Struggling with my tiny odd shaped garden
We have bought a new build and love it but the comprise was the small funny shaped garden. We like having BBQ's and people round for food, so we need a dining area, but also have a lovely rattan corner sofa I'd like to keep.
It also doesn't get the sun late - we're considering moving the shed (as it's a little sun spot) to the side gate as that bit might make a nice little sitting area / sun trap and also looks a bit nicer.
Should we keep the grass or just pave? Thinking about having planting troughs but then we'll lose a foot of space round the garden.
Based in Manchester, UK and would welcome contact for garden designers too!
Ps - fencing is now in (but you can see where it is meant to be!) By the black door there is now a water butt which can't be moved, so cannot put anything furniture wise there.
Comments (17)
Sarah McNally
8 years ago
PROStaged for Perfection
8 years agoRelated Discussions
How to dress an odd shaped huge window?!
Comments (7)It looks like a bay in that it's set into an alcove, but one side is bricks instead of glass.I see a couple of good choices: - Put a curved rail round the whole bay, including the bits of wall to either side. When you draw the curtains back they should sit against the side walls and not over any bit of the window - or that odd blank bit the other side. You'd need to use curtains which just skimmed the windowsill - Put a straight curtain rail attatched to the ceiling inside the entire bay and extending a bit to either side. When the curtains are closed you will lose the bay entirely, and when they're open the curtains will draw back so they sit against the walls of the room. I would definitely use floor length curtains and size the rail so that the curtains just covered the corners of the wall. In my opinion the second option would look nicest, and may be less expensive (curved curtain rails tend to come in ultra-flimsy or expensive). It would however mean you can't put anything partly into the bay, so it depends how you use your room....See MoreOdd room shape help!
Comments (3)Hi Danni, You have a nice big space to play with - I’ve included below some help to make your space both functional and light and airy. Firstly, you have a fantastic beam of light coming through your windows - it would be great to take full advantage of this, so I have built your lounge area around this concept. It would mean moving your TV onto the other side of the room, (radiators permitting) which would give you a view towards the outside and no more glare on your TV. I have created a simple floorplan to give you an idea of how you could lay your furniture out in the room. By placing your 3 seater sofa facing towards your dining area, you will create the illusion of space as you are not closing a space in and facing a wall. I have placed your occasional chair facing towards the patio window so you can take full advantage of the view and light coming through, and to bring the space together, add a rug and a central coffee table. I would suggest, if budget allows, to get a brighter/lighter rug as the existing purple one you have is nice, but will darken the space. Then to finish it off, scatter some bright yellow cushions and a couple of lamps to light the corners of the room up. If you wanted to define the lounge as a separate space from the dining area, you could place your shelving units on the wall that sits next to the inner patio doors, then let them protrude across the space. If you leave the shelving units quite empty, this will allow light to shine through. If you want some more storage however, you could place a few colourful or patterned boxes into the shelving gaps, which will also add a feature. Finally placing a large mirror on your chimney wall and across the back wall of your dining space will help to bounce light around the room. To bring even more light into the room, Dulux have the perfect paint - Light+Space. This will bring 40% more light into your space, creating that light airy feel you as looking to achieve. Good luck with your project feel free to contact us if you have any more questions. Paola – Colour & Design Consultant Beautiful Interior Design for Everyone www.designer.duluxamazingspace.co.uk...See MoreAwkwardly shaped tiny courtyard
Comments (5)I would attempt to create a jungle feel. Add a large raised pond in the corner furthest from the house and large ferns surrounding in raised beds. Use oversize natural materials for the build, like dark sleepers. Add large leaf interest such as gunnera near to the pond, and a statue water feature against the back wall. Large lilies can add summer interest planted about in natural colour pots. The walls/ fence can be quickly covered in dark ivy, and Passion flower in summer. If you can, add height and interest from a tree. Again go simple, and go evergreen if you can. By partially screening the view from above you creat additional interest. It also gives you branches to wrap in fairy lights or hang lanterns from to give you a grotto feel in the evening. As it doesn't look particularly warm even without a lot of overhead branches a patio heater or fire pit could add warmth do that you can enjoy the space in the evening....See MoreOdd shaped utility / boot room
Comments (26)During the lockdown weve finally been making some progress on the utility room. Weve reused some of the old cupboards and picked up some free carcasses off gumtree. Everything has either been free, second hand or off the bargain shelf!!! Still not finished as we are waiting on a replacement door coming as it came the wrong size, and we still need to do some electrics for under unit lights and plumbing for the radiator and skirtings. But so far we are super chuffed with the change. And So much more space. We took the wall down in May last year so it hasnt been short project. Just a rainy day fill in project as I've collected my cheap bits and bobs to make it happen....See More- PRO
Staged for Perfection
8 years ago Sarah McNally
8 years agoYea fence panels were not in but fence goes there. Pic you can see where sun is!
minnie101
8 years agoDo you have a front garden? If not, i would add grass. I'm also assuming you want the patio slabs to stay? Agree with moving the shed but also the bins. Is the shed area big enough to house a pergola and your sofa, maybe with a black pergola to match the door? Looking at pic 2 I'd create a triangular bed from the left corner of the shed to create a small square lawn with differing height plants to disguise the fence. I'm struggling with angles of the left fence (looking out from the back door) but would add raised decking on the left to square off the lawn and have the decking as your dinng area. If budget permits, maybe a small round modern self-contained water feature on the path to the pergola or if not on the decking such as this. I would also look at ways to disguise the water butt and bins with panels and plants
pannacotta
8 years agopannacotta
8 years agoSarah McNally
8 years agoWe have a large front garden yes - but wouldn't really sit out there.
Patio slabs can stay but happy to move/re-do its not huge area so not ££.
We are going to move the bins down the side - its hard as that is our drive so there is not alot of room. But deciding to sacrifice drive for more garden as I love a garden even if it is a small space!
sounds good like the idea of raised decking was thinking about that to add interest / might make it look bigger.
If it helps pic of site plan you can see what I mean re garden, shed and where parking is! We are number 12
pannacotta
8 years ago
PRORhino Rock llp
8 years agoSarah McNally
8 years agoSarah McNally
8 years ago
Sarah McNally
8 years agoThank you to all for your advice as you can see I took it and really pleased with the result.
Added extra patio for more space
Flipped shed to other end and created side gate area to store bins
Raised beds for plants
Decking area added
Really pleased
Sarah McNally
8 years ago
everylittlethingconsidered
8 years ago
everylittlethingconsidered