Yard of the Week: Graceful Curves Connect Inviting Outdoor Rooms
A landscape designer transforms a long, narrow London plot into an outdoor retreat that feels larger and more welcoming
Turning a long, thin yard into an inviting, usable space is a design challenge many homeowners face. For this deep, narrow London backyard, designer Kate Eyre devised a curvilinear design that moves the eye from left to right to make the space feel wider — with features that tempt you to explore its length.
The couple asked Eyre for a contemporary design — but a space that would feel like a garden. “They wanted functional but beautiful and chic,” she says. A lounging area, a dining space and a gym at the far end were essential components. As for upkeep? “Low maintenance, but everybody always [wants that],” Eyre says.
The yard’s shape needed a creative design solution. “With long and thin, my recommendation is that you need to be pulled down the garden, and I suggested a destination point at the end by the gym,” Eyre says. “If you don’t have anywhere you need to go, you don’t go down it.”
The yard’s shape needed a creative design solution. “With long and thin, my recommendation is that you need to be pulled down the garden, and I suggested a destination point at the end by the gym,” Eyre says. “If you don’t have anywhere you need to go, you don’t go down it.”
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The yard runs directly into the home’s rear extension, which features floor-to-ceiling glass. “I wanted the curved feeling to be immediate, and that’s why we had two different surfaces [in the seating area],” Eyre says.
The left side is laid with paving, while the right features ipe hardwood decking; the curve between them draws the eye down the space. Eyre opted for porcelain paving rather than stone. “Because it’s factory-made, you get a finer finish. Laying it, there’s far less variation, so it’s easier to manage,” she says.
The left side is laid with paving, while the right features ipe hardwood decking; the curve between them draws the eye down the space. Eyre opted for porcelain paving rather than stone. “Because it’s factory-made, you get a finer finish. Laying it, there’s far less variation, so it’s easier to manage,” she says.
The seating area — the yard’s first “room” — lies to the right as you look from the house. “It gets the most sun,” Eyre says.
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The dining area is the second “room” you encounter, a step up from the lounging zone. It too has decking underfoot. On the opposite side of this area is a barbecue (see previous photo). “I wanted it away from the house, so the smoke didn’t go inside,” Eyre says.
The planting around the dining table is raised to bring it to the same level as the dining set, and includes purple coral bells (Heuchera sp.) and boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) balls. Since this garden was completed, “we’ve stopped using Buxus,” Eyre says, “as there’s been a caterpillar insurgence that’s obliterated it across London.”
Eyre coated the raised beds with pale gray cement for a fresh finish. “I didn’t want to make the garden narrower with something too dark,” she says.
The planting around the dining table is raised to bring it to the same level as the dining set, and includes purple coral bells (Heuchera sp.) and boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) balls. Since this garden was completed, “we’ve stopped using Buxus,” Eyre says, “as there’s been a caterpillar insurgence that’s obliterated it across London.”
Eyre coated the raised beds with pale gray cement for a fresh finish. “I didn’t want to make the garden narrower with something too dark,” she says.
Horizontal fencing lines the parts of the yard nearest to the house. “It was used to keep light coming into the garden and to next door. There are three different sizes of trellis, and it opens up towards the top,” Eyre says.
Flowering coral bells grow alongside the steps to the next level of the yard. Behind the coral bells in the shadier side of the garden, ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’) adds height.
“The color story of the garden is pink-y, orangey and pale blue, so this was the darker end of the pink-y area,” Eyre says of the beds near the dining zone. One of the homeowners is a fan of blue blooms. “We put in the pinkiness to slightly lift it,” the designer adds. (The blue flowers weren’t out when the garden was photographed.)
“The color story of the garden is pink-y, orangey and pale blue, so this was the darker end of the pink-y area,” Eyre says of the beds near the dining zone. One of the homeowners is a fan of blue blooms. “We put in the pinkiness to slightly lift it,” the designer adds. (The blue flowers weren’t out when the garden was photographed.)
Looking back toward the house, you can see a sweep of Caledonian pebbles bordered by grasses. They bring a textural contrast.
The gray planters at the right-hand fence, in the seating area, contain star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides). “You get evergreen cover, and if it’s in the sun or a little bit in sun, it will flower. It has the most amazing flowers that are highly scented,” Eyre says. “It’s happy to grow flat along the wall, and I needed it to be like a wall hanging and not grow out into the space.”
The gray planters at the right-hand fence, in the seating area, contain star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides). “You get evergreen cover, and if it’s in the sun or a little bit in sun, it will flower. It has the most amazing flowers that are highly scented,” Eyre says. “It’s happy to grow flat along the wall, and I needed it to be like a wall hanging and not grow out into the space.”
The lawn, which curves elegantly against the pebbles, forms the third “room” of the garden.
Along the yard’s left side, Eyre planted ‘Annabelle’ wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) with pleached standard southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) trees to produce a narrow screen. “‘Annabelle’ are very vivacious and billowy, and I wanted that at the base of the trees,” Eyre says. “Magnolia is probably my favorite tree in the world. It’s evergreen with a shiny, glossy leaf and the most beautiful flowers the size of a hand.”
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Along the yard’s left side, Eyre planted ‘Annabelle’ wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’) with pleached standard southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) trees to produce a narrow screen. “‘Annabelle’ are very vivacious and billowy, and I wanted that at the base of the trees,” Eyre says. “Magnolia is probably my favorite tree in the world. It’s evergreen with a shiny, glossy leaf and the most beautiful flowers the size of a hand.”
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The freestanding gym is the garden’s fourth “room.” Another pebbled area sits in front and features loungers that allow the homeowners to enjoy the morning sun that reaches this area of the garden.
“The pebbles frame the lawn and change the texture [to mark the] entrance to another space,” Eyre says. Here, she planted a cluster of standard southern magnolia that the homeowners walk under to reach the gym. The trees’ height is designed as a pull toward the end of the yard.
The garden bed includes ‘Annabelle’ wild hydrangea at the back and ‘Sundowner’ New Zealand flax (Phormium ‘Sundowner’), with its sword-shaped leaves, at the front.
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“The pebbles frame the lawn and change the texture [to mark the] entrance to another space,” Eyre says. Here, she planted a cluster of standard southern magnolia that the homeowners walk under to reach the gym. The trees’ height is designed as a pull toward the end of the yard.
The garden bed includes ‘Annabelle’ wild hydrangea at the back and ‘Sundowner’ New Zealand flax (Phormium ‘Sundowner’), with its sword-shaped leaves, at the front.
More on Houzz
Tour more landscapes
Browse landscape photos
Find a landscape designer
Shop for your outdoor spaces
Yard at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their teenage daughter
Location: Southeast London
Size: 2,625 square feet (244 square meters); 21 by 125 feet (6.3 by 38 meters)
Designer: Kate Eyre
Yards this shape often give everything away at one glance, but this one didn’t have that problem when the owners moved in. “The house had been derelict for maybe two years, [and] there was Buddleja [butterfly bush] growing everywhere,” Eyre says.
The owners had made a move opposite what many people choose, giving up a house in the country for London and buying a home in need of renovation to make their money go further.
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