Well, this was a first. I was asked to design and build both gardens at the same time with the same stylisation. Essentially tying to the Victorian architecture, with Reclaimed Red Rubber stocks for the Front wall with railings and Composite Pier caps. The Victorian Paving supporting the theme and the beautiful Black Basalt treads for the step tread, giving a clean structured look but also not to Contemporary. This material is great for step treads due to its flame textured finish. The bespoke garden railing toped with London style Victorian Fleur Dy Lys. The red brick ties in effortlessly to the house and being reclaimed looked original and gave the project instant warmth and curb appeal. These Dulwich SE21 Victorian properties require authenticity and homage to the period architecture and a less is more approach. Quality of materials are vital to create this understated and authentic feel. Front garden design I feel is all about the architecture and although we doubled down on the original brick wall look, we could have easily brought in a cleaner more contemporary feel with rendered with losing the Victorian link and flavours. This is where some detailing can pull this together i.e. the barley twist edging, period styled pier caps and railings.
Elms Rd SW4

This Clapham SW4 for garden design and build was and still is one of my favourites.
Rustic materials with contemporary finishes work a treat. The soft elemental rich timber tones work so well, introducing cv contemporary clean lines and a gentle Zen quality easy on the eye relaxing to the mind. The render raised bed forms and back of seat finished with micro cement to create the interesting rustic formal /contemporary interplay. The contemporary bespoke seating uses IPE hard wood.

The slatted fenced back drop with contemporary water feature creates lovely visual and the rustic slips for the raised bed with sawn sandstone coping support this theme, juggling with textures from both traditional formal and contemporary. Lush green and part architectural planning offering similar statements. Textures and focal points of interest are the key elements. I do love to design bespoke garden furniture and its often the centrepiece of many a space. Garden design needs to say something while at the same time not shouting from the rooftops .