Good things come in small packages (or something like that). This one-bedroom cottage overlooking the Kankakee River is the most interesting home we've had the privilege to work on in the last five years.

Featuring a twelve-sided turret and a killer view, the landscape is exceptionally low-profile for an unobstructed vista of the river. Planting around the home is limited to Pachysandra and four varieties of Hosta. Footed box planters with seasonal rotations add to the ambiance.

Three distinct living spaces provide for dining, seating and also sitting around the fire during spring and fall nights. The soft grays and blues of the patio provide for a subtle, yet stunning development of the space as they contrast with the muted greens of the planting. Initially, the space quietly invites you to sit down to relax and then it softly beckons you to stay.