Family garden, Malmesbury

Brief

The existing garden was looking a little tired and uninspiring, with some features in place that didn’t suit the clients taste. Having successfully refurbished the interior of their home the clients wanted to do the same to the garden. They were looking for a family orientated, multifunctional garden, which would allow for play, relaxation and entertainment in equal measures. They are a very active family so there needed to be ample room for ball games and other activities. The style was to be in keeping with the rural setting, though also incorporate some contemporary touches.

Design solution

As there was very little the clients were keen to retain the site was cleared allowing a fairly blank canvas to work from. The only existing feature to be kept was an old well situated in the middle of their existing patio area. We lowered this to ground level and capped it with reinforced glass, creating a contemporary feature whilst retaining a connection to the history of the place.

Clean, considered lines were used to form the groundwork of the design. Anything overly fussy was left out and proportions were carefully considered to create a sense of balance within the garden. This mentality was carried over into material choices, sticking to a small selection that were in keeping with the rural setting and look of the house, with Sandstone & timbers forming the backbone of the design.

It was important to have an area for dining as well as an area for more informal socialising. This led to the idea of the U-shaped seating at the end of the garden, surrounding a fire pit in the centre. This created a destination within the garden and helped to tie the space together. Another benefit to this was that the eye is drawn into the garden, rather than into the narrower section as it was before. Small touches, such as painting the boundary fence Grey, helped to provide a cleaner, more attractive finish to the garden, while also tying in with colour schemes from the interior.