Grounds-First Estate — Designed From the Air Down

This Franklin Lakes estate was designed grounds-first. The front lawn is graded to fall away from the house, specimen trees — red maples and a weeping blue atlas cedar — are placed like furniture across the property, and the paver walks are drawn in long curves that follow the land instead of cutting across it. From the air you can finally read the whole idea: what looks like open lawn is actually a series of planted moments that reveal themselves at ground level. On a property this size, restraint is the luxury — knowing what to leave open is the hardest part of the design, and it's what makes the finished grounds feel effortless.