchase loan  before 4/1/12 or after 4/1/12. You will save a lot of money if you are under contract by 4/1/12.  Please see below for an idea of how much you can save!

If you purchase a home for $150,000 and your interest rate is 4% for 30 years:

 Before 4/1  P&I payment   $697.97  monthly mortgage insurance $138.72 with taxes and insurance total estimated payment of $1233.63

 After 4/1  P&I payment  $703.15 monthly mortgage insurance of $150.78 with taxes and

Insurance total estimated payment of $1250.87.

This is a monthly payment difference of $17.24 which doesn’t sound like much but over 30 years this would cost $6,206.00!!

 If you purchase a home for $200,000 and your interest rate is 4% for 30 years:

 Before 4/1   P&I payment $930.63 monthly mortgage insurance 184.96 with taxes and insurance total estimated payment of $1644.84.

 After 4/1  P&I payment of  $937.53 monthly mortgage insurance of 201.04 2ith taxes and insurance total estimated payment of $ $1667.82.

This is a monthly payment difference of $22.98.  Over a 30 year  period a cost of

$8272.80!!

 

FRESH PERSPECTIVE

An Old Farmhouse Gets a New Lease on Life as a Private Guesthouse

Written by Jeanine Matlow

It all began with a quest for more land. As Carolyn Duryea Smith, founder and partner of Hourglass Wine Company, in St. Helena, California, explains, “The wine we created from the original four-acre Hourglass Vineyard, which my husband’s family purchased in 1976, became very successful, but it limited us in how much wine we could make.” So, she and her husband, Jeff, searched for another vineyard where they could develop a second estate wine.
Their search led to a beautiful forty-one-acre piece of property now known as the Blueline Vineyard. The 1850s farmhouse on the property, however, left much to be desired. “It was very dark, with heavy window treatments and no real continuity between the rooms,” she explains. “The kitchen had been taken over by field mice, and the gardens were a bit overgrown. What it needed was a fresh start. We wanted to open it up to celebrate the amazing vineyard setting.”

The direction of the renovation was clear from the start. “We have great reverence for Napa Valley’s history, so tearing it down was not an option,” Smith says of the approximately 1,400-square-foot structure that now serves as a private guesthouse. “From that point, the guiding vision was to simplify and refresh.”

Because the guesthouse is part of the vineyard and winery, Smith says the aesthetic is driven largely by the forty-one acres that make up Hourglass and the style of wine they make. “Our plan was really a process of reduction more than anything,” she says. “The bones were there; they just needed to be uncovered. We removed much of the adornment that had been added over the years, creating a simpler, cleaner look.”

They removed an exterior wall in the newly renovated kitchen and replaced it with French doors that lead to an outdoor living and eating area. “We did this to encourage that wonderful California indoor-outdoor lifestyle,” Smith says. “But when it came to the original fireplace—the centerpiece of the living room—we simply reconditioned it [by painting the mantel white]. Beyond that, most of the changes were quite modest.”

A natural green paint was chosen for the façade to connect the structure to the gardens and the vineyard setting. “The indoor-outdoor nature of the house and garden is the soul of the property,” Smith says. “The changes we made make it a wonderful place to entertain on those long Napa Valley summer nights. Open the doors and windows, get the Green Egg barbecue fired up, and pour a glass of wine. Or two.”

Smith relied on her keen sense of style to make the place shine. “My mother was an interior designer, so I suppose I couldn’t help but be influenced by my surroundings growing up,” she says. “I then studied art history—a great way to train one’s eye—and I am constantly perusing magazines, art and design books, and rock-and-roll album covers. And, of course, the natural beauty surrounding us here in Napa Valley is always an inspiration.”

White is the driving force throughout the house. “The white painted floors provide a serene, airy feel that encourages the soul to relax, while the white environment offers a blank canvas that allows small elements of color to take on a sense of drama,” Smith says. She added a lively dose of colors and textures to pop against the white. “I love that juxtaposition. To me, contrast—and it can be very subtle—is what makes design interesting.”

She also prefers a laid-back lifestyle. “I love floor pillows and the casualness of stripes and wicker, but with a Big Sur in the ’70s twist,” Smith says. “This is the embodiment of California summers to me—laying on the floor, lounging, bare feet—a place where you can leave a wet towel and it’s not a heinous crime.”

