Taking Design to New Levels: Creating Beauty Through Collaboration
Before ground was ever broken for the construction of this contemporary Italianate-style home in Lake Forest, a full-scale collaborative effort was happening behind the scenes. Mariani representatives met extensively with the homeowners, the architect, various energy experts and the interior designer to determine how combined efforts would bring a couple’s dream into reality by blending classical design with elements of a native prairie landscape. The result—a stunningly picturesque and ecologically mindful setting for family dining and entertaining.To accommodate the couple’s desire to create a tranquil outdoor space for small and large-scale entertaining, the team connected the landscape with the home’s architecture. “The design seamlessly transitions from the interior of the home to the outdoors by creating a usable space for family to gather, enjoy food and celebrate each other,” says landscape architect Sara Furlan.
Working alongside the home’s architect, Mariani coordinated landscaping installations around an in-ground geothermal energy grid, which greatly reduces the home’s energy costs. The geothermal grid system uses the constant temperature of the earth as an energy source for creating the home’s ambient temperature as opposed to the drastic fluctuations associated with a traditional forced air system.
From the formal entry flanked by custom-built Versailles boxes filled with roses, to the rear of the property with a dining area, vegetable garden, fire pit and wading pool, the landscape is both beautiful and creatively functional. The locally sourced limestone, designed in a stunning, two-tone pattern is used throughout the property and complements the home’s subtle color and clean architecture. A side garden accessed through custom, ornamental wrought iron gates features carefully trimmed boxwoods accented by the season’s pink tulips. “It was very important to the homeowner that beauty and function co-exist,” adds Furlan.
A pergola defines an outdoor room to create the perfect setting for dining al fresco. Fresh tomatoes, onions, peppers and other vegetables can be handpicked from an adjacent vegetable garden and brought directly to the dining table. Seasoning for a dish is also just steps away with a potted herb garden featuring fresh thyme, basil, mint and oregano. “The homeowner loves to cook and entertain, so we created a space that fosters her interest by designing an accessible, natural flow between the kitchen, garden and table,” says Furlan.
A pond’s shoreline, restored with plants indigenous to the Illinois wetland, creates the perfect backdrop for a gas fire pit at the edge of the limestone patio. Gracefully wrapping around the perimeter of the home, the shoreline features a colorful collection of native plantings. “These plants have long root systems that naturally support the soil,” Furlan adds. Mariani removed invasive species from the pond’s peninsula and replaced them with Sumac and dogwoods while seeding the sloped areas with no-mow fescue grasses.
Through detailed project planning and design, Mariani’s collaboration across the entire process created a European-inspired landscape that is exquisite – and mindful of
the environment.
