STYLE : GARDENS : Calm & Cool

An Islamic house doesn’t always come equipped with a classic garden paradise, as John Copeland found when he purchased his exotic hideaway. In fact, instead of the water-cooled Edens favored by the Persians, his own outdoor rooms were initially barren and dark. Immediately, he went to work on the courtyard, laying tiles, planting shade greens and building that arid-world necessity, a bubbling fountain.

Elsewhere, after dismantling a makeshift gazebo that had been erected on a balcony, Copeland designed two plein-air salons: The first, where the gazebo once stood, is a viewing terrace with a carpet, chairs and two flower-filled pots. The second, more of an outdoor conservatory, features a lush container garden, a dining table, a wall fountain, layers of rugs and a panoramic city vista edged with borrowed palms and Italian cypresses. His little palace, after all, has finally come into its paradise.