Though the guest house is not open to the public, it serves as a place to entertain their distributors and host charity events. Almost everything inside was either a found item, such as the dining room table, which they discovered rotting on the property; given to them; or from a flea market or IKEA. “I’m a firm believer that a huge budget not only doesn’t equal great design, but it often stifles it because you don’t have to dig deeper,” Smith says. “Then again, it might be fun to test that theory!”

Stunning Oceanfront Home

Architect Lewin Wertheimer Teams Up with One Family to Create a Stunning Oceanfront Home

Written by Blake Miller
Photography by Douglas Hill

When architect Lewin Wertheimer began building the East Coast–inspired, shingle-style property in Malibu that he’d spent a couple of years designing for a client, he never anticipated what would happen next. “We went through the entire design phase and actually started construction on the property,” says Wertheimer, “and then the couple decided to stop construction and put the property and partially finished house up for sale.”

Wertheimer, the principal architect of his eponymous firm, based in Venice, California, wasn’t willing to continue working with just any new buyer because, with only partial completion of the home, there were so many potential complications. It would take a special buyer to see the vision he and his team had for the home and one who would be comfortable continuing with the construction as is. “I was very worried,” Wertheimer says. “I spent years designing this and getting the approvals and then here comes a new owner who might want to change everything.”

Clockwise from ABOVE: Susie sourced more than one hundred light fixtures for the home. She happened upon the kitchen’s chandeliers—antique bell jars—at Rosemarie McCaffrey Antiques. She kept with the whitewashed look in the master bedroom, where the sitting area boasts an ocean view. The bathroom was also designed to take advantage of the ocean landscape.

As luck would have it, the Peddicord family was looking for a new home to accommodate their three teenage daughters and their love for horses. After seeing the six-acre property while visiting a neighbor next door, Robert and Susie Peddicord were smitten. “This particular neighborhood in Malibu has a neighborhood feel and yet has enough acreage to feel like a ranch, which is what we were looking for,” says Susie. After the couple met with Wertheimer, the three knew it would be the perfect collaboration. Susie, an interior designer, read the plans and was able grasp the scale and style Wertheimer was working toward with the home. “The floor plan was set in stone and was so perfect,” says Susie of the family-friendly layout. “That was one indication that the house and plan would be the perfect house for our family to live in.”

A few tweaks were made to the existing plans—cabinetry style and window positioning, for example—but, overall, Wertheimer’s original footprint and architecture remained the same. “I tried to come up with a refined but still comfortable Gambrel-style shingle-style home,” says Wertheimer. “I always wanted to play against the size of the house, its grandness, but also scale it down so it had more personal, intimate proportions to it.” The first floor is H-shaped; the hallway leading from the front entrance to the living quarters in the back of the house serves as the middle of the H. The goal was to take advantage of the 180-degree views of the ocean, while also creating a seamless flow from room to room. “It’s a heart home,” says Wertheimer, “where every room connects like the arteries of a heart.”

The finishing of the home was especially important to both Wertheimer and Susie. Because the 10,000-square-foot home had the potential to feel overwhelming and grandiose in scale, which the Peddicords wanted to avoid, Wertheimer focused on the details, such as keeping the ceilings no higher than ten feet and no lower than eight. Architecturally, Wertheimer also developed three levels of detail, the highest level occurring in the main core of the home—the dining room, living room, library, and master suite—where the baseboards, crown molding, and cabinetry details are slightly more refined. The second tier was relegated to the remaining quarters of the home—the family room, bedrooms, kitchen, and so on—and a final, less-detailed series for the laundry and mudroom areas.

“I think it’s very subtle and subliminal,” says Wertheimer of the levels of detail in the finishing throughout the home. “In a house this size, if you carry the same detailing throughout, it diminishes the importance of those spaces. I think really beautiful, thoughtful homes are thoughtful in terms of the detailing and the rooms they relate to.”

