Wanna Meet My Outdoor Rooms?
Is the Cross House the biggest Victorian-Era house ever built on such a small piece of land?
I have often pondered the question.
I mean, the size of the yard is absurdly small. The front yard is TINY. To the south? The driveway takes up all this. East? This is small, and currently parking. North? Tiny, narrow, and up against a highway. NOT a pleasant area.
There is zero privacy. Zero. There is no lovely place to have a table and enjoy lunch.
All this is one of the big negatives of the house.
But…but…I have brilliant plan afoot.
Brilliant!
GARDEN ROOMS
I cannot magically create an expansive yard. So I need to trick the eye into thinking the house is surrounded by a verdant oasis.
How?
By creating outdoor rooms.
The rooms will have solid walls either six-feet-high, or eight-feet. The ceilings of these rooms will be the sky.
So, instead of seeing all the yard at once (and realizing how small and pitiful it is), by creating separate, enclosed spaces, the eye will be tricked into having no understanding of the actual size of the yard.
By filling each room with beautiful things to look at (plants, flowers, water features, and pergolas), the eye will spend time absorbing all this loveliness rather than thinking: This yard is so small!
By going from one room to another room, the eye will be surprised and delighted to discover more loveliness. And the more the eye is entranced, the larger and larger the yard will seem.
I learned this trick long ago when I had an architectural design business in NYC. My clients owned absurdly expensive but small apartments. I found that by lavishing detail on these unprepossessing units (with fabulous custom-made doors, fabulous custom-made cabinetwork, overscaled base, ceilings that glowed via artful hidden lighting, and even by making hallways an experience) nobody, when all was completed, ever noticed how small the apartments were. Really. Before everybody commented on the size. After? Nobody. Not once. All my client’s would hear was: “Your apartment is SO gorgeous!”
So, if I was able to do this in NYC, why not my yard in Kansas?
WANNA MEET MY GARDEN ROOMS?
The plan.
- East Room. Currently a dusty parking lot.
- Corner Room. Currently a dusty parking lot.
- North Room. Currently a patch of lawn. Next to Highway 50.
- Zig-Zag Room.
- Fence around AC condensers.
- Fence around garden equipment.
EAST ROOM
The kitchen faces the east yard, which is now a parking lot. It is grim and impressively unappealing. But the rear of the house is beautiful. With the east yard transformed into the East Room one will be able to sit outside and enjoy the view of the house.
The significant feature of the East Room will be a massive waterfall: four feet wide, and falling from at least six feet. CRASH! The sound should be glorious. The sound will be vital in screening the noise from the highway.
The East Room will be surrounded by an eight-foot-high solid fence. Eight feet is unheard of for a residence but, as I learned today, the Cross House has exceedingly peculiar zoning due to its many uses over the decades, and eight feet was approved by the city!
The fence will instantly rectify the lack of privacy, and the waterfall will rectify the noise problem.
There will be a table and chairs in the center, sitting atop huge limestone pavers which came with the house.
The edges of the yard will be graced with lush planting beds.
CORNER ROOM
One will walk from the East Room into the Corner Room via a narrow passage covered by a pergola. This act of “compression” is critical. By having each room screened from each other, the eye will wonder: what is over there? You will see the narrow passage topped by a pergola and be drawn to discovering what it leads to. You will experience curiosity and wonder rather than thinking: This yard is so small!
The Corner Room will have a very formal French-like garden, with a tiered fountain in the center. Or maybe a lion head against the outer fence (centered on the passage) sprouting a stream of water.
The fence will be eight-feet high.
NORTH ROOM
This room has the most potential to go from unappealing to WOW!
Today, it is but a strip of grass (well, more weeds than grass). But, to stand outside the dining room windows, and to look upon the north facade, is to gasp. The north facade is stunning but particularly so from this position. The tower is powerful! To have a table and chairs in this location will offer a glorious place to have lunch and dinners. Glorious.
Today however nobody could ever enjoy this area. It is incredibly exposed and right against Highway 50.
But with a six-foot-high fence, and another massive waterfall, the area will instantly transform. Because it faces north, all the planting beds will be filled with shade plants.
Creating a North Room also gives me reason to use the north entrance, which is otherwise useless. It will be fun having friends over for dinner, stepping down the beautiful curved stone steps of the north porch, and out to the surprise of a private secret garden, with waterfall music.
I. Cannot. Wait.
ZIG-ZAG ROOM
From the North Room, one will be drawn through an opening in an eight-foor-high hedge and into the Zig-Zag room. This will be a small space with a tall hedge to the north and east. The zig-zag of the house will form the other two walls.
