PRIVATE GARDEN | Amersfoort, NETHERLANDS|current

As we designed the outside spaces of this house in Amersfoort in the Netherlands, we kept the work of the architect, Ron Verduijn at Buro Stiel, at the forefront of our minds. Ron had created a harmonious home, split into informal and formal, public and private areas. We created the front garden to reflect the formal, private parts of the house. It is calm and cloister-like, where natural planting and an abundance of green and foliage extends the nearby forest into the garden. The back garden is designed to be a more public space, to host parties and family gatherings. It is colourful and vibrant, created in the Arts and Crafts style, with particular reference to Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens’ work.  

A beautiful place on a hill in Amersfoort, overlooking the town, and adjacent to a forest. It used to be the site of a former hospital, but now it’s allotted and the new owners intend to build a home here. Their interests, worldview and personalities inspire us and we’re designing a garden that has a very clear distinction between public front garden and private back garden. The forest jumps over the road and gives character to the front garden. It surrounds the house that feels like a rock on this hill. Grasses and ferns, meandering gravel paths, a few boulders of stone and yew. Some transparent and some evergreen trees give intimacy, canopy and depth. The back garden is simpler in form but more lush in color. It is able to host both a party and provide a calm reading nook on other moments. It gives an optimal experience from the house.