Three beautiful outdoor living spaces and how to get the look
As summer beckons, our thoughts are turning to outdoor spaces and how to be comfortable in them, whether you have a small garden or a generous space with a patio on which to entertain. Some elegant garden furniture is a must, of course, and perhaps a parasol for those (much-hoped-for) sunny days. We've taken a look at three beautiful gardens from our archive for inspiration, from a small city garden to large country affair.
A tiny Chelsea terrace
Even a tiny outdoor space can be a wonderful place to entertain, as proven in this Chelsea garden belonging to developer Jack Simpson. The charming terraced space lends itself to long summer lunches, helped along by a handmade table topped with moroccan tiles and chairs from Neptune. “We wanted the courtyard garden to feel like a true retreat — a private oasis tucked away from the city," Jack explains, adding that "rather than a polished aesthetic, the aim was for it to feel as though you'd brushed back 50 years of overgrowth to reveal a hidden gem.”
What we particularly love is the bespoke built-in dining banquette that doubles as a planter, giving multiple uses to the garden and allowing it to be both a green and useful space in one. The banquette – which Jack's development company Nomad designed and made – could be used for sunlounging too, thanks to the long cushions. The flooring underfoot is reclaimed limestone pavers from Provence, and Jack and his wife painted the brick in a green-tinted neutral which works so well with the other green tones coming in from the tiles, cushions and plants themselves. As he puts it, “this subtle shift completely transformed the space, letting the materials and greenery take centre stage”.
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Louise Jones' farmhouse garden
This sprawling country garden in Louise Jones' Surrey farmhouse is about as inviting as they come, thanks to an abundance of flowering lavender and potted flowers amongst the paving stones. There are two seating areas for relaxing, one for dinings and another more for sunbathing and reading, but both oriented to make the most of any sun. The garden was a blank canvas when Louise and her husband arrived and, as they both are keen gardeners, they got stuck right in to make it one of the best assets of the house.
What is very clever is that the two different areas speak the same language, thanks to a layering of similar materials. Take the parasols; both are similar shapes, variations of blue and white stripes and trimmed with pretty tassels. All the furniture is wood – the right choice for a country garden – and the dining area has a lovely mismatch of new and antique pieces in keeping with the character of the house itself.
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A cottage garden in Hampshire
When space allows, we always advocate for a large outdoor dining table and that's precisely what Emma Sherlock has in her flint cottage in Hampshire. The house is a beautiful red brick and flint building and the interiors are filled with floral patterns and colour, which echo the wonderful dahlias and greenery outside. The terrace is a sunny spot, which is ideal for this large table, flanked by two different benches on either side and a smart metal chair at either end.
To tie the whole thing together, Emma opted to have all the cushions – from long seat ones for the benches to the scatter pillows for comfort – upholstered in the same jolly apple green stripe, which is Flora Soames's ‘Plain Stripe Outdoor Emerald’ fabric. It is a wonderful choice which allows the space to both make a statement but not be incongruous with the colours of the garden and so the planting still makes the bigger impact.
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