Pieces from the streets of Philadelphia, inspiration from art nouveau Parisian train stations and barn doors from Amish country come together to connect this historic home to its landscape. Located in Princeton, New Jersey, the property looks as though it was buit and planted over several centuries, but the bulk of the work is new.

"My clients had renovated the inside of their house; as soon as they finished, they turned their attention to the outside," says David Fierabend of Groundswell Design Group. "It was pretty much a blank slate; there was a disconnect between the house and the historic 1800s stone potting shed."

Their objective was to create a landscape that would connect the buildings, which they did by layering in history and style with salvaged pieces and inspiration from the past.

Project at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple with 3 children
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Size: About half an acre
Time: Four months, start to finish Groundswell Design Group, LLC Groundswell worked up an entire master plan of the property, including hardscapes, structures, circulation and a planting plan. A new pergola structure is the main element that connects the shed to the home and the rest of the landscape. Groundswell Design Group, LLC Fierabend dedicates a lot of time to sourcing salvaged items for his projects. In this case the posts of the pergola frame are all posts from decommissioned Philadelphia gaslamps, originally manufactured in the 1930s. "They even have the original stamps on them from the steel mills they came out of," Fierabend says. Groundswell Design Group, LLC After placing the eight gaslamp posts to frame out the pergola, the team bent metal reclaimed from fencing to form the canopy arch above. "It's reminiscent of a Paris train station," Fierabend says. "The owners love Paris."

The final touch is wisteria, which is working its way up the posts and will eventually cover the structure with vines, leaves and dangling blossoms. Groundswell Design Group, LLC The designers sourced salvaged doors for the shed from a deconstructed barn in Bucks County, which is about 20 miles from Princeton. They retrofitted them to fill the opening in the shed. Groundswell Design Group, LLC The planting plan is full of stunning and diverse plants. "One of the homeowners is a master gardener," Fierabend says. "We collaborated on creating a planting palette full of color, texture and seasonality." Groundswell Design Group, LLC One challenge was tying the project to the existing adjacent brick driveway. Groundswell designed a new patio, made of argillite and bordered by a stone wall.

"We wanted to tie in a more rustic vibe with the pergola and potting shed, so we juxtaposed the hard edges of the brick with a more chunky and natural-colored stone," Fierabend says. The stone picks up on the different patinas on the pergola's structure and the shed's stones.

The resulting landscape looks as though it was developed over many years, befitting the historic property.