Our Clients had commissioned Dow Jones Architects to extend their lower ground floor and to create a light filled kitchen and offset snug. The lines of the extension left a narrow corridor adjacent to the kitchen with glazing that opened directly onto the space, as well as glazing opening onto the larger facing part of the garden.
Our approach was to treat the corridor space as a beautiful minimalist courtyard incorporating feature elements and seating so that the space would feel and could be used as a direct extension of the kitchen. This was delivered through a feature wall that mirrors the length of the extension incorporating a living green wall and cantilevered bench either side of the wall, with a beautiful multi-stemmed tree and planting beneath the bench squeezing in as much planting as we could, all lit at night time.
The wider part of the garden includes space for an outdoor barbecue and dining area, before stepping onto lawn level, and with the second feature wall acting as a focal point at the bottom of the garden. The terrace in front of the rear wall creates space for seating in the sunniest part of the garden with three Birch trees acting as a focal point as their pure white stems are lit at night time.
The materials pallete was kept to a minimum with Wienerberger bricks and polished concrete used for the terrace, steps and barbecue.
Images: © Anthony Coleman Photography
Working alongside Reading + West Architects, and Bridget Reading id, the garden incorporates contemporary elements that sit comfortably with the traditional elements of the building. The key to the design was creating a series of compartmentalized spaces, without compromising the feeling of openness and the views beyond. Perennial planting, combined with low evergreen hedging, defines separated spaces; these spaces include a pool terrace, a firepit set within a sunken seating space, a breakfast terrace and a tennis court.
Images: © Richard Glover
This split level garden consists of an open, usable space for relaxing and outdoor dining immediately outside the rear of the house, and an open sided garden room immersed within planting on the upper level.
The route through the garden is based on a main diagonal path that connects the house to the garage at the rear of the garden, with a series of paths and a dining area offset from this main path. This creates a series of pocket spaces planted with a mix of architectural, structural and flowering species to create a broad textural palette of planting that echoes the mixed textural elements of the hard landscaping surfaces.
Steps leading from the lower to the upper level are placed centrally to create spaces to either side; the kitchen side incorporates a built-in bbq and sun loungers whilst the living room side incorporates a built-in bench set around a fire pit with planting wrapping around the space.
Ornamental trees including Eriobotrya japonica and Arbutus unedo offer glimpses through the garden, giving way to taller trees and denser architectural planting that will mature with larger foliage at the rear of the garden. This provides all important privacy from the houses to the side and rear of the garden.
Pale clay pavers and Bath stone are laid at both levels of the garden to create a seamless journey from one level to the next.
Photographs © Piotr Krolicki/HCL Gardens
We designed a series of stepped planters that use vibrant planting to soften the transition between the lower ground floor terrace and lawn level in this large London garden. The planting is relatively minimalist with each planter containing only a single species of plant, selected for their form and flowering colour at different times over summer. The Allium bulbs signify the start of the growing season and are left standing long after flowering to create sculptural interest.
The house was designed by RDA Architects and features large double storey windows which made the views into the garden very important. Our approach was to create a more contemporary garden space in the lower terrace, in the space closest to the modern architecture, and then to develop a more natural look at the lawn level. This allows for softer planting and family friendly elements such as the tree seat, deck terrace and children’s play area.
Elements such as the beautiful concrete planters supplied by Urbis Design were placed at both levels of the garden to link the two spaces.
Images: © James Lee
We’re super excited for this recently launched boutique residential project for our Clients, Alchemi Group and Studio L, London, who, together with Open Studio Architects, have masterminded an exquisite conversion of the Grade II listed Westminster Fire Station on Greycoat Place in Central London.
We were invited to design the residents private courtyard that sits between the original Fire Station and the new Fire House, with a brief to create a tranquil, secluded courtyard.
The courtyard design has a series of pocket spaces for residents to relax in and to enjoy some outdoor time, with the sense of calm enhanced by the gentle sounds of a fountain, and all beautifully lit at night-time.
The height of the buildings is such that the courtyard receives very little direct sunlight and we’ve planted a series of mostly evergreen woodland species selected for their foliage colour and shapes.
The scheme has won a number of architectural awards, whilst the courtyard itself won a prestigious BALI Award (British Association of Landscape Industries) in November 2023.
Images: © Alister Thorpe Photography Ltd
The project coincided with the build of a modern annex to a Grade II listed house to the side of Bosham harbour, blending the old with the new. The garden spaces all sit too the front and side of the house and are all therefore partially visible from the harbour side, and with a swimming pool planned, we needed to create a way to site the pool with privacy whilst still being in the sun.
We developed a series of 3D models to plot sun and shadow movement across the day to optimize the amount of sun that the pool received, and once the best location had been confirmed, we set about designing a semi-private room for the pool.
