Fransen Mills Landscape Architects serves high-end residential and commercial clients who demand the utmost quality in design and detailing. The firm’s specialty is locating specimen plants, which give its projects a mature, established appearance as soon as the installations are completed. Projects are diverse in scale, ranging from French Quarter courtyards, high-rise condominium terraces, beachfront estates in the Hamptons, a two-thousand acre estate in northern Mississippi, a Palladian style mansion in Mountain Brook Alabama, and a 500 acre ranch in the Hill Country of Texas.
The firm’s philosophy is that it can be done. This is integral to its reputation and success; as clients demand the seemingly impossible, and our design team always devises creative solutions to turn dreams into stunning reality.
Ongoing and recently completed projects include a 1932 Tudor Style estate in Pass Christian, Mississippi; a Georgian style mansion in Mobile, Alabama; a Bed & Breakfast in Fredericksburg, Texas; an Offshore Energy Complex in Houma, Louisiana; and numerous fine homes throughout the New Orleans area.
Members of our distinguished team have served as a guest lecturers for the Longue Vue Symposium, the Texas chapter of the Garden Clubs of America, the Brazos Forum and many other organizations. René Fransen was the first landscape architect selected by the National Pool and Spa Institute to judge its design competition in 2003. He also garnered the ASLA Honor Award for the design of the grounds of a Richardsonian Romanesque mansion on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans and for a 2000 acre estate in Mississippi where 10 acres were intensively developed adjacent to the residence. HGTV featured an 1850’s Gothic Revival villa and its grounds, landscaped by the Fransen Mills team, in its Homes Across America series. The firm’s work is also frequently featured on garden tours in the New Orleans area, as is René’s own courtyard, which was also featured in Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré.
Awards:
- 2015 - Art in Bloom - Movers and Shakers
- 2012 - LCASLA Merit Award: Residential Design - Comprehensive Scope
- 2012 - LCASLA Merit Award: Residential Design
- 2011 - LCASLA Merit Award: Residential Design - Comprehensive Scope
- 2010 - LCASLA Merit Award: Residential Design - Comprehensive Scope
- 2006 - LCASLA Honor Award: Residential Design
- 2005 - LCASLA Honor Award: Residential Design
Books:
- 2011 - A Classical Journey by Ken Tate
- 2007 - Orleans Embrace with The Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré by TJ Fisher, Roy F. Guste Jr., Louis Sahuc
- 2006 - New Southern Classicism: The Residential Architecture of Barry Fox by Philip Kopper
- 2005 - Courtyards: Intimate Outdoor Spaces by Douglas Keister
- 2005 - The Classic House, Windy Hill, Ken Tate Architect by Graves Nelson
- 2005 - New Classicists: Kent Tate Architect, Vol. 2 by Oscar Riera Ojeda
- 2004 - New Orleans Style Past & Present by Susan Sully
- 2003 - New Classicists: Kent Tate Architect, Vol. 1 by Oscar Riera Ojeda
- 2001 - Gardens of New Orleans: Exquisite Excess by Lake Douglas and Jeannette Hardy
- 2001 - The Majesty of St. Charles Avenue by Kerri McCaffety and Cynthia Reece McCaffety
- 1994 - Home Landscapes: Planting Design and Management by Edward C. Martin, Jr. and Pete Melby
- 1993 - Live Oak’s Splendor by Dr. Neil Odenwald
- 1993 - Secret Gardens of the Vieux Carré by Roy Guste
The Advocate:
- April 10, 2015 - Beds and Beyond
The Times Picayune:
- August 15, 2009 - InSide Out section, "Every Leaf in It's Place
- August 15, 2009 – InSide Out section, “2 pools, 2 personalities”
- November 24, 2007 - InSide Out section, “A Manse for All Seasons”
Magazines:
- 2016 Summer Gambit's CUE: Magazine
- 2016 January Louisiana Life
- 2015 Summer Gambit's CUE: Magazine
- 2014 January Louisiana Life
- 2014 Summer Gambit's CUE: Magazine
- 2010 October New Orleans Living
- 2010 Summer The Magazine Antiques
- 2010 April New Orleans Living Louisiana
- 2009 Summer Summer Flowers Magazine
- 2009 July Architectural Digest
- 2009 March Southern Living
- 2009 March New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles
- 2009 March Greater New Orleans Living
- 2008 December/January 2009 Preservation in Print
- 2008 December Greater New Orleans Living
- 2007 July New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles
- 2007 Summer/Premier issue Distinctive Backyard Ideas
- 2006 September Louisiana Homes and Gardens
- 2006 Spring Garden Shed
- 2005 July Architectural Digest
- 2005 March - April Southern Accents
- 2004 Signature Pools & Spas
- 2004 November New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles
- 2003 August - September Elle Décor
- 2003 May - June Southern Accents
- 2003 May - June Veranda
- 2003 Spring New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles
- 2000 September - October Southern Accents
- 2000 July Metropolitan Home
- 2000 May Unique Homes
- 2000 January Unique Homes
- 1999 Southern Living Garden Guide
- 1999 February Times-Picayune, New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1998 May Dan’s Paper, a Hampton weekly
- 1997 February Southern Living
- 1997 Garden Design
- 1995 4th quarter Ambiance Piscines International
- 1995 May Southern Living
- 1994 October Southern Living
- 1994 September Southern Living
- 1994 August Southern Living
- 1993 Crescent City Secrets
- 1993 March Southern Living
- 1992 Summer Southern Living's Garden Guide
- 1991 August Southern Living
- 1991 June Southern Living
- 1988 April New Orleans Magazine
- 1988 April Southern Living
- 1988 March Southern Living
- 1987 July New Orleans Magazine
- 1987 May Southern Living
- 1987 February Southern Accents
- 1986 October New Orleans Magazine
- 1986 May Southern Living
- 1985 November Southern Living
- 1982 August Better Homes and Gardens
- 1981 October House and Garden
National TV Broadcasting:
- Oct 18, 2004 - HGTV’s “Homes Across America”, First landscape architect to be featured on this show. This show is still in rotation.