Landscape Design Brings an Italian Villa to Texas

By John O. Williams, ASLA

The landscape of this home in Kemah, Texas (ABOVE) is designed to replicate the feel of living in an Italian Country Villa and to take advantage of the magnificent views of Clear Lake. The swimming pool features a mixture of stamped concrete and natural stone tiles to tie and unify the various site elements. Canary Island Palms (BELOW) are among the features used on the landscape of the formerly minimalist front yard and streetscape.

The design for this residence in Kemah, Texas is meant to evoke images of a 300-year-old Italian Country Village. Through the extensive use of plant materials, and elaborate hardscapes, the design wishes of the homeowners were achieved.

This custom residential project on a prime piece of Texas property was fraught with challenges, but in the end, “Villa on the Water” was born.

The home was built on a unique lot at the end of a peninsula in Kemah, Texas jutting into Clear Lake, just south of Houston and across the lake from NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The home was designed of course, to maximize water views along a 240 degree arc. When Landesign-Landscape Architect & Land Planners was engaged to create the exterior gardens and hardscape for the estate, the program was clear; to create a one-of-a-kind home, with the look & feel of a 300 year-old Italian Country Villa on the water.

When entering the home from the breezeway, the hardscape evolves from the stamped concrete of the motor court to a more delicate design. To tie the paving together, the same color and stamp from the motor court was used in the center (BELOW), though it was saw-cut in a diagonal, diamond shape. This was then banded with a deep red, two-inch burgundy marble and a lighter natural Marbella stone. Hints of the retaining wall surrounding the property are provided here with the addition of the stone installed along the base of the wall.

Kemah, a seaside community, is home to about 1,525 residents and unique area shops, galleries and restaurants in a “Waterfront District.” Shrimpers sail into Galveston Bay past the Kemah Boardwalk, a dynamic collection of themed restaurants, retail shops, water gardens and amusements for the whole family.

There were significant design challenges with this project to overcome. Not only to create the look and feel of something that was aged and substantial, but all of this area had been significantly raised by fill from digging a local marina.

There were significant design challenges with this project to overcome. Not only to create the look and feel of something that was aged and substantial, but all of this area had been significantly raised by fill from digging a local marina.

The lot for this home is pie-shaped, narrow at the front, wide at the back over looking the water. We started with a very nice, but minimal front yard and a streetscape, in line with the wishes of the developer. Everything from the outside edge of the home needed designing, access to the Grand Stairway at the front of the home while offering a little privacy from the street, and access to both sets of garages, left and right of the front door. Most challenging of all was to provide access from a fabulous breezeway/ porte-cochere, down to the water and a pool that the client wanted us to design, and to create usable space on the remaining portions of the property, which has an approximately a 30 percent slope from the home down to the water.

A stamped concrete walk ties the home together with each area of the house (pool, bocce ball court, breezeway, etc.) Plantings here include Ixora, Aztec Grass, Sago Palms and Zinnias. This portion of the walkway leads up to the pool area. Clear Lake is on the left.

One significant challenge was to minimize the impact of a shared motor court with the major entrances to the home. We designed 3’ x 6’ individual colored, salted and textured concrete panels, separated with a three inch band of grass surrounding each panel. The rock salt thrown on the concrete at the final trowling adds additional texture, age and character. This solution created a uniquely wonderful arrival experience for the grand stairway, and clearly established an axis for the whole home through to the porte-cochere, while providing access to the garage as well. To soften and screen the garage doors while allowing us to maintain our Italian Villa feel, we designed a large cedar beam arbor that was built to espalier Bougainvillea & Wisteria vines.

A porte-cochere (breezeway) was installed on the house to serve as shelter from the rain and to become a true extension of the home. The design of the breezeway includes 3' x 6' individual colored & textured concrete panels, separated with a 3-inch band of grass surrounding each panel throughout. The adjoining sitting area offers fantastic views of Clear Lake.