Something magical should be in the intimate space. I am thinking of a startling sculpture by my friend Suzi.
5 & 6
Creating separation between the East and Corner Rooms will be two fenced rectangles. One will hide the three AC condensers. The other will hide a garden shed for the mower and stuff.
THE FENCE
The fence posts are now being professionally installed by Fender Fence.
Then I will be installing the fencing itself.
There is no way I could afford a custom-made fence which would look historically correct and offer total privacy. Such a fence could easily cost $60,000.
So, me being, well, me, I plan to do something…unusual.
I was planning to use corrugated translucent plastic. Like the green color at top.
Importantly, the corrugated panels will be on both side of the fence. Between these panels will be LED strip lighting, so at night the whole fence will glow softly and mysteriously. I am tremendously excited by this idea.
It is vital that the fence be made of something my cats cannot climb. I cannot do a wood fence. It must be plastic or metal. It needs to be solid.
The corrugated panels will be installed horizontally, so they compliment the horizontal siding on the house.
The panels also need to allow light transmission while offering privacy.
The finished fence will obviously be modern, and will, I hope, offer a nice counterpoint to the restored 1894 house looming high above.
The reason why the north fence will be two-feet lower than the other fences is so that the beautiful north facade will be as visible as possible to people walking/driving by, while still creating privacy for me and my guests. Also…
…see the tower? Its limestone foundation is exactly six-feet-high. So the new fence will just kiss the green trim. The fence will be between the two first-floor tower windows. This is not ideal as it will cut the foundation in two, visually, but I have no other idea of where to end the fence. I could move it over to the left and have it die into the corner of the tower and the chimney but that, to my eyes, will look even worse. But I am still pondering.
SUMMATION
The fencing will, hopefully, be finished this year.
All the planting and water features will take several more years, so the finished effect is a while away. All will depend on finances!
Today, the house feels, overwhelmingly, like it is on a stage. Creating outdoor rooms will give the house something it has never had: privacy.
In addition, one of the big negatives about the house (no yard) will vanish as an issue. I truly don’t think anybody will notice the diminutive scale of the yard when all is finished and verdant and magical.
And my cats…
…will be delighted. And safe.
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It sounds amazing Ross. It’s always a problem to know where to end a fence. What if you created a “secret door” between Room 2 & 3? This would be good because… 1. you will have a secret door 2. You can keep it closed so the cats can’t get out, but you can still get your lawn mower out when you need it 3. That gives you more options for Room 3 – you wouldn’t have to completely close it off. You could create privacy on the west side of the room with a partial fence, hedge or large bushes, etc. 4. The cats won’t be able to get in the way when you’re having dinner parties. Of course you would have to modify the zig zag room so the cats couldn’t climb over or through the hedge.
I reread it and I forgot to include still having the fence on the north side up to… the north sidewalk? The main point was just trying to give you more options on where to end the fence and also a way to keep uninvited kitties from crashing your dinners!
I divided my parents’ back yard into 3 spaces, although there aren’t high fences between them. There is a solid hedge around the outside of it all though. It definitely made a small back yard on a corner property feel bigger.
The Wideners outdid you on big house/small yard though. There is now a McDonald’s in this location.
Hi, Chad!
I have seen many very large houses on tiny lots in urban locations.
I cannot through recall a very large house on a tiny lot in a residential neighborhood!
Oh, McDonald’s? Sigh.
Yeah, picking North Broad was probably a bit too sarcastic, though I’ve also seen houses on small lots in suburban-ish neighborhoods that might be a better comparison to Emporia. It’s a shame about what happened to this area. The new money of Victorian Philadelphia couldn’t typically even live in the old money neighborhood, so they went to great lengths to outdo them with mansions like this. Then the street was blown up to install a subway line at exactly the same time as the commuter railroads electrified and made living in the suburbs possible, and the mansion district on Broad Street just collapsed.
Then this family’s next house, which was practically inspired by Versailles, is languishing without a buyer, though it appears that the most significant interiors are still intact. It’s now down to $16 million. You should buy it.
What an interesting concept. I’ve never seen a new corrugated plastic fence, they’ve always been cloudy, old, and really banged up, think the sandlot. Can’t wait to see!
I agree with Francesca. In selecting the corrugated plastic fence, I think I’d insist on seeing the product in situ after at least five years of weathering.
