Urban Green: The Value of a Private Garden in a City Residence
Exceptional city homes with private green spaces offer luxury in full bloom
Exceptional city homes with private green spaces offer luxury in full bloom
The idea of owning a home with a living room or a spacious kitchen opening onto a private landscaped green space while being just minutes from world-class museums and Michelin-star restaurants, provides just the right balance of both worlds: enjoying nature’s peace and quiet without missing out on the convenience of urban living.
The competition for urban green space is fierce in cities like New York—so much so that it inspired the 1990 romantic comedy Green Card, in which the character played by actress Andie MacDowell enters a sham marriage with a Frenchman in order to secure an apartment with a garden. Private gardens in urban residences are relatively rare and highly coveted. In this Upper East Side townhouse, a dining room decorated with hand-painted botanical wallpaper opens onto Jones Wood Garden, a charming Manhattan green space that wouldn’t look out of place in the English countryside.
According to Marie-Hélène Lundgreen of Daniel Féau in Paris, “a private garden in Paris is what you might call the cherry on the cake for clients looking for either a townhouse, hôtel particulier, or apartment with an outdoor space.” An exceptionally beautiful and well-appointed residence in a prime location—such as this three-bedroom apartment on the Champs-Élysées—is made all the more desirable when it boasts the added luxury of an exquisite garden.
Certain cities and particular neighborhoods within them tend to have luxury homes with gardens in greater numbers than others. When an apartment has a garden in a neighborhood not known for outdoor space, this can make the residence especially desirable. “The apartment of Stefano Pilati in Faubourg Saint-Honoré is a very good example of this,” says Marie-Hélène Lundgreen. “It is extremely rare to find a private garden in the Golden Triangle, a neighborhood in the heart of the fashion district and directly opposite the legendary Bristol Hotel. Stefano Pilati bought this apartment when he was the head designer of Yves Saint Laurent because he wanted a location with a garden for entertaining.”
In the Netherlands, luxury homes with gardens are found primarily in the major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, says Leslie de Ruiter. This sleek, contemporary home overlooking a canal in Amsterdam exemplifies the ideal balance of urban and natural living. A light-filled modern interior with huge windows overlooks trees, plants, grass, and the water and offers easy access to the city’s amenities and attractions. In Paris, one is most likely to find an urban garden among the mansions of Saint-Germain and The Marais, according to Lundgreen.