Creating A 'Private Oasis'

It isn’t just the Hamptons mansions that fetch millions in the real estate market. The real value lies in the land beneath them.

But what to do with the sprawling acres can leave a homeowner scratching his or her head. Simply looking at a lawn or garden is one thing; actually using it is another.

Edmund Hollander Design’s newest effort, “The Private Oasis,” attempts to bridge that gap with 350 colorful pages of more than 50 gardens—many of them on the East End, but some as far away as Europe and the Caribbean—that offer solutions and suggestions on how to live and move through a property, and ways to bring the indoors out.

“People buy properties in the Hamptons not for the house,” landscape architect Edmund Hollander, who is based in Sag Harbor, said during a telephone interview last month. “They’ll buy the property and tear the house down and rebuild. The landscapes are so much more important there. It’s outdoor-focused out there. And great attention is given to all facets of the landscape because of that.”

To start, first impressions are everything. And it is important to make one with a home’s entry—which begins at the edge of a property—because it leaves a lasting impact, just as a home’s front door would, according to Mr. Hollander.

He said that he approaches any new project like a budding relationship. Date one is with the landscape. He learns its ecological makeup, its best qualities and constraints “that can be turned into opportunities,” he said.

Date two is with the architect, he said, to talk about an existing home or one to come. In general, a classical house will have a relatively formal entry, while a country house will be more relaxed and casual. A contemporary house will be grounded in simplicity, he said.

“The existing property and the existing characteristics of the property have a great impact on the site,” Mr. Hollander explained. “The closer we are to the building itself, the more influence the architecture is going to have on the landscape. The further we get, the more we can transition into what the natural property feels like.”

Date three is with the family—learning what they want out of a property and how they’ll need to travel through the landscape’s different “rooms.”

“This is the least understood, but the most important,” Mr. Hollander said. “The landscape doesn’t move, the people do. You’re bring people from ‘Space A’ to ‘Space B.’ That journey is something we want to carefully choreograph so you’re exposing views. There’s a sense of invitation, if you will.”

Where there is a shift of character or purpose from one space to another, a gateway is a logical choice because it provides access while establishing a separation—accomplishing two goals at once, Mr. Hollander pointed out. Steps and stairs provide a seamless connection, he said, while allées create a sense of movement, as well as a memorable drive or walkway.

“It’s very site-specific, in that no two properties are the same,” he said. “No two rooms are the same, no two families are the same. It’s something we use to tie the entire property together, and that relates specifically to each property.”

No matter the transitional tool, they all lead from one area of the landscape to another, and with purpose—whether to take a dip in the pool, play a game of tennis or have a meal on the patio with friends and family, he added.

“In many ways, what we’re doing is creating spaces that allow multi-generational families to use the property together or separately,” the landscape architect said. “That’s the one common thread: creating a home that’s outside the house. And so, as the architects are doing inside, we’re basically creating a home outside that. Because many of them live in urban areas, this becomes their own private oasis.”

“Private Oasis” is now available on Amazon.com. For more information, visit hollanderdesign.com.