I love the garden rooms concept. Exciting! I adore the cats in garden rooms lifestyle. Kitties 🙂 My gut is queasy at the idea of fence walls touching the round base of the tower. The angles, the view from the street of the tall tower with diagonal lines intersecting the base. It may work… hard for me to tell without being there to walk around. But, my queasy gut would square out that corner of the fence between the front garden room and #3, enclosing the empty space, and remove the fence lines that touch the tower base. …. I wonder if you have considered making a mock up of those fence panels, with string tied to… ladders or pieces of scaffolding or something, to get an idea of how the fence lines impact the lines of the house…?
…. oh. I just realized what I thought was a front garden room was actually the existing front deck. OOps! My idea does not make sense.
You will be pleased to know that I have decided against the fence touching the tower. I am going to move it to the east a bit, and away from the house a bit to the north. The result is that the North Yard will not be fully enclosed, and not accessible to the kitties.
I am 🙂 Great solution, but I am sorry the kitties will not be gallivanting around the North porch. Then again, as the proposed fence is only 6 feet in that area, I imagine they may have been able to claw over anyplace the shorter fence intersected the house so… meowbe all’s well that ends well.
It is funny. Living in Chicago, it never even occurred to me to think you had a small yard! We are so used to our houses cheek by jowl.
This plan sounds fun!
I lived in NYC for 12 years and never had any outdoor space. Even an 8×8 yard would been been the height of luxury!
There is an HGTV show which, although I am appalled at what they do to interiors, has great landscaping ideas. They also have ideas that I wouldn’t even consider for myself. The show is called, “The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie”. Here is a link to the first season’s episode list.
In particular, there is a program in which they build a living wall. I have personally seen the most amazing living walls at Longwood Gardens, where the restrooms are along a curved corridor of living wall on both sides with doors for individual restrooms.
I think almost all great landscapers consider outdoor rooms the way to go.
My first instinct would be to have the fence for 3 meet up with the column at stairs. Would the garden space be too small for you and that’s why you have it moved up to the tower?
Rachel, please see my response to SEB.
It’s always interesting how everyone views their own space. The idea of garden rooms makes total sense. Olmstead designed Central Park as a series of “rooms” (on a much bigger scale) in which there is a focal point and various vistas as you move about. It creates a sense of discovery.
As an urban dweller (in one of those absurdly expensive and small apartments), I have until now, never had any outdoor space of my own as an adult. The rear yard in our new (old) Philly house is 16′ wide by 12′ deep (plus a 3′ x 25′ side yard). Our concrete pad and cinder-block walls surrounded by other rowhouses and privacy is basically non-existent. Since we bought the house I have been pouring over hundreds of ideas on Pinterest on how to cram an outdoor kitchen, dining area, living area, pergola, fire pit, vegetable garden, lawn, and Koi pond with a water feature into less than 300 square feet. To me it still feels huge! I will be thrilled to have only one “room” to maintain.
I am not a fan of the fence plan. It would be interesting for a modern house, but an anachronism for your home. I detest anything plastic. What I could see, though, is a stone-faced wall with a cast iron fence on top of it. I know, I can’t imagine how much it might cost. If it were an option, I know there are iron fence patterns that are tight enough to keep cats in. I don’t think modernism of any form ever enhances Victorian architecture.
Hi again, Michael!
As we have previously debated, I don’t see the Cross House as being trapped in amber, forever frozen in 1894. The house has now experienced 123-years and I see no reason why this long history should be censored. This is why I have a Mid-Century Modern table in the middle of the parlor!
A stone-faced wall with a cast-iron fence on top of it will easily cost, what, $40K? $80K? $120K? So, no! Moreover, such a fence would not solve the privacy issue. So, even if money were no object what would be the point?
The fence needs to provide total privacy AND be something the cats cannot scale. My solution solves both issues at a moderate cost.
And while I love my Victorian-era house, I also love modernism!
Ross, I know my idea would look fantastic. But you are right that it would be costly. I think the idea of a fence of greenery- hiding a solid fence that would keep the kitties in- would be a great compromise. And the shrubs could be lit up, like for Christmas, and look fantastic.
The kitties would climb right up and over a fence covered with greenery!
Yes but what if the hedge is concealing a solid fence? Also, there are electronic fences for dogs, and I was told by a man who has one that it works. Would the same work for cats? [Ross: Yes, the cats would climb a hedge concealing a solid fence.]
Studying architecture in college we always talked about renovations and restorations to old buildings and if it was better to approach it with the new parts looking new vs trying to look old and blend in. I’d say 8 times out of 10 the new addition standing out and looking new and modern was a much better solution to something trying to be old. Things never really look quite right unless you spend loads of money recreating and restoring like what happens with museum pieces and houses. (By new looking new I mean something like this.)
