Rosalia Sanni Transforms a Hillside Property in Greenwich

Stone walls give structure to the landscape. The pool deck is Madras Grey sandstone, a natural material from India that has a softer texture and stays cooler in the sun than bluestone.

The geometric sensibility of the new covered porch influenced the outdoor scheme. “We paid close attention to the house design, so the landscape feels like an extension,” says landscape designer Lina Cangrejo.

Decluttering the hill behind the pool created a grassy play space while the trees offer privacy screening.

A dramatic natural rock outcropping is framed in this view from a path along the new barn-style garage.

On the street side, the renovation included construction of a new garage connected to the house by a glass-framed breezeway. Sanni and Cangrejo designed a motor court to create a sense of arrival. The breezeway also provides entrée to a stepping-stone path leading to the pool. The signature stone walls extend behind the new structure.

Maximizing the Typography

Landscape design often involves a leap of faith, says Rosalia Sanni, principal landscape designer and owner of Rosalia Sanni Design. Concept development and schematics notwithstanding, “To a certain point, the vision exists only in our imagination.”

This project in Greenwich involved rethinking and remaking the property around a traditional 7,200-square-foot stone-and-shingle house that was itself undergoing a major renovation. “We were fortunate to have clients who believed in us,” she says.

The plan to modernize and expand the house included adding a pool and adjacent covered porch at the rear of the structure and improving the underutilized 1.12-acre lot. From the start, Sanni and RSD senior designer Lina Cangrejo were able to dovetail their grounds program with the renovation plan executed by the architects at Alisberg Parker. The result is a landscape that wraps the updated home’s architecture, the land’s topography, and the family’s lifestyle into one harmonious panorama.

Stone Walls and Thoughtful Planting Create Outdoor Living Spaces

With a raised contour, the existing landscape was cluttered with trees and overgrowth. “The house was oriented to a narrow yard, and the hillside was largely ignored,” says Sanni. “Our clients were open to suggestions to utilize every inch of the property.” While the pool is a focal point, by culling the planting, she made space for kids to play and adults to walk in the woods along the border. “It was an exercise in editing as much as adding.”

Now the hillside offers a protective embrace. Stone walls reflect the geometry of the architecture, their straight lines providing year-round structure and rhythm that balance the natural informality of the rolling lawn and border greenery.

“We thought about sight lines and scale,” says Sanni, who intentionally kept the defining stone walls at a maximum height of three feet to keep the planting beds atop them at eye level. “When we were done, even the clients were surprised they had so much property,” says Cangrejo.

As a landscape designer, “there is nothing better than standing in the space and seeing it when it’s done,” says Sanni. At night, carefully planned outdoor lighting illuminates the walls and distant trees so “there is a little glow everywhere.”

Project Team
Landscape design: Rosalia Sanni Design
Architecture: Alisberg Parker
Builder: CDS Contracting