444 Clinton Avenue

Year: 2023

Location: Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

Scope: Design assist, project management, masonry, woodwork, metalwork, irrigation, lighting, planting, maintenance

A specimen magnolia, underplanted with a rich mix of evergreens, flowering shrubs, grasses, and perennials, invites you off the sidewalk and into a generous stoop-side front yard where monumental, custom bluestone treads provide a sleek and stately foundation and custom metalwork transforms functional elements – rain screen, bin enclosure – into unique focal points.

The serene back garden features top to bottom, edge to edge, custom metalwork, stonework, and woodwork elements that intersect, creating multiple functional spaces that feel at once private and expansive; an airy, modern, steel pergola shelters the parlor-level deck; at the bottom of the stairs, more monumental, custom bluestone slabs draw you through the garden, past a stacked stone bench and a lounging lawn, into a a stand of mature, multi stem birch trees before delivering you out into a private parking area via a unique and stylish rain awning. At the opposite end of the space, the clean lines and crisp angles of a black locust amphitheater frames the house’s lower level, combining tiered seating, steps, storage, and integrated planting beds. Everywhere, layers of shrubs, grasses, and perennials provide dimension, interest, movement, and color, as well as contrast with the smooth geometry of the hardscape.

Stylish and low-profile stair and path lights help with wayfinding and late evening atmosphere and contribute to the sense of a secret garden.