To create a secluded space for the pool we planted two rows of clipped Quercus Ilex (the Holm oak) on a grid together with an evergreen hedge alongside the path that leads to the main house entrance. The Holm oaks are ideal plants for coastal locations and can be pruned to maintain a topiary shape and to avoid the trees from outgrowing the space.
The more open spaces of the garden then included an outdoor eating terrace partially screened by slatted fencing with evergreen start jasmine growing up both sides, and a lawn area for the Client’s children to use for sports, and a more tucked away space for outdoor cooking and reading.
To reflect the juxtaposition between the listed part of the house na d the new glass annex we used a mix of hard landscaping materials including some of the original brick sets that we found on site and newly laid diamond sawn Yorkstone. These are materials suited for withstanding the weather typical of coastal locations.
Images: © James Lee Design
The garden wraps around two sides of our Client’s house in a L shape and overlooks rolling countryside towards the Chiltern Hills. With a growing family our Clients were looking for a family friendly garden but were also keen to incorporate adult orientated spaces that will be great for entertaining at night time.
We’ve designed a series of connected spaces that mirror the L shape of the garden, and these include a subtle water feature, a sunken seating area around a fire pit, a large outdoor cooking area set beneath a pergola and a terrace that connects the house to the recently installed garden room.
The garden build was completed and planted in Autumn 2021 and these are some preliminary photos taken as the planting starts to establish the following summer, and with some of the 3D renders we created as part of the design development also shown.
The rear extension forming the main living space in this RDA Architects designed house is built as a cantilevered structure, sitting nearly a meter above the lawn level; this was a planning requirement to protect the roots of the magnificent Hornbeam that dominates the garden. Our garden design required a solution that allowed simple access into the garden, mirroring the multiple openings, whilst also carefully avoiding any significant disruption to the Hornbeam. Transitioning from the internal floor level to the lawn required a series of steps, and, rather than attempt to divert away from this need, we playfully exaggerated it by using three types of species to create the illusion of hedge based steps.
Images: © Tim Soar
Like many renovated London homes a key element for the design involved incorporating a large excavated basement area and determining how to transition from this space up onto the natural garden level. The extension, designed by RDA Architects, mirrored the width of the garden, and, to avoid the lower terrace space feeling hemmed in or too remote from the rest of the garden, a tiered step unit was created for the transition. The unit comprised layers of single and double height steps, together with a built-in BBQ and herb bed, and glass balustrades beside the steps. A series of clipped hedges of varying heights defines spaces in the garden that include a late sun terrace, a large vegetable growing area, and a separated children’s play surface.
Images: © Simon Maxwell
The garden space is entered and viewed from two levels, above and below the natural garden level. The water wall at the back creates a strong focal point that takes the eye away from the houses behind the garden. The water wall is clad in horizontal strips of black limestone, with the water flow set so that the water gently adheres to the face of the wall, catching light and shadows, and dramatically lit at night. Three Katsura trees are planted within squares cut out of the deck. A grid of a further three trees are set on the boundary to provide further screening.
Images: © Marianne Majerus/Steve Gorton/John Wiley & Sons Ltd
The rear of our Client’s house was extensively remodelled to create a stunning new kitchen with a balcony overlooking the garden, and with a basement room that doubles up as a spa and play area. The basement was built with bi-folding glass doors that open all the way across the large room, to allow the space to flow beautifully outside into a lower level terrace. The lower terrace, which was designed to be private and not in view from neighbouring houses, was designated as the main relaxing space and incorporates a sunken hot tub and a fire place, with outdoor lighting and speakers built into the main house structure. The palette of greys reflected the colours selected for the house interior. We designed an outdoor kitchen incorporating a built-in bbq and sink for the upper level terrace, with space for a large dining table and sun loungers to enjoy the views down into the garden.
Images: © James Lee Design
This Townhouse was one of five recently renovated in Leinster Square by Alchemi Group, a property development management company placing a high emphasis on architectural interior design. The outdoor spaces were a key part to delivering the boutique, modern day living style proposition of the homes. We introduced Cor-ten steel elements to create a unified structural approach for each individual area. On the roof terrace this took the form of a cor-ten picture frame for a green wall on one side, and bespoke fabricated planters for the jasmine screening on the other side. Cor-ten curves span and connect the two visible sides of the light well, with beautiful planters and furniture completing the spaces and reinforcing the character of the interiors.
Images: © Nick Rochowski/James Lee
The extension added to this house made the entire garden space visible, and, with Clients who had furnished their home with a stunning collection of mid century furniture, our design used a modernist footprint to echo the strong rectilinear lines of the furniture. Lines of tightly clipped evergreen hedging prevent the eye from taking in the whole garden in one view, whilst also creating pockets of interest. A row of pleached trees were carefully placed to screen the roof of a large home office at the back of the garden, and also framed a deck terrace for dining in the garden.
Images: © James Lee Design
