- Project 2 -

Old Town Family Party Garden

The Brief

The design brief for this garden was to create a space that could be used for large family parties for ages 5 to 85 years, with up to 35 people getting together. The couple who own the property have lived in the house for 15 years and are keen collectors of contemporary art, they had recently updated the interior with the designer Mark Pepperall of Oink Gallery to create a stylish home. They felt the garden didn’t reflect their personalities and was not being fully used.

When we discussed their list of “must-haves” this included plenty of seating, an outdoor kitchen area for Ian, a keen cook, and year-round interest from the planting. Nicole, whose work as a teacher can be stressful, wanted a space to sit and relax at the end of the day with a water feature.

Before

A favourite piece of art, a statue, was visible from the lounge area, but wasn’t shown to it’s best, while the far end of the garden was dominated by a huge Laurel bush beneath the shade of a protected tree. The main entrance to the garden was via a rather unloved, dark side return where nothing thrived, and the lawn was dominated by a planting bed lovingly known as the burial mound!

The Design

I began by creating different zones in the garden, with two “pods”, one for cooking and serving drinks from, the second to be a seating area looking down the length of the garden. Both needed to have roofs as they were under the tree, to prevent leaves and twigs dropping, and offering shelter on rainy days. 

I decided to retain a reasonable size lawn for visiting children to sit and play on, this was levelled and reshaped into a jellybean shape. At the other end of the garden I inserted two connected circles, one of which featured the statue surrounded by naturalised planting to complement the movement within the piece. A small path then leads to the second circular paved area, designed to be large enough for two comfortable seats. We installed a water feature created from a pump and tank sourced from a local reclamation yard by the seats and surrounded the area with scented climbers.

The dining table was placed directly outside the lounge, with a custom-made steel framed pergola designed to create a frame through which the statue would then be seen. The final area, to the side of the house, is paved with striped porcelain tiling to create a playful environment for skittles and table tennis, complete with led lighting that changes colour.

Working collaboratively with the clients and landscaping contractor, we needed to adapt the original design slightly to protect the tree roots. I selected a dark green shade for the boundary walls to showcase the lush planting and give a sense of depth. With other reclaimed pieces used as planters and informal artwork within the garden and subtle lighting throughout, it has become somewhere the whole family can use, and while it is a relatively small space, every inch of it is now used.