So basically, I’m with you on adding to the history of an old house with something of the times! There are obviously bad versions of both of these solutions but, hey!, most of the old buildings didn’t have electricity or maybe even indoor plumbing. But we all need those modern conveniences and it all goes to part of the history of the place.
I’m assuming your fence will be something like this but just colored plastic instead of metal and horizontal.
Think that will be great!
Hi again, Rachel!
No, my fence will look nothing like the one you link to.
My fence will have no exposed wood. None of the posts and horizontal wood will be exposed. All will be covered by the green corrugated panels. The fence will be VERY simple; austere even. Very clean. But at night when is is lighted from inside? It will then be magical.
Ah! Gotcha now. I was trying to picture the double panel fence since I’ve only seen corrugated fences looking similar to the one I linked to. The lighting should set a fun mood for evening hangs in the garden.
Where is the cistern in all this? I love outdoor rooms, so I think this will be a beautiful compliment to your home. My house is also close to a major highway, and the noise makes going outside so unpleasant.
The cistern is in the East Room. I will be building a pergola on top of it. The huge stone top of the cistern will be the pergola floor.
I’ve been watching your house blog for a few years and mostly I love what you have been doing! However, I have to say that I do not like the idea of a tall plastic fence, either. I think it would clash with the house. It would be really pretty if you planted a hedge that would grow to about 5-6 feet tall around the perimeter and then use smaller picket fences or miniature hedging for the interior rooms. The green hedge would give you some privacy while still looking like it belongs with the house. I do like the idea of a waterfall to mask the noise. The hedge wouldn’t keep your cats safe from the street, but maybe you could have one interior corner that has fencing that they can’t climb when they’re outside and then they could just run around inside your huge house most of the time.
Hi, Carlyn,
A tall hedge was my first idea but this was discarded because it will not keep the cats safe. The cats are outdoor cats and have never been indoors. They were strays when I rescued them. Several are “pissers” and there is NO WAY they will ever be allowed into the house! They will however have a small “winter” house to keep them cozy during the cold months (as they have now).
Those garden rooms remind me of Sissinghurst gardens in Southern England! Very nice!
I understand why you want to put the fence horizontal. But: Doesn’t it collect awfully big quantity of dust on that horizontal parts? (my inner housewife is speaking here …)
Greetings from Germany
Meike B.
Hello, Germany!!!!!!!
I think it is crucial for the fencing to be installed horizontally, so as to complement the decided horizontal lines of the house.
The rain will easily wash off any dust.
Thanks, Meike!
Gottes gruesse aus den Vereinigten Staaten!
“Gruess Gott!” back from Germany!
It’s only used in Southern Germany and is a wish: God shall greet you (means: God shall bless you)
Danke schoen, gnaedige frau!
Hi Ross. I love the idea of the ‘rooms’. However, the corrugated fence I’m unable to visualise and if it were me, I’d recommend privet hedges or natural hazel fencing with ivy trained over it. Perhaps on the roadside wall, concrete blocks faced with limestone veneer and topped with railing. This could allow noise baffling but still look in keeping with the foundation blocks.
Also, as an idea to further fool the eye, using stepped pergolas at the entrance of each ‘room’ would further add to the impression of greater space.PS: OHD is showing a cool house on Exchange St which I am interested in. Do you know of the house? Is it in a good area ?
Hi Colin!
Any fence material must satisfy three conditions:
1) Provide absolute privacy.
2) Be something that the cats cannot climb.
3) Be as inexpensive as possible.
So, your three idea would, sorry, fail all three conditions!
What house on Exchange are you interested in?
Ross
Hi Ross. Dammit! I forgot about those conditions, hhh. Back to the drawing board….
The house I saw is listed as 818 Exchange St. It’s a lovely little shingle /gambrel roof style with a petrol blue colour on it. Probably the whole house is about the size of your front parlour, but it caught my eye. Woodwork and glass is intact. The shape and curves are lovely.
818 is FABULOUS!!!!!!!!
It was designed by Charles Squires! The images don’t do it justice.
The area is fine. There is a school on the next block, and the William White house museum. Across the street a sweet bungalow has been renovated by a couple I know. And I am just two blocks away!
Hi Ross. Thanks for this. I just made contact with the listing agent and am awaiting info on the property. I took a virtual walk around the area which looks nice. If I get this, I hope to drop by to see your magnificent home in full effect.
Magnificent garden room plans along with beautiful modern horizontal fencing for kitties’ safety! Everything sounds doable & oh so sumptuous!!!! No red flags except those u already addressed such as more room from the tower & north facade view from the sidewalk!!
