When someone tells you they bought a house because they liked its “bones” you can expect a renovation story to follow. And in this case, the bones belong to a striking French Country home in Springboro, and the remodeling mission was to replace landscaping which featured western elements with inviting outdoor spaces and formal plantings that would better complement the home’s style.
Immediately after moving into their home in 2019, Robyn and Phillip Ali got busy creating the setting they knew the house deserved. What they refer to as stage one, began the first week they lived there when Phillip ripped out several raised beds which had been placed in the front courtyard of the home.
To design and construct a new use for that space, the Alis contacted Fullmer’s Landscaping, a team they worked with on a home they had built more than a decade earlier. They had no doubt Fullmer’s was the right crew for the job this time around too.
The couple credits owner Kent Fullmer for taking the time to learn their lifestyle and translating that knowledge into stunning spaces that perfectly meld dreams and practicalities. “Kent designs and builds the whole outdoor experience,” says Phillip.
“I meet with our clients first to get an idea of their personality,” Fullmer says. “What they’re after, what they want. I learn about their hobbies, how they like to relax or entertain. For example, someone who is private—maybe they see themselves reading a book in the space—has very different needs than someone who entertains often.”
New outlook
When it came to the overall design of the property, designer Reuben Huffman took the reins.
“I actually designed this space for the previous owners, who wanted a natural, more organic look,” Huffman says. “When Phillip and Robyn moved in and came to us with a different vision, I had to shift gears on how I thought about this project.”
“The Alis wanted a more formal, more crisp, clean, sharp look. We were striving for an old-world elegance nestled in the woodlands,” he continues. “My overarching goal in every design is to make it fit with the house—make the house feel comfortable.”
“I absolutely love Reuben,” Robyn says. “He is hands down the best landscape designer there is.”
Courtyard conversion
Plans were quickly underway to use the front courtyard space for a parterre garden—a formal and symmetrical garden with plants and hedges connected by gravel paths. At the far end of the parterre, stands a structure that was built using wood harvested from oak trees off the property. This 14-foot-square pavilion was originally planned as a storage shed but was reimagined for a much more elegant purpose…tea parties with their granddaughter.
But the front courtyard was just the beginning. It was now time to move on to stage two, which was an ambitious combination of projects: rework the deck of an existing pool, build a shaded pavilion, add another two-car garage, and install a greenhouse.
The pool itself remained unchanged, but concrete pavers were replaced with travertine which is much cooler on bare feet during hot summer days. The original pavers were repurposed in different sections of the home’s landscape. At the deep end of the pool, a cluster of boulders was replaced with a slim stucco wall with a simple single spout fountain.
An elegant 20-by-40-foot pavilion picks up elements of the home’s roofline and stone accents, as does the new garage which now houses a few of Phillip’s prized cars. Lining the pathways to both the front and rear of the new garage stand mushroom-like Staddle stones.
“In England, they used them to raise barns to protect stored grain from rodents and water seepage,” Phillip says. “They’re quite collectible these days.”
A dramatic aside
Slightly separate from all the action, stands the greenhouse. Robyn, who is the owner of Ramie & Jute Interiors, makes annual business trips to North Carolina for the High Point Furniture Market. That’s where she and Phillip came across the antique metal structure. The couple had it shipped to their home in several pieces which Phillip, who has an engineering background, later welded together, rebuilding it from the ground up. The original framework had a metal base, but the couple asked the Fullmer’s team to conceal it with stone so that it appeared more cohesive with the home.
Inside the greenhouse, Robyn’s collection of vintage terracotta pots and garden ornaments is placed in one corner of the space. Two wired antique verdigris Copper architectural lights hang from the ceiling above a nine-foot-long concrete table, which is the setting for the occasional elegant dinner with friends.
“In the wintertime, we put a Christmas tree in there,” Phillip says. “From the house you can look out and see it glowing.”
Bringing up the rear
And finally, there is stage three. This is where attention to detail, once again, becomes incredibly evident. While the side yard, with its pool, pergola and greenhouse, would typically be enough of an entertaining and relaxing stage, the Alis put an equally impressive amount of emphasis on their rear elevation. With 11 acres of wooded green space behind them, this is definitely not an asset to be wasted.
Four urns, measuring as much as four feet in diameter, greet guests entering from the stairway off the far corner of the pool. “Those urns have been in our inventory for 15 years or more,” Fullmer says. “We have been waiting for the right project to nestle them into—where they would make an impact.”
Both lower and upper patios are outfitted with “Faux Bois” furniture, a fittingly French fit for this space. Translated the term means “false wood” and it’s an art form creating furniture from iron and concrete with the look of real wood that began in France nearly two centuries ago. A simple chair might weigh 51 pounds, a small dining table, over 240 pounds.
“Phil says I prefer to buy furniture by the pound,” Robyn says.
That’s a wrap
Regardless of whether the materials used in this landscape are measured by pounds, yards or feet, just about every inch of this 1½-acre property has been brought to life with painstaking detail. The bones of this French Country home have been wrapped in a vibrant cloak that elegantly fits its style.
Along with the Alis, Huffman is definitely a fan of the results. “Every time I visit the site,” he says, “I think ‘I can’t believe we got to do this.’”
RESOURCES
Landscape design and installation Fullmer’s Landscaping, Inc., Owner Kent Fullmer, Designer Reuben Huffman Outdoor lighting Archalite, Josh Johnston Architect for detached garage Shawn Duncan Associates Fresh flowers Morning Sun
Article by Karen Bradner | Photos by Dawn Smith
Article originally appeared in March 2025