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This Vineyard retreat is so peaceful

Cape Cod Home  /  Autumn 2019 /

Writer: Brenna Collins / Photographer: Gil Jacobs 

This Vineyard retreat is so peaceful

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Cape Cod Home  /  Autumn 2019 /

Writer: Brenna Collins / Photographer: Gil Jacobs 

In 2008, after years of visiting the compound, the couple bought their own plot of land in town. Beginning with a clean slate, the Vietors were able to dream of their own design of their home and its landscape. “We were building the home with Louise Brooks as our architect. It was a real collaboration. She brought in Gregory Lombardi Design, with offices in Chatham and Cambridge, to help us figure out how to accomplish all of the landscaping that we wanted. We knew we wanted a pool and a pool house. We knew there would have to be some regrading done. We wanted a lawn—we call it ‘The Great Lawn’, even though it can be mowed in about three minutes,” she laughs. 

Gregory Lombardi was the chief landscape architect for the project, turning the Vietors’ vision into a reality. Lombardi is the founder of Gregory Lombardi Design, created in 1992 to design luxurious outdoor spaces tailored to their clients’ style. Lombardi reflects on the cohesive design process with the Vietor family, comparing the activity to a musical collaboration. “It’s the symphony analogy. Not everyone is playing their own sheet music. Everyone is following, but there is someone leading with a bigger idea and you’re all playing your parts to support it. Especially when you’re getting a great team that collaborates like this, you can really explore ideas,” he notes. “These people had been on the island for a long time and they were very much part of the community. They wanted something that had a certain style and elegance that felt like it had been there all along, but they also wanted it imprinted with their individual take on being on the island,” Lombardi comments. 

Given the limited size of the lot and the need for amenities as a family retreat, the design program required immense thought and detail. As the landscape created more privacy, the property’s views were focused more inward, transforming into an English courtyard garden on the Vineyard. “Everything was very tailored, deliberate, and thoughtful. Courtyards are typically like that, where there is not a lot of room for extraneous anything. It is very thoughtful,” Lombardi explains.