A Manhattan Couple's Country Escape: The 1,200-Sq-Ft Greenhouse That Became Their True Home

It started with a lunch recommendation. Landscape architect David Fierabend suggested his clients visit Terrain's café during a patio consultation. They called him mid-meal: "We want the greenhouse from this restaurant." A modest patio project instantly expanded into a master plan centered on a spectacular 1,200-square-foot greenhouse — and Fierabend, of Groundswell Design Group, landed the job.

A Fashion-Forward Vision

The clients, a Manhattan couple with a Bucks County, Pennsylvania retreat, brought discerning taste. The wife, a high-end fashion veteran, curates collections — vintage hardware, rulers, nuts and bolts — with showroom precision. "It reminded me of an Anthropologie store," Fierabend notes (the same owners founded Terrain). That aesthetic — industrial, collected, meticulously organized — drove every decision.

Greenhouse as Living Room

Aligned on axis with the '70s-modern main house, the greenhouse extends the home rather than sitting apart. Climate-controlled with heat and AC, it houses a dining room and living room — not potting benches. "Now they spend more time here than in the main house," Fierabend says. Six acres of fields and woods frame the structure, blurring the line between architecture and landscape.

Industrial Meets Rustic

Vintage watering cans suspended above the dining table replace a chandelier — a nod to the client's collecting habit. Red Tolix chairs, concrete floors, and glass walls deliver industrial grit; reclaimed barn lights on dimmers add warmth. River birches and grasses (asters, echinacea) soften the geometry, echoing the High Line's meadow aesthetic the clients love.

Outdoor Rooms Connect the Campus

A patio of recycled composite railroad ties bridges house and greenhouse. Gabion walls (minnow cages filled with stone) define the space, while Cor-Ten steel planters and a custom fire pit anchor gatherings. Massive boulders serve as steps, echoing the gabion rock. Inside, a double-sided fireplace and radiant floors keep the greenhouse cozy year-round — even during their annual 150-person "Cocktails, Canapés and Campfires" party.

The result? A couple who restructured their lives to spend over half their time in the country. The greenhouse didn't just expand their living space — it became the heart of their home.