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Clever Ways to Make a Small Garden Feel Bigger
Follow these tips to create a feeling of space in your tiny outdoor plot
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Feeling a little squeezed in your compact garden? There are plenty of things you can do to make it feel more spacious. Consider these landscaping and styling tricks from the experts at Marshalls that will help you design a garden that looks and feels substantial.
Go Light on Colour
Create the illusion of space in your small garden by keeping your landscaping materials light and airy. Choose surfaces that reflect the light rather than absorb it. Paint woodwork, walls and fences a pale colour, such as white or cream, and go for a soft-toned paving. Marble paving with gentle veining and white mottling is a good option for its light surface and soft texture.
Give it a lift. If you want to add interest to your garden’s pale backdrop, a feature wall might be the answer. Grow a climbing plant up a wall, or choose one of the up-to-date cladding materials available, such as a drystack veneer walling, that can turn a drab vertical surface into something special.
Create the illusion of space in your small garden by keeping your landscaping materials light and airy. Choose surfaces that reflect the light rather than absorb it. Paint woodwork, walls and fences a pale colour, such as white or cream, and go for a soft-toned paving. Marble paving with gentle veining and white mottling is a good option for its light surface and soft texture.
Give it a lift. If you want to add interest to your garden’s pale backdrop, a feature wall might be the answer. Grow a climbing plant up a wall, or choose one of the up-to-date cladding materials available, such as a drystack veneer walling, that can turn a drab vertical surface into something special.
Play with Paving
It’s a good idea to play with shapes in a small garden in order to lead the eye around the space. Choose large paving stones as they’ve done here, which help to open out the space and make it feel less claustrophobic. Landscape your garden on different levels to give added interest and to highlight zones without breaking up the space. Here, they’ve played with perspective on the path, which leads the eye along to the the rear of the space and appears to disappear, making the garden feel bigger than it actually is.
Use every inch. Got a titchy area at the side of your property? Don’t leave it neglected, but instead make the most of the added space. Landscape it as you would the rest of your garden, grow plants in containers and add some attractive storage. You might even be able to squeeze in a secluded seating spot.
It’s a good idea to play with shapes in a small garden in order to lead the eye around the space. Choose large paving stones as they’ve done here, which help to open out the space and make it feel less claustrophobic. Landscape your garden on different levels to give added interest and to highlight zones without breaking up the space. Here, they’ve played with perspective on the path, which leads the eye along to the the rear of the space and appears to disappear, making the garden feel bigger than it actually is.
Use every inch. Got a titchy area at the side of your property? Don’t leave it neglected, but instead make the most of the added space. Landscape it as you would the rest of your garden, grow plants in containers and add some attractive storage. You might even be able to squeeze in a secluded seating spot.
Soften the Boundaries
High walls and fences can be overpowering in a small garden, and appear to box the space in. Soften your tall boundaries with planting – grow climbing plants up the fence or wall, and add plenty of lush shrubs and perennials to your borders. Make sure you create an added layer of space on these borders with attractive edging, a soft, light sandstone brick works wonderfully here.
Add some curves. Instead of sharp edges you could trick the eye with some shapely curves. Lay patios and paths in a rounded form and define the boundaries with brickwork edges laid in a gentle sweep.
High walls and fences can be overpowering in a small garden, and appear to box the space in. Soften your tall boundaries with planting – grow climbing plants up the fence or wall, and add plenty of lush shrubs and perennials to your borders. Make sure you create an added layer of space on these borders with attractive edging, a soft, light sandstone brick works wonderfully here.
Add some curves. Instead of sharp edges you could trick the eye with some shapely curves. Lay patios and paths in a rounded form and define the boundaries with brickwork edges laid in a gentle sweep.
Keep it Simple
It’s important to create a feeling of uninterrupted movement in a small garden, so don’t break up the space with barriers. Help the eye to move to each level, or zone by using complementary materials that tie the areas together.
Additionally, to help maximise the airy feel, choose a simple design that has room to grow, and add coherence and flow by using similar shapes and materials. If you’re going for a straight-sided form make sure it’s the same all over as they’ve done here, and use materials in similar shades for both flooring, walls and edging.
Clear the clutter. Streamline your look by cleaning the clutter. Include some in-built storage in your outdoor space to tidy away garden cushions, toys and equipment. A bench seating area is a versatile idea as you can double it up as storage by creating a cavity below the hinged seats.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
It’s important to create a feeling of uninterrupted movement in a small garden, so don’t break up the space with barriers. Help the eye to move to each level, or zone by using complementary materials that tie the areas together.
Additionally, to help maximise the airy feel, choose a simple design that has room to grow, and add coherence and flow by using similar shapes and materials. If you’re going for a straight-sided form make sure it’s the same all over as they’ve done here, and use materials in similar shades for both flooring, walls and edging.
Clear the clutter. Streamline your look by cleaning the clutter. Include some in-built storage in your outdoor space to tidy away garden cushions, toys and equipment. A bench seating area is a versatile idea as you can double it up as storage by creating a cavity below the hinged seats.
This story was written by the Houzz Sponsored Content team.
For over 120 years Marshalls has been helping homeowners across the UK to design and create beautiful, practical,... Read More
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Rachel, It sounds as if you need, rather than a makeover, a complete redo. First measure up and transfer to squared paper. Next: Where is the rain water going to go? Put that on paper, and get a plumber quote in writing if it's a big job. If you can, slope the patio, so that no pipes are needed. Go for bigger rather than your standard gutter pipes- They will carry leaves and mud, so may get blocked. Otherwise a slight slope 1:5 is enough, with a gulley at one end . Next: Decide what you want /need in the patio. Washing line? Chairs and parasol?. Choose a theme so that the look will be unified. Shop around in magazines and online before committing. Put the sizes in moveable blocks on paper, and move around until you get the arrangement you want. Next: Spend time transferring your plants to plastic containers- The posh ones can come later, are expensive and break when builders are there. You need plant rescue before the builders get there. (Builders= trashed plants) Choose and reserve tiles, but not pay. Next Get tiler quotes- IN WRITING. Certain tiles are more expensive to lay than others. Tally up what you have in your virtual spend. If you can afford it all, get old carpets to go in and out of the entrance to the house- It will be messy! If you are at a loss, now is the time to get a designer, to sort out a great design for you, if not, the main thing is drainage, lighting, and plumbing. Oh and there is an article somewhere on houzz to camoflage bins. Look at that too. Good Luck!