Garden project in Beek Ubbergen
Straight lines and round shapes make a strong whole
A stately, detached home built in a modern style with lots of clean lines. With that comes a garden in that same modern style. At least that’s what you might expect. But Jaap Sterk shows that it is precisely the contrast between clean lines and round forms that creates a harmonious whole.
The front facade of the house staggers slightly forward at the entrance. With its open structure and long and narrow windows, the entrance takes on an imposing appearance. This is further emphasized by the driveway that seems to continue in a line with this entrance. Jaap Sterk says that for this driveway, a small clinker from Schellevis® was deliberately chosen. Laid in twill bond this not only creates a rock-solid construction. It also creates a special look. “All these little clinkers together form one carpet that flows out from the house to the street. The clean lines of the driveway easily blend into the organic environment that a garden should be. Placing two square planters here, something you see a lot of nowadays, would detract from the home. Precisely those round pots and cobbles emphasize the clean vertical lines of the house.”
Gravel is installed on both sides of the driveway. This also provides a pleasant contrast to Schellevis®’s sleek clinker. A smooth transition is created between the sleek architecture and the whimsical greenery. “In fact, gravel also has an organic structure and it makes the transition to greenery smoother.
The planting in this garden appears to have been done without a pattern. Only that is very well thought out. The lack of symmetry and straight rows of trees or shrubs, make the surroundings really involved with the home. You would expect the opposite, but those gardens with straight outlines and repeating elements create a restless look.”
“The vertical lines that are characteristic of the house, if you were to elaborate on that then you start repeating. With that you actually weaken the design” explains Jaap Sterk. “The terrace, the stairs, the porch and also the pool are tightly designed, just like the house. So the whole routing of the garden is very tight, but then that is immediately released. The grass that gently covers the backyard, trees that are not in a pattern, but seemingly random. And because of that, those modern elements come out much tighter and stronger.”
The residents of a villa in Beek Ubbergen wanted an outdoor space that was brought more into the living space of the house. The living floor is located on the second floor of the property. While the upper terrace is a nice place to linger, the distance from the large garden was too great. The old steep staircase was replaced with larger steps. In addition, the porch and pool area has been raised slightly. This makes the garden a lot more accessible.
The signature of Jaap Sterk Exteriors is thus applied to this villa garden. It is those subtle contrasts that make for a harmonious design. To make this happen, Jaap Sterk has been making frequent use of Schellevis®’s assortment for 35 years.
“The nice thing about Schellevis® is that it is easy material and it has a tremendously wide range of formats. With a little creativity, there are endless applications that can be thought of for the same material. We use it as pool edging, for the terrace or we make stairs with it. Even floating parts are possible because of its large size. The possibilities are endless.”
Jaap Sterk also realized several solutions in this garden with the Schellevis® assortment. Starring the vowel. With this, Jaap Sterk has built a driveway that is functional and beautiful. The entire garden design enhances the imposing character of the home and its surroundings.
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