7 top tips for generous outdoor living

Well connected indoor and outdoor spaces immediately make your home feel larger, enhancing opportunities for entertaining, relaxation and making the most of the great outdoors. If you’re looking for a contemporary garden design to give you a more immersive experience of nature, and that increasingly desirable inside-out lifestyle, our resident Landscape Architect Lorna Hendry, whose projects include the design of the extension to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens in Australia, has seven fantastic tips.

“The trend for current garden make-overs has seen the rise of seamlessly connecting interior and exterior spaces so that you hardly notice the transition,” says Lorna.

“As designers we have a series of tools and principals which allow you to live that dream, maximising your space and enabling you to enjoy your home and garden holistically, whatever the weather.”

One. Think about your garden as an integral part of your home

When you’re building or remodelling your home, give careful thought to your garden landscaping so that your interior and exterior spaces flow into one another. Your garden can provide extra room for functions you might struggle to accommodate inside, or you can extend cooking and dining from your house into your garden, giving you the option of living and entertaining outside during the warmer months. There are a myriad of ways to enjoy outdoor living; bringing your workspace into a garden room, integrating a relaxed contemplative space or even an indulgent spa area or play space for the children. The possibilities are infinite!

Two. Design and plan your garden as soon as you embark on your house project

Your garden doesn’t have to be built at the same time as your home but having a garden designer on board as soon as you start working with your architect, will achieve incredible results. Don’t let your garden design become an afterthought. When you approach your project holistically, the interior and exterior spaces inform one another, maximising all the possibilities.

Three. Consider the style of your home

Is it modern and contemporary, a period property, something minimalist or exactly the opposite? Whatever your personal, architectural and interior style, your garden design should reflect this to maximise the connection. This can be done by mimicking the linear form; sleek modern lines or loose winding cottage curves, and ensuring your material palette and furniture choices for the garden reflect that of your house. It may even be possible to continue a particular colour theme you have indoors or architectural feature pattern into the garden.

Four. Consider how you view your garden from your home

Lining up important focal points such as a piece of sculpture or an ornamental tree with key views from doors and windows draws you out into the garden and allows you to appreciate these things all year round.

Five. Think about access and flow

Imagine pulling back your bifolds, or throwing open your doors and creating a journey through your garden landscape. Good garden design always considers the movement through your space, as well as the spaces themselves, the landscaping and the planting. Gardens should intrigue and delight, as should your movement through them.

Six. Think about thresholds

Do you step down into your garden or is your patio level with the inside of your home? A level threshold with your garden and wide open doors pulled back on warm days will completely open your home to your garden and facilitate a strong connection between the two spaces.

Seven. Planting isn’t just for the garden

Including plants in your home, especially when they mimic the foliage and colour scheme you have chosen for your garden, provides a fantastic visual link between the two spaces. Not only do they bring the outside-in but on those cold rainy days, you can still appreciate the pleasure of nature from the comfort of your window seat. Plants have also been proved to reduce stress, boost creativity and improve the air quality of your home.

If you’re musing your next move, or considering creating a more connected indoor-outdoor space in your current home, get in touch for a friendly consultation. Perhaps we’ll discover the room you never knew you had!