Susie then layered her own design aesthetic with simple and comfortable yet elegant finishes, such as the Carrara marble counters and custom-designed cabinetry by Wertheimer in the kitchen. She selected slightly distressed walnut flooring and rich antique linens in creams, beiges, and off-whites mixed with natural dyed fabrics. “The choice in design became more about creating textures and warmth in fabric yet lending it to the colors of nature outside,” says Susie. “It’s all very natural.”

She spent eighteen months searching for the perfect light fixtures for every room in the home. “It was probably my most favorite project,” Susie says. More than one hundred chandeliers, sconces, and other lighting sources can be found throughout the house, each complementary to Wertheimer’s detail work. The few window coverings throughout the home allow the Peddicords to take advantage of the ocean views and the privacy the property affords.
The look and feel of the home is unlike many of the more contemporary and Mediterranean-inspired homes Wertheimer and other architects so often design in Malibu. “There’s not much like this home out here,” says Wertheimer. “It was nice to depart from the Mediterranean look with this house.”

For the family of five, the home has been a relaxing haven. “It’s such a beautiful property and home,” says Susie. “It was great for me to have something to work with that I already loved and to put things into it that I loved. It was an excellent project and experience.”

Clockwise from left: The sunroom, with its antique pieces covered in vintage linen, is one of Susie’s favorite rooms in the home. “It has a view of Little Dune in Malibu, lots of light, and I go there to read, talk on the phone, or take naps,” she says. The dining room boasts a seamless flow to the outdoor living area; the table and chairs are eighteenth-century Swedish pieces, while the chandelier is Belgian crystal. Architect Lewin Wertheimer enjoyed designing the Gambrel-style home because it was a significant departure from the style of homes—often Mediterranean—one often finds in Malibu.

OUTSIDE IN

No drapes. No blinds. No shades. Look closely at this home and you will soon see that there are no visual barriers between what’s indoors and the great outdoors. A summer home is meant to be enjoyed inside and out. It’s a place for relaxation, where one can escape the everyday routine. This bright and airy waterfront home provides a refuge for the couple who lives there, as well as their extended family.
Designers Benjamin Bradley and David Thiergartner, of Bradley Thiergartner Interiors of New York, have collaborated with this couple on the designs of their other homes. “These clients find absolutely beautiful properties,” says Thiergartner, “and the property that this house sits on is magnificent.”
As inspiration for this specific project, the design duo took full advantage of the views surrounding the home. “The back of the house has tremendous amounts of glass and water views,” Bradley explains. “The light floods from the rear of this house, so we tried to get the light to go through all spaces.” Though much of the house is open, there remains a sense of coziness: “The post and beam construction covers you as you come into the house. It provides a cosseted, enveloped feel and a very warm welcome. As you step into the other spaces of the house, they open up. The light floods in and lifts you. You are taken by how light and airy the house is.”
“They wanted their beach house to allow for a lot of people to be comfortable, at ease, and to enjoy the inside-outside atmosphere of the house,” says Thiergartner. “We tried to balance all of those elements together.”
Much of that balance is achieved with consistency of color, tone, and theme throughout the home. “We tend to look at interiors as a whole composition; the artwork, the lamps, the sofas are all part of the same story,” says Thiergartner. “I think that’s one of the things we find most enjoyable about traditional and classic interiors: you can’t really date them. If you don’t buy into trendy colors and silhouettes, it can carry you a long way.”
A sense of calm threads together the public and the private rooms of the home. “It’s important that you are never jarred from one room to the next,” Bradley says. “There needs to be a common thread that tells a story of what the house is and who the people are who live in it. [In] the bedrooms, we made a subtle shift in color, but, for the most part, there was a conscious decision with the light maple floors and the white walls to set a light, beachy tone.”
In the bedrooms and baths of the home, light floods each room to make the most of the setting and the view. The interesting architecture of the windows is never hidden but instead is used to make a strong statement. Even the master bath is a room with a view; a window at the foot of the tub allows for soaking up the sun as well as the suds.
A crucial element of any summer home is its outdoor space. During the long, hot days of summer, the outdoor spaces are just as important as the interiors. Thoughtful and structural plantings, such as indigenous grasses and large-leaf hosta, highlight the outdoor area, while the pool is lined with hydrangeas.