The Porte-cochere was designed to serve two purposes: one, to allow shelter from the rain and two, to become a true extension of the home. As you proceed into the breezeway, the paving of the motor court ends and the more delicate, personal scale begins. To tie the paving together, the same color and stamp from the motor court was used in the center, though it was saw-cut in a nice diagonal, diamond shape. This was then banded with a deep, red, two-inch burgundy marble and a lighter natural Marbella stone. Landesign felt that extending this breezeway and stepping it down would create a secondary, more intimate sitting area. This created a focal point for the breezeway and allows for a maximum viewing of Clear Lake. From here, when you step down to the left, you enter the mid-level Bocce Ball Court. When walking to the right, you are lead down to the pool area. The landscape design used here called for a mixture of the stamped concrete and natural stone tiles to tie and unify the various site elements together. In addition, this allowed us as to introduce rustic “Moss Rock” foundation pieces into the project.

Landscaping around the Grand Staircase was designed to beautify the home and offer privacy from the street. Ixora, a White Bird of Paradise, and Burgundy Loropetulum were used to achieve this design goal.

Among the many significant challenges of this project were the existing soil conditions. Much of the peninsula was fill dirt/clay called black gumbo which was accumulated from the creation of the Marina. The black gumbo, combined with the potential tidal-surge of this area, required the pool and almost everything be engineered and on bell bottom piers. All of this concrete for piers and footings had to be pumped from the front of the home. The design of the pool had to be classic in keeping with the overall theme of the estate, and of course held in place with a large beams and retaining walls and all on piers structurally. Seating areas were included on both sides of the pool, one near the spa, overlooking the water. The second seating area has more of a grotto feel. This seating area is tucked into another rock retaining wall, which also holds up the upper lawn area on the back side of the property.

To soften and screen the garage doors and allow for the Italian Villa feel to be maintained, a large cedar beam arbor was included in the design. Espalier bougainvillea & wisteria vines cover this beam.

The natural “Moss-Rock,” while used to visually anchor and age the home, was also used for the massive retaining walls needed to create an upper lawn area, and to create a visual foreground, away from the water. A stamped, concrete walk ties the home together from area to area. The walk wraps around the retaining wall, proceeds along the water’s edge past the lower side of the pool, and then to the Bocce Ball Court. Smaller, ledge stone retaining walls were used to create the bed areas and to further establish line, form and texture.

Plantings here included Ixora, Aztec Grass, Sago Palms and Zinnias to name a few. As we approach the west end of the estate, a seating area was created on the far west side of the property overlooking the water. Access back to the central Porte-cochere and Wine Room is available from here, or the homeowners can continue around the base of the kitchen and library, before turning to go back up to the west motor court.

Purple Fountain Grass borders the wrought iron handrail along this path that leads from a lower lawn seating area up to the motor court. The boulders were placed to appear as being natural to the landscape.

Landscape and site lighting add a very dramatic aspect to the entire home at night. The walkways are all lighted as well as the Canary Island and Windmill Palms, adding dramatic focal points throughout the estate.

With challenges, there are also rewards! Having a great client, wanting to “stretch the norm,” and of course willing to allocate the resources for dreams to come true, is always an integral part of a great project. With so much elevation to deal with, describing all that was going on in the various areas was quite a daunting task, but the clients stuck with it. They were great in lending their trust to us, then, we had to make it happen! A great outdoor environment is obviously enriched with a great home, very accomplished designer Bruce Conaway, of Conaway Assoc., Ft. Worth, Texas made that happen. The Landscape Contractor was, Hamid Djavadzadeh of Nasascape, Friendswood, Texas. My firm, Landesign – Landscape Architects and Land Planners of Houston, Texas, has created wonderful environments, commercial, institutional and residential, for fifteen years.

Natural “Moss-Rock” was used throughout the project to visually anchor and age the home. This stone was also used to construct the massive retaining walls needed to create an upper lawn area, and to create a visual foreground away from the water.

John O. Williams, ASLA, is a registered Landscape Architect since 1986 and has worked on some of the finest parks, commercial & residential areas throughout the country.

Wrought iron gates surround the pool and grotto area, and this material was used on the banisters just outside of the pool area. A portion of the massive retaining wall can be seen here. The pathway to the right leads to a 40 x 40 lawn area, while walking left on the pathway leads down toward Clear Lake. The path navigates around the base of the house.