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A garden in Riverwoods, Illinois, has been expanded across two neighboring properties into a 24,000-square-foot landscape designed by The Outside Design Studio and En Masse Architecture & Design. Its Italian countryside influence is expressed through a pergola, terracotta planter and gathering spaces, while the layout and planting respond to the wooded site.
A couple in Riverwoods, Illinois, has turned two neighboring properties into a 24,000-square-foot garden that combines Italian countryside-inspired features with a layout designed around the wooded landscape. The project, reported by Homes and Gardens, brings together the landscape architecture of The Outside Design Studio and the interior architecture of En Masse Architecture & Design, with a greenhouse, kitchen garden and pavilion built for daily use.
The homeowners had tended their original property for more than 30 years before buying the adjoining parcel as they planned for a new stage of life. The expanded site gave the design team room to connect the existing garden with new outdoor spaces while keeping the landscape both cultivated and informal. The report describes the owners’ goal as a home and garden enveloped in greenery, with views framed by the windows.
To join the two parcels, The Outside Design Studio extended the driveway into a looping route through the grounds, shaped in response to the terrain. The designers carried existing materials and architectural details through the site: bluestone used near the house was repeated in the garden, while the beds, fences, gates and pergola echo cues from the home. The pergola uses cedar matching the home’s entry and frames an Italian terracotta planter as a focal point.
Planting combines structure with seasonal change. The report names Hydrangea macrophylla, Allium ‘Summer Beauty’ and Rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, or black-eyed Susan, among the selections. A vegetable and fruit garden, including raised beds, sits beyond the pergola and is defined with gravel and subtle fencing. The modern greenhouse serves as a work area for seed propagation and potting, but can also be used for dining. At the garden’s edge, a pavilion that mirrors the house provides storage for tools and a place to sit after gardening.
A Garden Designed for Daily Use
The project is an example of how an aesthetic brief can be adapted to a particular site rather than applied as a set of decorative references. Italian-inspired elements—the pergola and terracotta planter—sit alongside materials and a route chosen to connect the properties and work with the terrain. The result, as described in the report, is not only a display garden: its greenhouse, kitchen beds and pavilion support growing, cooking, storage and gathering.
That mix matters to homeowners considering a garden redesign because it shows how practical functions can be planned as part of the landscape’s visual composition. Here, the greenhouse shifts between horticultural workspace and dining room, while the pavilion combines tool storage with a sheltered place to pause. The report does not provide project costs or construction details, so the example does not establish what a similar scheme would require elsewhere.
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From Two Parcels to One Landscape
The owners’ longstanding relationship with the original property shaped the project: they had cared for it for over three decades before adding the neighboring site. The designers’ task was to make the larger grounds read as a connected garden, while respecting the existing landscape and carrying details from the home into the new areas.
According to Homes and Gardens, The Outside Design Studio led the landscape design in collaboration with En Masse Architecture & Design, which designed the greenhouse. Pappas Company handled landscape construction. Photography was credited to Scott Shigley and John Boehm. The source describes the project and its design features but does not give a completion date or identify the precise area of each garden zone.
“a home and landscape enveloped in greenery, where every window frames a view”
— The project description in Homes and Gardens
Project Details Not Reported
The source does not state when construction was completed, how much the project cost, or whether the garden is open to visitors. It also provides no direct interview transcript from the owners or designers beyond the descriptions included in the report. Those omissions limit what can be said about the project’s budget, design process and ongoing maintenance.
The plant list in the report includes several named selections, but it does not provide a complete inventory, planting quantities or care requirements. The description of the garden as a private outdoor sanctuary indicates a residential setting; it does not establish public access.
No Further Milestone Announced
The available report presents the garden as a completed design and does not identify a forthcoming opening, event or construction phase. No next project milestone is given. Readers seeking details such as access, cost, plant specifications or construction timing would need additional information from the homeowners, designers or landscape contractor.
Key Questions
Where is the garden?
It is on a private residential property in Riverwoods, Illinois, according to the Homes and Gardens report.
How large is the expanded garden?
The combined site is reported as 24,000 square feet. The article does not break down the size of individual garden areas.
Who designed the project?
The Outside Design Studio collaborated with En Masse Architecture & Design. Pappas Company is credited with landscape construction.
What makes the garden Italian-inspired?
The report points to features including a cedar pergola and Italian terracotta planter, alongside an overall vision inspired by the rustic Italian countryside. It also describes the design as adapted to the property’s woodland terrain.
Can the public visit the garden?
The source describes it as a private residential garden and gives no information about public access.
Source: rss
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