This London garden was being used only by the youngest child in the family to kick a football, the older teenage children and adults were not making it use of it at all. We were asked to transform it into a more adult space that would be attractive to look out into and be used by everyone in the family.  Part of the problem was that the area nearest to the house felt overlooked by neighbouring houses and was often too sunny to be comfortable. 

We created a limestone terrace near to the house and fitted a large cantilevered umbrella which had the double effect of providing shade but also privacy from neighbours. We designed some raised beds filled with lush planting to give some height to the garden and frame the new seating area.  We chose a lovely comfortable sofa and arm chair and paired it with a built in bench and the result is a delightful, cosy seating area. We also designed hardwood trellis to go on all boundaries of the garden which give it a real sense of unity and privacy. The subtle lighting scheme we designed for the garden prolongs it’s use into the early evening and also makes the garden really attractive to look at from the house. The garden is now getting lots of use by everyone in the family. 

Images @joannakossak