One may not
believe that putting too much time and effort into utilizing
outdoor space when buying a home is worth your while, but Robin
Kramer an award winning New England-based garden designer may make
you think otherwise. Kramer presents the opportunities to be had
when landscaping the exterior of your home.
A former childrens book illustrator and stay-at-home mother,
Kramer now successfully owns a garden design firm that also offers
an exterior design division that includes furniture, umbrellas,
planters, landscape lighting, fabrics and outdoor pieces from all
over the world. She believes that the same amount of time spent
interior designing should be spent on exterior designing.
Kramer and her husband built a home in Greenwich, Connecticut
where they currently live and English garden designer Simon Johnson
assisted in landscaping the property. The home was featured in a
garden education tour which sparked the start of her career where
she met her first client out of the blue. This past summer, Kramer
hosted a wedding on her property which may sound like an unusual
venue until you find that it was hosted in her parking court.
Unlike most circular driveways, Kramer has a large square courtyard
with extra wide paths. Also, her parking courtyard leads to a
raised area that doubles as a badminton court, an area that was
perfect placement for a tent do dance the night away with wedding
guests.
Our parking court is such a special place; you would never know
you were basically sitting in our driveway, says Kramer. What I try
to do I dont think of a front yard or a backyard I think, What can
the experience be here? A lot of what I do is rooted in European
garden design philosophies. People there live outdoors more, sit
around and have more conversations.
Kramer has seen European garden design first hand having lived
in England and Germany for many years. Also, due to her husband
working as a global investment banker, she has moved nearly a dozen
times not realizing as she dragged her children to every public
garden and historic location in Europe that she was really
nurturing her new career.
To Kramer, landscape is more about life than just a collection
of plants, shrubs and trees. Every lesson in life could be learned
in the garden. There are setbacks and disappointments, triumphs and
successes, and all the good stuff is fleeting. But people who
garden are never deterred. Every season has something to offer.
Every season is an opportunity to do something differently. Its
magical to watch these things happen. Its so part of who we are. To
me, its inspiring, says Kramer, showing her passion for garden
design.
What Kramer finds most challenging is convincing her clients to
understand the importance of utilizing their outdoor space to its
full potential. I want to change the way they experience their
homes and create something theyre going to want to have other
people experience with them. Its going to bring not only a deeper
connection to nature, but to their family experience as a
whole.
Not only does Kramer spend time outside the home, but she also
equally observes the inside of the home. She notes decorations,
colors, patterns used, and the view to the outside. She likes to
not only enhance the exterior but the home as a whole. You have
this structure, which is organizing your outdoor spaces, and it
speaks to the architecture. Near the house, most of my work is
quite linear. As you move away from the home, it is in a more
naturalistic way, says Kramer. I think theres a connection where
you slowly move from the building back into the physical landscape.
Houses here in the states are very big and Im trying to anchor them
back to the landscape.
One then may ask about the role that weather plays into outdoor
landscaping, unlike Europe, winters are much longer and unforgiving
here in New England. This does not pose a problem in Kramers eyes,
We use boxwood endlessly. Perennial beds go to dirt in winter and
you still want to see green in winter. I tend to use a lot of
hedges to create more order in the landscape.
The spaces that Kramer works with have a destination feel
somewhat like an interior room. Home buyers use each room in a home
for a specific purpose as should be done the same with outdoor
space. Interiorly you go to specific areas at a certain time of day
to trigger or create a certain mood. Ultimately, the same should be
done exteriorly.
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