I am intrigued by the idea of the glowing fence. I think it will complement the stained glass windows.
I never thought of that! But you are right!
The fence sounds dreadful. The thought hurts a little. However thank you for this gift you give us. I visit everyday. You are awesome! The next owner can remove the fence. Feel bad for passerbys that will see less of the magnificence.
I think the fence will be quite beautiful, actually.
It will be clean-lined and elegant. And a bit mysterious, even!
While it is true that the house will be somewhat concealed, somewhat, do you think this is an OK tradeoff for my being able to enjoy the yard privately? And for giving my cats a safe haven?
I do! The house is tall. Way taller than the fence. There’s plenty for passersby to see, and if they want to see more… maybe someday there will be a sign on the fence with info about house tours.
Absolutely, you should enjoy it. I’m sure it will cut down on the noise pollution too. Fences aren’t forever. I’m hoping you will wow me with something spectacular. I love being wrong as much as being right. Thanks again for everything Ross.
My husband built a screened room and roofed it with the type of corrugated panels you are thinking of using. I believe ours are of polycarbonate and the pitch is at least 12/12. Falling branches, acorns, etc., do not harm this roof. When it was new, (about 12 years ago) it was beautiful. However the weather in northern Indiana and the years have faded and clouded the material. We have considered replacing it for several years only because of the way it looks. We at one time researched the same type of material in a flat panel but have not replaced yet. The effect is very similar to a cloudy, scratched glass. The shine and clearness were gone within two years.
Hi, Marilyn,
I can see that happening with clear panels but I plan to use opaque panels.
This all sounds terrific! I have one question…will you have any air that will move in your rooms? With 8′ walls does Kansas supply enough soft breezes to keep air moving? Just one more thing to ponder…
I am unfamiliar with cats that cannot climb anything if they set their minds to it. My cats would wait until someone was coming or going and make a break for it even though we sincerely tried to make them indoor cats. We finally gave up on keeping them in. The queen of the group wouldn’t come in at night if she didn’t feel like it, but had no compunctions about climbing to our bedroom windows, shredding the screens, and crying to get in. Since yours won’t be coming indoors at all, I wouldn’t put it past them to climb the shingle or siding if they want to see what is on the other side of the fence. Are these cats now living at the Cross House or at your current residence? If they are the ones that you have shown us whose food drew the raccoons, I suspect that they know secret ways that you have yet to imagine. Good luck keeping them from leaving your outside rooms at will. I hope you succeed.
I hope so, too, Stewart!
What will you do about the walkway on the north side of the house? Have a gate or will it be closed off from the street? P.S. I’m sure stray cats will be trying to get into your yard, not trying to escape!
I hesitate to even bring this us but………
I am not a cat person have dogs. I do not understand the cat and fence problem, the outdoor cats seem to come and go at will now . I I I understand you can not contain outdoor cats, so we are not talking about the outdoor cats.
Are you talking about future house cats that you want to be able to be outside. I am sure cat people understand all this perfectly.
I really liked the plastic fence in a wood frame.
It will be like The Secret Garden meets Labyrinth meets Hanging Gardens of Babylon! The plans sound so absolutely scrumptious!!!! I am both a dog & cat lover & just plain ole animal lover. I understand perfectly your safety concerns for kitty cats. They will do as they please. The best one can hope for is to enhance the safety concerns and deter from the highway right outside your door. As there are no screens planned at Cross House you h Ace no worries of kitties climbing on the screens & making mesh mincemeat. I trust your taste & instincts. They have more than served u excellently since Mar 2014! Carry on Restoring Ross!!!!
I adore a good puzzle, so I really appreciate how you combined the necessity of closed off AC condensers with the utility of (needed) storage space to create a doorway between the East room and the Corner room. Genius!!
I’m looking forward to seeing how the plastic corrugated fencing shapes up- I’ve been thinking about my next home and how I’d like to have tall, fenced-in exterior space for my cats (who are currently crammed in a 500 square foot urban apartment with trains running by every 5 minutes, poor babies) to go in and out of freely- and so non-climb-able materials have been on my mind as well.
This is great stuff!
I’m trying to “see” the vision based on your post and I’m quite excited and curious to view some pictures in the near future. It sounds like your design will make the space very livable and nice. And IF IF IF you ever want something different, it’s just a fence. Right? 😉 Id want to keep my two kitties safe as well, especially by a main road. Good call, good sir!
We have a plastic fence. The cats can’t climb it (and it’s too high to jump over). Ours is much more mundane than your proposal, but it looks fine.