Garden Design

karlitob · 23-04-2021 4:02pm #1

Hi all

Put together a design for my garden. Would very much welcome comments, advice and inputs.

Few things to note.
- It’s fairly accurate
- garden room / workshop / shed won’t be built for a few years
- I want to diy as much as I can

Thank you.

karlitob · 23-04-2021 4:04pm

And pics

Ronaldinho · 23-04-2021 5:57pm

I'm not qualified in this field fyi - just a punter chiming in..

I don't think I'd split the garden in two with the trampoline and the den or whatever that is centre bottom.

Instead of loose furniture - the outdoor sofa and chair, consider having them built in the form of a bench, built in right against the adjacent walls. Looks slicker and saves space.

I'm not sure that I'd have that outdoor seating so far away from what looks like a bench/outdoor dining space top right. If you were having a party, better to have all the entertaining space closer together.

I don't like the design of the outdoor kitchen with it going round in a 'U' shape. I'd have it all next to the wall. It just looks very bitty and cuts off some of the sightline of the garden from inside the house.

For me, there's a lot of hard landscaping and not a great deal of planting but this comes down to personal preference. You might want something with zero maintenance.

scarepanda · 23-04-2021 6:20pm

What is that square thing opposite the trampoline?

I agree that the outdoor kitchen looks wrong, although indoor like the U- shape and can see how that would be very functional, although make it big enough for more than one person to work in the area. How would that area look if you turned the outdoor kitchen 90° so it faced the house and swap it's position with the seating in that area, the you would have the seating areas closer but still distinct to each other.

karlitob · 23-04-2021 7:29pm

Hi

Thanks for much for response. See responses below that might explain the thinking.

Ronaldinho wrote: »

I don't think I'd split the garden in two with the trampoline and the den or whatever that is centre bottom.

Do you mean you wouldn’t split it down the middle but you would split it in half, as such.

Ronaldinho wrote: »

Instead of loose furniture - the outdoor sofa and chair, consider having them built in the form of a bench, built in right against the adjacent walls. Looks slicker and saves space.

Yes - had considered that. The thinking was as the dining area is built in, then another built in lounge area would be too ‘hard’ as such. And also that the long wall would act as seating. Will reconsider on your suggestion.

Ronaldinho wrote: »

I'm not sure that I'd have that outdoor seating so far away from what looks like a bench/outdoor dining space top right. If you were having a party, better to have all the entertaining space closer together.

Understood. The thinking was to have two ‘spaces’ - one to eat and one to lounge. But you might be right - one worry I had is that the lounge might be awkwardly close to the dining area.

The particular spot was chose and it’s the prime sunshine spot in the garden.

Ronaldinho wrote: »

I don't like the design of the outdoor kitchen with it going round in a 'U' shape. I'd have it all next to the wall. It just looks very bitty and cuts off some of the sightline of the garden from inside the house.

Yeah - I see that. The thinking was that when you come in the side door you would see a small wall, and when you come out the back door the same thing - a landing area as such. I’ll rethink.

Ronaldinho wrote: »

For me, there's a lot of hard landscaping and not a great deal of planting but this comes down to personal preference. You might want something with zero maintenance.

Yeah - again you’re right. I cleared out 50tonnes of garden waste last year - I’m allergic to it. At the same time - I don’t like the borders of planting that are in gardens. Not sure why but there you go.

Thanks again.

karlitob · 23-04-2021 7:43pm

scarepanda wrote: »

What is that square thing opposite the trampoline?

Haha - I was wondering what you were asking.

That thing is my attempt at ‘height’ in the garden. It also ‘blocks’ off the rotary washing line.

scarepanda wrote: »

I agree that the outdoor kitchen looks wrong, although indoor like the U- shape and can see how that would be very functional, although make it big enough for more than one person to work in the area. How would that area look if you turned the outdoor kitchen 90° so it faced the house and swap it's position with the seating in that area, the you would have the seating areas closer but still distinct to each other.

Take me through that again.

Do you mean turn the bbq 180 degrees so it faces the house. Or do you mean turn the ‘U’ 90 so it faces the house - yes, I see what you mean.

Ah so from the house it would be
- dining area
- kitchen area
- then lounge area

Is that correct. Yeah - I like that. Will have a play around with the design.

Thank you.

scarepanda · 23-04-2021 11:02pm

Hey! Sorry I was rushing as I finished my post earlier so I may be wasn't too clear! I now have another suggestion!

So with what I was on about earlier on, the outdoor kitchen, if you kept the U shape, turned it 90° so the U open side was facing the house, and move it back so that the back of the kitchen was against what I think is a wall to hide the clothes line. Then move the lounge area that is currently against the clothesline wall to where the outdoor kitchen currently is. How would that look? Sorry, I didn't realise earlier that there was both a built in dining area and a lounge area beside the kitchen. By moving the kitchen the built-in dining area would need to be rejiged, maybe position it between the kitchen and dining area.

The new suggestion is this, based on the current positioning of the lounge area in a sunspot. How would it look/work if you moved the kitchen to where the picnic bench is and made the current kitchen area a bigger space for dining?

2 questions for you though, how do you envision the two dining areas to work? And what's the plan for the piece of lawn past the trampoline/clothesline?

karlitob · 24-04-2021 9:47am

scarepanda wrote: »

The new suggestion is this, based on the current positioning of the lounge area in a sunspot. How would it look/work if you moved the kitchen to where the picnic bench is and made the current kitchen area a bigger space for dining?

2 questions for you though, how do you envision the two dining areas to work? And what's the plan for the piece of lawn past the trampoline/clothesline?

Thanks so much for your time in coming back to me. I hope these answers don’t sound like they’re being defensive - asking for advice then rebutting it. Only explaining the thinking - which is very helpful for me.

