Before & After: From "Fishbowl" Townhouse Garden to Private Oasis, in Manhattan

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The word “fishbowl” came to mind the first time designer Julie Farris of XS Space visited a client’s townhouse backyard in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. “Visible off to the right was the back of a full-on apartment building—with window, window, window looking out toward this garden,” she says. “The client definitely wanted some more privacy.”

The solution? An airy hedge of bamboo provides screening at the garden’s perimeter while a pared-down palette of green and white focuses the eye on the center of the space. “The white limestone is like a canvas. When the sun is directly overhead, you can see the shadows of the bamboo and other plants starkly against it,” says Farris.

Read on to see the “Before” photos:

Photography by Matthew Williams courtesy of Julie Farris, except where noted.

An interior remodel was underway at the same time Farris was designing the garden. She worked with architects Vrinda Khanna and Robert Schultz of Khanna Schultz to create indoor-outdoor flow. A key decision was to use the same paving material— Valders Limestone— indoors and out. &#8\2\20;They were using the limestone in the kitchen and dining room, so to make a seamless transition we used it in the garden as well,&#8\2\2\1; says Farris. — Above: An interior remodel was underway at the same time Farris was designing the garden. She worked with architects Vrinda Khanna and Robert Schultz of Khanna Schultz to create indoor-outdoor flow. A key decision was to use the same paving material— Valders Limestone— indoors and out. “They were using the limestone in the kitchen and dining room, so to make a seamless transition we used it in the garden as well,” says Farris.

Indoors, reclaimed wood is on the kitchen ceiling; the material’s color and texture are echoed in the ipe wood fence. “Robert and Vrinda use a lot of organic materials,” says Farris. “The wood on the ceiling has really a natural inside that we wanted to extend out.”

The garden has two levels, creating separate &#8\2\20;rooms&#8\2\2\1; to make the space feel more expansive. &#8\2\20;We pushed the elevation change back from the house to make the kitchen feel bigger by extending to the outdoors,&#8\2\2\1; says Farris. — Above: The garden has two levels, creating separate “rooms” to make the space feel more expansive. “We pushed the elevation change back from the house to make the kitchen feel bigger by extending to the outdoors,” says Farris.

On the upper level, a travertine bench is a strong focal point, visible from anywhere in the garden. The Sierra Bench, from Stone Forest, is available in three finishes. For more information about the bench, see Farris&#8\2\17;s favorite outdoor furniture on Landstylist. — Above: On the upper level, a travertine bench is a strong focal point, visible from anywhere in the garden. The Sierra Bench, from Stone Forest, is available in three finishes. For more information about the bench, see Farris’s favorite outdoor furniture on Landstylist.

A crepe myrtle tree anchors the plantings in a Cor-Ten steel box overflowing with Korean boxwood. The multi-stemmed tree’s bark picks up on the color of the ipe fence and the Cor-Ten steel planter.