An Elegant Spring Brunch

I grew up in a home where brunch was often a festive, elaborate affair. My mother reserved her midmorning gatherings for holidays and special occasions but kept the mood light with a casual atmosphere and a buffet table laden with dishes both savory and sweet.
I have fond memories of these potluck-style parties but as an adult have realized that brunch can take a different form as well. In contrast to the spirited celebrations of my youth, I’ve come to prefer a party that caters to a smaller crowd with a menu meant to serve four.
The familiar faces—pancakes and bacon among them—are still essential parts of my menu. But I’ve discovered that tweaking the recipes just slightly gives guests a taste of something familiar and unexpected at once. In place of the traditional mimosa, I opt for a peach Bellini infused with faintly herbal rosemary simple syrup. Pancakes shape-shift with the addition of poppy seeds, lemon zest, lemon extract, and a jewel-toned raspberry sauce, while bacon gets a boost from a sweet, peppery glaze. And in place of scrambled or over-easy eggs, I bake mine with cream and Parmesan in a ceramic dish and then encourage guests to scoop up the creamy whites and rich yolks with slivers of soft country bread.

In a large skillet set over medium heat, melt enough butter to coat the skillet. Working in batches, spoon ¼ cup of the batter into the pan. Cook the pancakes until the edges begin to brown and air bubbles form on the surface, about 1 minute. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden, about 45 seconds longer. Serve immediately.

Raspberry Sauce
Doctoring frozen raspberries with a shower of sugar and a hint of lemon zest creates an easy “homemade” berry sauce.

Makes 1¼ cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

1 12-ounce package frozen raspberries
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, plus additional sugar as needed
zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

In a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries soften and the liquid starts to bubble, about 10 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Taste the sauce and add additional sugar to taste, if needed. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and serve warm.

Peach-Rosemary Bellini
Rosemary-infused simple syrup lends this traditional brunch cocktail a delicate herbal finish. The recipe makes slightly more puree than you’ll need for 4 cocktails. Reserve any remaining puree for guests who desire a refill.

Makes 4 cocktails
Prep time: 5 minutes

6 ounces (¾ cup) frozen peaches, thawed
3 tablespoons rosemary-infused simple syrup (see note)
1 bottle (750 mL) chilled sparkling wine

In a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade attachment, blend the peaches with the rosemary-infused simple syrup until well combined.

Set up 4 champagne flutes and spoon approximately 1½ tablespoons of the peach puree into the base of each glass. (Reserve any remaining puree for second servings). Add the sparkling wine to fill each flute and serve immediately.

Note: To make rosemary-infused simple syrup, warm 1 cup granulated sugar and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add 2 rosemary sprigs, cover, and let steep until cool. Discard the rosemary sprigs and strain the syrup into an airtight container. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes
The popular combination of lemon and poppy seeds moves beyond the muffin in fluffy pancakes brightened by lemon zest and lemon extract. Look for lemon extract in the baking aisle of the grocery store.

Makes 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

1¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup reduced-fat milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional butter
for coating the skillet
zest of 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon lemon extract

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, and salt together.

In a small bowl, whisk the milk, egg, and 2 tablespoons of the buttertogether. Gradually whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix in the lemon zest and lemon extract until just combined.

Baked Eggs
A baked egg appetizer from Portland’s Lincoln restaurant inspired this savory brunch accompaniment. Though this recipe serves 4, you can easily halve it to feed 2 or double it to feed a crowd. Pair the eggs with batons of soft country bread for dipping.

Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 to 10 minutes

4 eggs
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons toasted breadcrumbs, preferably homemade
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Gently crack 2 eggs into each of 2 gratin dishes to avoid breaking the yolks.

Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the cream over the eggs in each dish. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan over the eggs in each dish. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake until the whites of the eggs are set but the yolks are still runny, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the eggs from the oven and garnish with the parsley, breadcrumbs, and chives. Serve immediately.

English Enlightenment

In the study, a cathedral-arched Pennsylvania bluestone fireplace is surrounded by thick, molded-wood panels made of reclaimed oak. (CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE) Just off the kitchen is a spacious, glass-enclosed salon with a barn-wood beam ceiling and oversize French doors. To save space in the kitchen, Pursley recessed all the cabinets into the walls for spacious, nearly invisible storage. The doors, now flush with the walls, are covered in clay-colored leather that Angela found at a fabric closeout sale. The bar in the salon was fashioned from a pair of eighteenth-century bookcases that originated in a European monastery.

