Where Home Meets Garden: Creating a Seamless Flow with Design and Beauty
It's easy to get excited about designing your new garden or re-doing your current one, however, it can be easy to lose sight of the bigger picture – creating a seamless flow with design and beauty from your garden to your home.
It can feel jarring to have a period home with a modern-styled garden, and vice versa. In addition, if you focus on creating a seamless integration between your home and garden, this can enhance your property's kerb appeal and extend your living space so that you can make the most of your garden all year round.
In this article, we'll talk you through all the elements you need to consider when designing your garden in order to create a harmonious flow between it and your home.
Planning for Harmony and Bridging the Gap
First things first, you need to assess the space you're working with. This involves considering both the architectural style and existing features of your property, such as wall coverings, windows, and doors. Keeping these elements in mind will help you when choosing complementary design elements for your garden.
For example, if you have secondary glazing sash windows in the UK then these are a typical characteristic of period homes, as sash windows gained immense popularity during the Georgian and Victorian eras. Therefore, if you wish to complement this style of window then you should consider using elements from one of these periods in your garden as well. For instance, if you have a Georgian style property or want to pay homage to this era, then you can focus on having symmetry in your garden.
Another example would be if your home has stucco or cement siding, then your home is likely to suit a more modern aesthetic. To bring this style into your garden, you can consider keeping it minimalistic-looking with clear lines, by adding modern geometric sculptures made of metal or concrete.
It is of course also possible to mix both modern and period elements from your garden and home together, however, you will need to consider how to make the design cohesive in another way so that the design looks intentional and not out of place. For example, through keeping the colour scheme consistent or complementary textures.
For example, if your home boasts a warm beige coloured exterior, then you could consider echoing these warm tones throughout your garden. You could add golden yellow blooms or sun-kissed ornamental grasses in your garden beds. In terms of garden furniture, you can make use of earthy tones and natural materials such as wood and wicker, to complement the beige siding of your home.
On the other hand, if your home has a cool grey exterior, then planting lavender perennials or silvery foliage plants could work better. For garden furniture, you can make use of sleek metals such as aluminium or stainless steel to fit the cool tones and create a minimalist look.
You can always experiment with pops of colour, but just keep in mind whether or not they complement the existing tones in order to keep your overall aesthetic unified.
After considering these elements, next you'll need to evaluate the size, shape, and sunlight conditions of your garden. This will guide your design decisions when it comes to plant selection, layout, and placement of furniture. For example, you could place a seating area in a south-facing patio so that it receives optimal sunlight for sunbathing. However, considering how rainy the UK weather typically is, you may also want to have a pergola with a retractable cover so that you can make the most of this space all year round.
A key feature to keep in mind when creating flow from your home to your garden is pathways. Pathways can make your garden more inviting and also hold a functional purpose of easily leading you and your guests to explore different areas of your garden. There are also a variety of materials you can choose to create your pathways. Again, this is an excellent way to echo the style of your home's exterior. For example, brick can help create a formal walkway and suits homes with clean lines in its design.
Enhancing the Connection: Additional Touches
Once you've planned and incorporated the main features, colour scheme, and materials used in your garden and home, it's time to consider the finish touches to tie it all together.
Strategically placed plant pots can help to add pops of colour to your garden as well as to frame entrances, windows, and patios. For example, if you want to highlight the design of your door and make entering your home more inviting, you can plant climbing vines around it, to help draw the eye to the entrance. Another example is placing shrubs around pathways and corners to help soften architectural lines.
You can also add accessories to your furniture such as throws and pillows. You can use colours here to match the same hues that feature in your plants, and also incorporate softer, cosier textures if you wish to create the feeling of extending your living space outside.
Furthermore, many of us only consider using our gardens in the daytime and then retire to inside our homes during the evenings. However, this doesn't have to be the case. You can extend the enjoyment of your garden by adding strategically placed lighting. You can add lighting beside pathways to ensure safe navigation around your garden in the dark. You could also add a firepit in the centre of your seating area to create a cosy outdoor space as an alternative to your living room.
In order to match your lighting choices to your home, again you should consider the tones. If your home features warmer tones, you should consider adding warm sconces to your exterior walls. Or if your home has a cooler toned, more modern exterior, then you could consider using sleek, cool-toned spotlights in your garden.
If you want to create a harmonious and cohesive design between your home and your garden, then it's important to take a holistic view, and consider complementary tones and textures alongside strategic placement. Creating a unified design and emphasising the beauty and feeling of oneness between your home and garden will not only boost your property's kerb appeal but will also create an inspiring and comfortable living environment for you and your family.
