Modern Garden Design for East London – A Contemporary Garden

Brief

The client has lived in the house for a number of years and has refurbished her interior to a high standard. She now wishes to turn her attention to the exterior. The garden has little to offer in terms of interest at present, containing just a shed and some overgrown grass.

The current hard surface is compromising the damp proof coursing, so this will need to be removed in order that the new finished height is compliant with building regulations. The client likes natural materials, with orange as an accent colour.

Solution

The garden is split into three distinct areas with separate purposes in mind. The first section, adjoining the house, is a large patio laid with mint fossil sandstone in a random pattern.

To the right hand side of the patio is a seating/dining area featuring a railway sleeper table and chairs, plus a railway sleeper bench backed by an orange painted wedge-shaped rendered raised bed. This seating area will be framed by a feature wall constructed from upright railway sleepers stained variously with three different block colours. Large black slate slabs lead down the sideway to the door at the end.

A single railway sleeper step, running diagonally across the space, leads to the central section of the garden. This section is constructed on a diagonal to the garden side boundaries and features a timber pergola adorned with coloured aluminium chain curtains to create an enclosed, semi-private space.

A trio of tall tapered planers containing architectural box balls will be placed along the edge of the railway sleeper step, to the left of the pergola, to further screen the rest of the garden from the area adjoining the house.

Flooring beneath the pergola will feature Angelim hardwood decking constructed in a diamond pattern. This area will also benefit from a bike store installed in a planting bed to the right of the pergola.

The planting scheme will follow a black and white theme, including sambucas, phormiums and heuchera, with the occasional orange flora as an accent.