outdoor rooms

Having a usable outdoor space that is easy to access and pleasant to be in, is the single most profound change that can be made to a garden. A patio is just not enough!

A room created outdoors, often connected directly to the house, is a space that invites you out to sit, read, have a drink, or eat. Not everybody wants to go into the garden just to hang out the washing, or to do gardening, they go out there to relax.

I have had many clients who didn't do this until we built them an outdoor room. After that, you couldn't keep them out of it! I can say from such observation that a well designed outdoor room can be a life-changing experience.

Often, such a room can be positioned where you least expect it. The one illustrated at left was actually on the North side of the house! Yet it is sunny in the morning for breakfast, pleasantly shaded during the midday sun and caught the afternoon light for evening meals! A timber deck is surrounded by raised beds and partially framed by a pergola with bamboo slatted infill to give dappled shade.