Lounge chairs face west, perfect for watching the sun set over the Hudson River.
“My mother is an avid gardener and my father studied horticulture,” she says. In fact, her last name is derived from “tiller of the soil,” the result of an ancestor who migrated from England to Australia and established one of the country’s first public gardens there.
To make the most of her rooftop space, Tilley created separate areas for dining and lounging.
Tilley, shown here watering, makes the different areas feel distinct by enveloping them with clusters of containers.
INTERNATIONAL LOVE STORY
“I met Gurhan in 1995, when I was still a banker,” says Tilley. “I was on vacation with a girlfriend in a small coastal town in Turkey. Truthfully, I fell in love with Turkey before I fell in love with the jewelry before I fell in love with the jeweler,” she laughs. She spent the entire day in Gurhan’s store. “Something about his pieces really spoke to me,” she says. She asked the clerk if she could meet the designer. “Can I look him up?” she asked. No was the answer. “‘He’s a cranky old man, and he doesn’t speak English,’ the clerk said to me,” remembers Tilley. But the pleasantly persistent redhead didn’t give up.
Behind the beautiful table, a row of trees creates a screen and masks the wall.
For Tilley it was love at first sight, “even though I didn’t believe in love at first sight,” she says. The pair stayed in touch by telephone for 16 months until Gurhan moved to New York. They were engaged soon after and married in 1999, the year Tilley left banking to run the business operations for Gurhan.
In the wake of 9/11, when the couple set about looking for a new apartment, it had to meet three criteria: It had to be downtown (in a show of solidarity with the wounded part of their city), it had to have a view, and it had to have a garden. The West Village apartment they found had it all: a wonderful downtown feel, 360-degree views of the city, and an 1,800-square-foot roof perfect for a garden.
The view north looks toward midtown and the Empire State Building.
GARDEN PARADISE IN NEW YORK
A trellis of wisteria invites birds to stay awhile.
Objects from the couple’s frequent trips around the world fill the garden.
— Fiona Tilley
Inspired by the wildness of English gardens, Tilley’s containers are a mix of plants that evoke a casual, vibrant feel.
“I love blues and yellows,” says Tilley, who enjoys pops of color, such as this basket of petunias.
“Gurhan is always saying to me, ‘You don’t have to redecorate the roof!’” she says. But, for a woman whose life has been so rewarded by being open to possibility, how can she resist?
Tilley and Gurhan enjoying time in their favorite spot
A pot of greenery camouflages industrial elements on Tilley and Gurhan's roof.
