Georgetown Residence

living — 2008 — Washington, DC

Designed in accordance with the guidelines of the Old Georgetown Board and the Commission of Fine Arts, this garden made sensitive integration of the traditional and the contemporary.

Built in 1820, this P. Street residence was previously owned by a founder of the CIA, an award winning journalist, and a senator. Once a center of political power and social circles, when the current owners purchased the property the gardens were neglected and lacked clarity; formal boxwoods were not cared for; gravel dominated the open space; fencing and the rear gate were in disrepair; and garden walls were crumbling.

The clients’ objective, and the landscape architects’ design intent was to create a series of intimate garden rooms that would interconnect for large scale entertaining. The juxtaposition of contemporary elements, which express the clients’ sensibilities, within the traditional framework of “garden rooms,” gives each garden its own personality and distinct function. Visually and functionally, they gently flow from one to another, creating a sense of unity.

Photos by Allen Russ