Voted for Floral but all of the styles are beautiful in different ways. I imagine floral style that comes with a cosy living room with lots of soft furnishings and a granite fireplace to gather around to.

Hi Vanessa, The idea using the space for an outdoor seating is a greta one, but rather than plants in pots, which can be very high maintenance, why not build some raised beds, so that you can have planting around the seating area. This would make the area feel more cosy and defined within the overall garden. A fire pit in the middle would work really well, but this could simply be a square or circular area with some a trim of fire bricks and a base of sand or hardcore which you could light your fire on top of. Sometimes simple fire pits are the best! Good luck look forward to hearing what you do.

The room is in good shape and it appears to be only cosmetic changes that are needed, so I would consider simplifying the whole design as follows: · Paint: You mention grey as one of your preferred colours, so I would try a sample of either Farrow or Ball’s Elephant’s Breath paint or Strong White to see what looks best sits best in the room. Both are contemporary favourites but will flatter the space and alter the atmosphere. Otherwise, aim for off-whites with a creamy, yellow tone to encourage warmth. · Furniture: Purchase furniture with legs to encourage the flow of light and space but if possible do not block the lovely elongated windows. Add a feature Chesterfield ottoman to centre the room and soften the new space. · Window treatment: Instead of curtains, I would actually use sheer voiles across the windows and have Roman blinds in place for the colder evenings to enhance the sumptuous, traditional feel. · Pieces: Add a large timeless mirror above the fireplace to bounce light around the room and maintain that area as the focal point. · Lighting: Work with illuminating the light through the room not only via a pendant light (consider a glass chandelier here) as this will only provide task lighting. You also want to aim for ambient lighting via glass base lamps in the corners and free standing tall lamps. · Soft furnishings: Apply hints of mustard and teal into the soft furnishings such as the cushions will complement the tones from the parquet flooring.

This all depends on your budget for the project. In similar front gardens I have used galvanised water troughs from farm shops (Mole Valley have them at reasonable prices) and planted with nice structural bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra is one of my favourites) . Two troughs down each side will frame the house. Alternatively two large planters with either bay standards or, in a sunny aspect, olive standards (lollipop shape) either side of the door gives timeless and elegant style to the entrance. To ensure you get exactly the right garden at the back I recommend contacting a local garden designer to come and talk through some ideas. They will help work out your practical needs for the space and help maximise the budget.