IMG_9955.tif

Angela and Todd Newnam became engaged, they had been living in separate condos in South End, formerly an old textile mill area and then an up-and-coming neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. With a wedding just around the corner, the couple began looking at homes in Myers Park and Dilworth, two of the city’s most popular and well-known neighborhoods. But something was missing. While the homes they viewed were impressive, none were large enough to accommodate the large family the Newnams dreamed they’d one day have. “We really wanted a larger space,” says Angela. “We didn’t want to have to move twice.”
So the couple began looking elsewhere for their forever home. When they came across the 1920s Tudor-style house tucked away in Country Club Acre—the private, wooded area surrounding Charlotte Country Club—they were enamored. Having grown up in a cozy Tudor-style home in Tryon, North Carolina, Angela was drawn to the 4,000-square-foot stunner, and the couple saw the potential to transform the home into the eighteenth-century English manor Angela had always dreamed of. After little deliberation, the Newnams purchased the home, knowing that renovations would be delayed until after they lived in the home for several years. “It was easier to see what we wanted to change after being in the home for a while,” says Angela.
Nine years and three children later, the Newnams were finally ready to tackle some of the longstanding cosmetic issues of the home: an incongruous 1980s addition; a small, dark kitchen; dated Berber carpeting; parquet flooring; and mirror-covered walls. The largest issue to tackle, though, was how the home was situated on the property. “I’d had the idea to flip the home around,” says Angela. “We just wanted to use the space we had differently.” The couple enlisted the help of Charlotte-based architect Ken Pursley to help bring their dreams to fruition.
Knowing exactly what she wanted, Angela sketched out an addition on one side of the home and transformed the existing footprint into an L shape. “We wanted another kids’ bedroom, a study, a larger dining room, and another bath or two upstairs,” she says. “But Ken really took it to another level. He came up with even better placements. I had the initial view, but he came up with a better view.” The crafting and construction fell to builder Ben Collins of the Salins Group.
After reworking the home’s floor plan (which resulted in an additional 1,000 square feet), the first order of business was to address the outside of the home. What was once the backyard pool would now serve as the front entrance to the home, with a 2,400-square-foot courtyard and an English rose garden. The new front door was set in a small turret that housed a spiral staircase in the original 1920s structure. The roses became a hobby for Angela, who admits that at first the garden had only fifteen to twenty rosebushes; today, it boasts fifty to sixty bushes. The former front entrance became a fenced-in backyard for the Newnam children to play in.

Next, Pursley addressed the outdated kitchen. Dark and cramped, the space needed a full makeover, including windows and new cabinetry for added storage. A farmhouse-style sink, a gourmet Wolf range, and gorgeous white limestone counters complement the large, expansive windows, which Angela and Collins buffed to give an irregular, bleached look. To maximize the space, Pursley suggested recessing the cabinets—now covered in clay-covered leather Angela found at a fabric closeout sale and studded with decorative metal grommets—into the walls for nearly invisible storage. A large butcher block serves as the centerpiece to the kitchen, while hundred-year-old timbers were added to the ceiling to further the Tudor-style look.
Because the Newnams are avid entertainers, Pursley also wanted to create a flow to the home to allow the family to entertain inside and out. The result is four outdoor living spaces, which flow seamlessly from the large dining room and living room by way of French doors. “It’s such a great entertaining house,” says Angela.
Both the living and dining rooms were important aspects of the renovation as well; the Newnams wanted the spaces to be larger and more impressive, so Pursley heightened the ceilings (from seven and a half feet to ten feet) and added antique English wood paneling and bluestone flooring for a rustic elegance. Pursley and Collins updated the home’s overall look by hand-plastering the walls and updating the slate roof and stuccoed façade.
Over the years, the Newnams have collected various pieces that complement the Tudor style. Significant pieces, such as an antique console cabinet, which Angela found at a flea market in Charlottesville, Virginia, and an 1810 American sideboard purchased in Baltimore, finish off the Tudor look, which the Newnams wanted to create with the renovation. Stunning Turkish Oushak rugs purchased at Nila’s Antique Rugs, in Charlotte, are spread throughout the home, offering an early–nineteenth-century feel to the home.

