On the Fringe. » Garden

Villas of the Brenta Canal

toddrichesin — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:03:47 +0000

Palladio's Villa Foscari or "Malcontenta"

On our travels we are forever gathering design inspiration to bring back to our clients. What better place to do that than to visit a few Villas in the Veneto? We toured three villas along the Brenta Canal. The Brenta Canal is a natural waterway that connects Venice with Padua. In the 18th Century (and even before) wealthy Venetians built summer houses along the canal as status symbols and as a way to escape the summer heat in Venice.

Our first stop was one of the oldest villas, Palladio’s Villa Foscari, built between 1555 and 1560. This is proof that “classic” never goes out of style. The proportions of the exterior are perfect! Inside, every surface is covered with frescoes done in the 1600’s. They have faded now to a beatiful patina of soft colors and subtle detail. Magnificent! The villa is now privately owned and none of the original furnishings are there. The owner has chosen a simple neutral background with very early Italian antiques which really showcase the spectacular frescoes. The garden was very simple and understated.

The portico of the Villa Valmarana

The next stop was the Villa Valmarana in Mira. It was a much smaller villa, but still had an impressive presence from the canal. Inside the walls were covered with frescoes as well, although a little less spectacular than the ones at Villa Foscari. Valmarana was furnished beautifully with antique Italian furniture. The front garden was a beautifully manicured boxwood hedge with a giant topiary yew in the center. My favorite part was the charming side porch. Such a wonderful place to sit and enjoy the rose garden beyond.

Charming side porch of the Villa Valmarana in Mira

Side entrance of the Villa Valmarana

Canal view of the Villa Valmarana

Canal view of the Villa Pisani in Stra

The crown jewel of the Brenta Canal is the Villa Pisani. It is one of the “newer” villas, but its 114 rooms are sure to impress. Napoleon I owned this palace at one time, and completely redecorated the interior in the French Empire style. I would have preferred the original Baroque Italian style, but it was still beautiful. Some of the original frescoes remained, as did a few of the original Murano glass and carved wooden chandeliers. Most of the original furnishings and chandeliers have been stolen over the years. Outside, there was a lovely garden with a long canal that led to a gigantic “facade” that appeared to be another villa in the distance. Also on the property was what has to be one of the most amazing boxwood labrinths on the planet; in the center of which rises a large stone column surrounded with a spiral stair where you can study the maze to find your way back out.

Garden of Villa Pisani

The canal at Villa Pisani in the garden

Deck Railing Details

toddrichesin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:27:09 +0000

Completed Deck Railing with Decorative Screen at Bottom

: Rail Cap Detail

Plinth for Lantern on Deck Rail

For the perfect deck railing, you should consider how the deck will be used. Most decks are used for entertaining, and that involves drinks and food. Sometimes there is not enough seating space for guests on a deck, so the rail is a great extra spot for guests to sit drinks and small plates.

Make the top of the deck rail nice and wide. We used a 2×6 with a routed bottom detail and a rounded top edge. It is positioned on top of a 2×4 plain. Our deck railing is made from 4×4 material, so the 2″ pieces together equal the thickness of the rest of the deck material. It has a nice solid look; provides a place to put a drink or small plate, and feels substantial enough so that guests won’t feel like they are going to fall off.

I like the concept of porch lights looking like candle lanterns that have just been set on the railing. To achieve this look, we added a 12×12 piece centered on top of the hand rail. It got the same top and bottom details to make it consistent with the rest of the cap rail. We drilled the center of it for wiring, and placed a custom lantern from McLean Lighting Works on top of that. This is their Arts and Crafts lantern, which we felt had the same artistic design as a simple old French farmhouse lantern would have. The base of the lantern is attached to the plinth, and the top is removable for changing bulbs. Since the lantern was custom, we had the option of making the candles varying heights. This is a great touch which adds a sense of real candles to the lanterns.

Garden Antiques at Casa Real

toddrichesin — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 23:15:20 +0000

We recently purchased a monumental 19th century English terra cotta urn on a stone base for our garden. We had a spot on the croquet lawn that needed a focal point. Included are a before photo, and an after. The style of the urn was perfect for our home. It complemented the garden, and its scale (about 66″ tall) was large enough to be seen from a distance. The addition of this piece created a “vista”, an important element in any garden design. Our garden has been an ongoing project since we bought this house six years ago. We are to the point with it now where we are really starting to get credit for everything we add. Working in the garden is a lot like working in a house. Just like you have to have tables before you can put lamps on them, you have to have a back drop before you can create a focal point with a piece like this.

The space for the urn was sloping. This created the need to build a platform for it to rest on. The platform was made from the same stone as the retaining walls around the croquet lawn. The urn was placed in the center of the platform, and to soften it some, we planted mondo grass around the base of the urn. The patina of the urn, coupled with the facts that the backdrop for it was mature, and the mondo grass was planted very full make this piece feel as if it has always been there. To me, that is the mark of a successful garden addition.

Arborvitae screen before addition of urn

Completed installation of pedestal and urn with mondo grass