Sitting high on a hill in the forested wilds of southern Vermont is a house unusual for its area. At first glance, it looks like a Japanese-style farmhouse from the north island of Hokkaido with its hewn timber frame, wooden windows, and deep eaves. Yet there is something fresh and new about the contemporary touches: the standing seam roof, rustically elegant wood and tile-floored interiors, and board-form concrete half walls. What was needed was a clean and simple landscape move that held up the steep surrounding slopes with a long stone retaining wall.

The house is composed of two long offset barn buildings with eaves that are joined in the middle around an exterior stone courtyard. Photo © Scott Wunderle

The wall encloses a level grass shelf around the house and a large courtyard and play space for the couple’s dog. Photo © Seamus Flynn

The wall borders a rectangular quartzite terrace with a beautiful view out to the surrounding landscape. Photo © Seamus Flynn

Plantings in geometric beds surround more stone pavers that turn into a terrace for the guest wing of the house. Photo © Scott Wunderle

The house is composed of two long offset barn buildings with eaves that are joined in the middle around an exterior stone courtyard. Photo © Seamus Flynn

On the entry side of the house, retaining wall holds up the slope between garage and house. Photo © Seamus Flynn

The wall encloses a level grass shelf around the house and a large courtyard and play space for the couple’s dog. Photo © Seamus Flynn

A set of broad stone steps and linear pavers take visitors straight to the front door. Photo © Scott Wunderle.

Photography by: Seamus Flynn Photography
JMMDS Project Manager: Jana Bryan
Collaborators: Terrigenous, Chester, VT

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Read more about it in the JMMDS Blog post, “JMMDS Residential Landscape Design: A Contemporary Home in Southern Vermont”