8,57,378 Garden Design Ideas

Weather House is a bespoke home for a young, nature-loving family on a quintessentially compact Northcote block. Our clients Claire and Brent cherished the character of their century-old worker's cottage but required more considered space and flexibility in their home. Claire and Brent are camping enthusiasts, and in response their house is a love letter to the outdoors: a rich, durable environment infused with the grounded ambience of being in nature. From the street, the dark cladding of the sensitive rear extension echoes the existing cottage!s roofline, becoming a subtle shadow of the original house in both form and tone. As you move through the home, the double-height extension invites the climate and native landscaping inside at every turn. The light-bathed lounge, dining room and kitchen are anchored around, and seamlessly connected to, a versatile outdoor living area. A double-sided fireplace embedded into the house’s rear wall brings warmth and ambience to the lounge, and inspires a campfire atmosphere in the back yard. Championing tactility and durability, the material palette features polished concrete floors, blackbutt timber joinery and concrete brick walls. Peach and sage tones are employed as accents throughout the lower level, and amplified upstairs where sage forms the tonal base for the moody main bedroom. An adjacent private deck creates an additional tether to the outdoors, and houses planters and trellises that will decorate the home’s exterior with greenery. From the tactile and textured finishes of the interior to the surrounding Australian native garden that you just want to touch, the house encapsulates the feeling of being part of the outdoors; like Claire and Brent are camping at home. It is a tribute to Mother Nature, Weather House’s muse.

My garden was Sapna Bagh which translates to “garden of dreams”. It is an eclectic garden that attempts to represent the joy of coming home & immersing yourself in your carefully curated space.⁠ Brimming in the moods, colours & textures created by your very own collection of plants, heavily influenced by your cultural origins, travels & interests. ⁠ ⁠It’s a garden style that’s bold, uniquely you, fun & exciting to experience every time you’re in the garden, every season!⁠ The design uses plants in different ways to create a living artwork, i.e. akin to a painting or sculpture in a gallery. It evokes the senses & creates an emotional response to the curation.⁠ There is a lot of detail & thought that goes into planning a garden and one which uses layers of hidden elements of symbolism which I’m finding underrepresented in design practice in residential spaces (given the heavy focus on practicality and aesthetics). For example, this garden incorporates a “living” horse sculpture with several meanings. At one level, the horse represents the spirit of joy, adventure and wonderment, but it also links to a personal connection with this majestic creature as my spirit animal. ⁠It also aligns with my /(cultural) zodiac sign. The horse, in many cultures, embodies a sense of independence &adventure, which extends to this garden via the plant selection representing the bountiful forms, textures and beauty existing in nature to explore and experience! ⁠ ⁠⁠The colours red, yellow & blue nod to some of my cultural roots whilst adding to the cheer, elevating my thoughts and life outlook! I’m celebrating that I’m a plant collector for an excellent reason!⁠

A small inner city garden gets a makeover. Front entry garden

This small, north-east facing garden, measuring around 100 m2, was in need of a complete transformation to bring it into line with the owner's interior style and the desire for an outdoor room experience. A series of bi-folding doors led out to a relatively small patio and raised lawn area. The objective was to create a design that would maximise the space, making it feel much larger and provide usable areas that the owners could enjoy throughout the day as the sun moves around the garden. An asymmetrical design with different focal points and material contrasts was deployed to achieve the impression of a larger, yet still harmonious, space. The overall garden style was Japanese-inspired with pared back hard landscaping materials and plants with interesting foliage and texture, such as Acers, Prunus serrula cherry tree, cloud pruned Ilex crenata, clumping bamboo and Japanese grasses featuring throughout the garden's wide borders. A new lower terrace was extended across the full width of the garden to allow the space to be fully used for morning coffee and afternoon dining. Porcelain tiles with an aged wood effect were used to clad a new retaining wall and step risers, with limestone-effect porcelain tiles used for the lower terrace. New steps were designed to create an attractive transition from the lower to the upper level where the previous lawn was completely removed in favour of a second terrace using the same low-maintenance wood effect porcelain tiles. A raised bed constructed in black timber sleepers was installed to deal with ground level changes at the upper level, while at the lower level another raised bed provides an attractive retaining edge backfilled with bamboo. New fencing was installed and painted black, a nod to the Japanese shou sugi ban method of charring wood to maintain it. Finally, a combination of carefully chosen outdoor furniture, garden statuary and bespoke planters complete the look. Discrete garden lighting set into the steps, retaining wall and house walls create a soft ambient lighting in which to sit and enjoy the garden after dark.

A stepping stone path meanders through drought-tolerant plantings including Dymondia, Rosemary 'Barbeque', and Euryops. The owner's favorite roses are integrated with Penstemon 'Apple Blossom' and variegated Tulbaghia 'Silver Lace' to provide color and contrast. Photo © Jude Parkinson-Morgan.

Cast stone birdbath for a contemporary garden

Our clients loved birch trees so they were incorporated in the front planting beds. Renn Kuennen Photography

view from deck stairs to back yard

Modern landscape with custom IPE deck and in ground spa, drought resistant planting, outdoor lighting

We were asked to redesign a large garden in Wandsworth, SW18. It needed to be child-friendly, with a sunken trampoline and a large real grass lawn and plenty of space to entertain and enjoy the sun. Also our client was anxious to keep the garden private, and to block views into the garden where possible. We were fortunate to be able to enjoy a number of mature trees in other gardens, and this allowed us to focus more on the medium and lower layers of planting. We mixed long-flowering shrubs and perennials with small multi-stemmed trees, all of which were planted with a long season of interest in mind. The planting around the sunken trampoline had to be kept low so the children could be seen from the house, and also robust incase it got landed on!

Many interesting features and plantings reside in a landscape inspired by the client’s Virginia up-bringing. One feature of particular interest is a highly polished, stainless steel obelisk. It's mirror-like finish contributes to an ethereal quality to this unique garden feature.

New Trilogy construction that includes Silver-Beige Travertine patio, custom propane firepit, artificial turf and custom, outdoor kitchen with pizza oven.

Contemporary front garden for architect designed property. A stepping stone path of sleek grey porcelain paving leads to the front door. Raised beds of ipe wood lead up the sloping site creating terraces of planting. Tall grasses and perennials create a living screen between the garden and driveway.