Garden in North Dublin City

Period style

garden in north Dublin

The garden was designed to add further value to a spacious home whose architecture had been designed to a period style in the early 2000s.  The owners have a young family and were looking to improve on the layout of their garden to provide a more characterful space and to make the most of the evening sun especially during the summer.

The design brief

The garden space around the house needed to be designed to essentially a pseudo-classical style that complemented the architecture of the house.  At the front, extensive tarmac for parking was overwhelming and not setting off the brick-fronted house appropriately.  It was decided to soften this by installing box edged flower beds at the front of the house and these have made a huge difference to the character of the house at the front.

Around the side of the house, connectivity with the rear was needed and an improved appearance for views from the tall sitting room windows over this area.  To the rear of the house the patio space was neither maximising the use of the sun nor was it offering sheltered seating.  In this regard, it was decided to incorporate a split level patio into the design with the upper, classically designed space (with herb planting) offering seating to revel in the morning sun, and the lower sunken patio offering space for larger evening gatherings around an open fireplace that was designed to complement the planters.

The patio was finished in stylish Travertine paving that complements the colours of the house.  Integrated seating finished in wood is used to complement the stone finishes.

The planting is floristic and will fill in with time to soften the hard landscape areas.  A significant upgrade of the existing planting around the perimeter of the garden was undertaken, as part of the project, including adding in many more attractive perennial flowers and planting espaliered trees to offer shelter to the patio.

Subtle lighting was included to pick out certain design elements and stonework.  Bespoke metal trellising was designed to support climbers that have been planted on the exposed walls of the shed.

The planters were positioned to provide attractive views from the lounge and the sitting room.

Testimonial:

“We are delighted with the overall transformation of our garden; it seems to have grown in size  – even though we have added so much to it, the space somehow seems bigger.   What we are most happy with is that we can immediately use the new patio.  We have already lit the fire and our enjoying the autumn evenings outside.  The addition of lighting to the scheme has also significantly enhance the space.  We are really looking forward to seeing the planting develop next summer.”

Lisa and Graham, Malahide  November, 2017

Tags:
design, Dublin, Garden, Large, outdoor dining