Asian Infusion

Sometimes inspiration can be found close to home. But for Joan and Gary Cunningham, it was a faraway land that would seal the fate of their Vancouver Island, British Columbia, garden. “We had somewhat of a vision of what we were going to do, but a trip to Japan made it all very clear,” says Joan, who was influenced by Marc P. Keane, a prominent garden designer and author of Japanese Garden Design, among other books. “I had always been interested in Japanese gardens and I had taken ikebana for many years. Japanese gardens have a very special feeling. They are just so magical and peaceful that you think, I could stay here for a while.”
When Joan met Julie Moir Messervy—a distinguished landscape designer, author, and speaker—at a convention, everything came together. “I was trying too hard to replicate what I had seen in Japan,” Joan recounts, “and she told me, ‘It’s your garden and your environment and you have a different climate. Take the freedom to do what you want to design.’ Once she said that, it was easy.”
Joan was able to capture the right essence, while taking their location into consideration. “It’s a woodland garden that belongs in British Columbia but has elements of Japanese gardens. You can’t just put a Japanese garden in the middle of anywhere,” says Joan, who explains that the size of the property (about an acre and a third) allowed them to create a stroll garden, one that has numerous paths that allow for leisurely walks throughout the property. “We worked with this land and the way it was.”

Though their labor of love has taken two decades of hard work and determination, it was their daughter’s request to hold her wedding reception in the garden that pushed Joan and Gary to the finish line. Trees that had seen better days were taken away because they were more than one hundred feet tall and were blocking the light. “It was quite a shock when they came down,” says Joan. “The backyard looked like a moonscape.”
The land already had numerous Douglas fir, which they left standing at the back of the property “for those pesky deer,” Joan says. “But now there is a fence so they have their area and we have ours.” The two native dogwood trees needed to stay, while a few Japanese maples and Mt. Fuji cherry trees were added to the mix. Other plantings include rhododendrons, azaleas, and boxwood, as well as mosses and ferns.
Japanese gardens are not intended to happen overnight. “You have to find all of the objects,” Joan says. “You can’t just bring in a landscaper who buys a few plants and plunks them down.” The unique features must be sought out and they need the look of age and patina. Many of the materials were recycled, like the sandstone, granite, and shingles.
Joan credits her husband with his knack for finding things and his ability to do heavy lifting. She took on the design aspect, and they did most of the work themselves. A friend built the teahouse and helped with the pavilion, while her husband built the fencing and gates. The bridge and sandstone patio were built for them. “For years we hauled in rock, soil, gravel, and plants,” Joan says. “Things kind of came out of necessity as we went along.”
They particularly enjoy the azumaya, or sitting teahouse, by the pond. “I like to sit there and have a cup of tea,” Joan says. Even when they had 125 people for their daughter’s wedding reception, the garden didn’t seem full, she says. The same can be said for the garden tours they’ve participated in that bring as many as 1,200 visitors in two days.
“Some people expect very manicured gardens. This is a little relaxed and somewhere in the middle,” Joan says. “It’s all about line and form as opposed to flowering plants.” Larger plant materials work best in this type of environment. As for the palette, it’s mostly varying shades of green because Joan finds too much color to be a bit “noisy,” she says. “It loses the peace and tranquility.”
There is some required maintenance in the fall and spring but not as much in the summer. “It’s mainly pruning,” Joan says. When they entertain in the evening, the trees come to life with white paper lanterns that provide added light. Decorative objects, such as Japanese-style lanterns, lend visual interest. A water feature, called a tsukubai, consists of a bowl with a bamboo pipe.
The greenhouse-turned-pavilion became a bar area for the wedding reception. The deck is used for entertaining, while the patio areas provide extra space. A bridge and a dry stream were included along with a variety of benches that are strategically placed throughout the garden.
All their efforts paid off in the end. “If we had done it in a rush, we would have settled for a second-best tree and a second-best rock. We got to seek out exactly what we were looking for,” says Joan, who believes the twenty-year project taught them patience. “It wouldn’t be our garden if we had other people doing everything. It’s very personal to us.”