So - we thought of that idea. We reckoned that we wanted the bbq beside the dining area rather than away from it. We also sit at a kitchen table that would look onto the bbq in that suggested space.

But when thinking about your suggestion today you might be onto something - there’s more space there than what I think for an outdoor kitchen and it might be a better spot for it altogether. Will get the thinking cap on again. Thank you.

To answer the two questions

- one is a dining area and the other a lounge area. I kinda modelled it off a kitchen- dining room type of thing. Place to eat and a place to sit. I put them together so that - I) both in the best spot for sun and ii) if people were around there’d be space for everyone - other couples and their kids kinda thing.
I’ve tried to make it a rectangle shape with an ‘L’ at either side - notions of design as you can see.

As for the lawn area - we’ve had a good think about that also. I needed a way to get down to the back of garden to the garden room without traipsing through the grass - so the path is at the side and a plantar forces you along the path. I wanted just one area to mow (mowing is a nightmare at the moment). So I see it as a place to play with the little one really. We didn’t want her to be so far away with the trampoline and swing but maybe it would be better to have them down the back and clearer grrass area near the house.

The reason for the grass and patio ‘L’ shape rather than being split in two was to avoid lots of hard landscaping - the sun hits that spot perfectly from 11 to 7 - hard landscaping the grass on the left would be pointless as it would be cold enough there and not a place you would sit. We also wanted to extend it so you’d be able to walk to the clothes line without going to grass in winter.

Agh!!! Not easy. We’ve had a few initial designs from designers but they don’t seem to hit what we’re looking for on initial discussion and they change €800 for a design at minimum due to the size of the garden. If we do go for it, I wanted to be clear of the issues.

Thanks again to all for their views.

...Ghost... · 25-04-2021 1:44am

Make the BBQ area bigger. When using the BBQ, you also want to be facing your guests/family, so don't have yourself facing the house.

Move the swings past the trampoline and if I were you, i'd plan a raised pond for the area with glass panels facing the house and the BBQ zone. The filtration could be built into a smart seating area between the pond and trampoline.

The area where the clothes line is....seems a bit far from the house. In any case, I say build it with cedar. It's too hard on the design. I like clean, low maintenance, but there is too much stone work and not enough wood to soften it up. You can do without flowers and plants, but you need more nature. Wood, water and fish.

karlitob · 25-04-2021 10:07am

...Ghost... wrote: »

Make the BBQ area bigger. When using the BBQ, you also want to be facing your guests/family, so don't have yourself facing the house.

Move the swings past the trampoline and if I were you, i'd plan a raised pond for the area with glass panels facing the house and the BBQ zone. The filtration could be built into a smart seating area between the pond and trampoline.

The area where the clothes line is....seems a bit far from the house. In any case, I say build it with cedar. It's too hard on the design. I like clean, low maintenance, but there is too much stone work and not enough wood to soften it up. You can do without flowers and plants, but you need more nature. Wood, water and fish.

Good ideas. Thank you.
Back to the drawing board I think.

I was too focussed on the sun and squeezing everything over to the right. I think I need to split it across and redesign the dining / lounge and BBQ area. I might pull the outdoor kitchen to the left and redesign the seating / dining.

Thanks all. Will be back for more commentary.

karlitob · 26-04-2021 11:42am

Hi all

I’ve been back to the drawing board and have come up with a new design based on your feedback. Thank you.

The biggest challenge is incorporating the clothes line!!!

All comments, opinions and criticisms welcomed.

awec · 26-04-2021 11:49am

I think the clothes line right beside the seating area would be annoying, particularly if there is a bit of a breeze and the clothes are flapping about. Why not put the clothes line down by the workshop?

I also don't think that sort of dining layout is practical. The two people sitting on the inside won't be comfortable and the folks on the outside will always have to get up to let them out.

Really nice sized garden btw.

karlitob · 26-04-2021 1:17pm

awec wrote: »

I think the clothes line right beside the seating area would be annoying, particularly if there is a bit of a breeze and the clothes are flapping about. Why not put the clothes line down by the workshop?

I also don't think that sort of dining layout is practical. The two people sitting on the inside won't be comfortable and the folks on the outside will always have to get up to let them out.

Really nice sized garden btw.

Thanks - yeah it’s fairly sizeable alright. Costs add up when doing anything to it buts it’s an great ssset.

Yeah the clothes line is a pain. I’m planning a wall (a little taller than what’s in there) with some hedging to hide it from the seating area. It won’t flap in, I reckon.

If at the other end, you’re walking 40m to put up and take down the washing. Bit of a pain but I might look at it again.

Take on board the point above. What I don’t have in here is chairs that can sit on the other side to space people out of required. But other than that not sure what else to do. Buying outdoor table and chairs is expensive, and need to be put away during the winter - hoped to build something for cheaper.

This design gig is hard alright.

...Ghost... · 26-04-2021 1:34pm

There are some improvements from the last design....and those women on the phone are gone, which is great

What I don't like is the BBQ being hidden away, so that when you are using it and entertaining, you have your back to the guests. As I see it, you are aiming for the entertainment side. If you were not, the clothes line would be where the seating is.

I imagine the area to be used for outdoor cooking, wining and dining and enjoying the summer (short as it is) days in the scaped garden.

I would try get the BBQ beside the dining or lounge area. Ideal placement would be to the right of the dining area, above the lounge area and facing the house. When you are at the BBQ, you will miss nothing and will never have your back to guests.

The L shape seat should be broken up for easy egress. Also easier for storing away if it's in smaller sections.

For practical reasons, I would also put an umbrella holder where the L seating and/or lounge seating is. This should be a hole in the ground, rather than weighted pole holder. When the summers are done, you can put a rotary line in its place.

Garden Design

Comments