This Image: bee palaces, £49.99, at Grow London
Angelina Villa-Clarke looks at ways to wake up a tired garden
Sometimes a lick of paint is just enough to uplift an otherwise tired garden. Head of creative at Farrow & Ball, Charlotte Cosby gives her insight: “Create an ‘outside room’ by linking the interior and exterior of your home with colour. Painting garden furniture using a hue that is also featured in your interior is so on trend. Try painting furniture in statement colours, like Charlotte’s Locks, for a dramatic look, or create a work of art in the garden by painting plant pots in Pelt, Vardo and Studio Green to make them an unusual decorative feature.”
For those with large gardens, a garden room – often a bespoke wooden or brick-built structure – is the perfect way to create more space outside of the home. Offering sleek cedar ‘pods’ and nostalgic shepherd’s huts, ideal for games rooms, offices or a serene retreat, Garden Hideouts are specialists in versatile outdoor living spaces.
Cambridge Timber Buildings also offer garden rooms, which can be made bespoke to your needs. Stacia Greenaway, director, reveals: “We have found that people are increasingly looking to create living spaces which better reflect their individual lifestyles. So when faced with the expensive options of extending or moving house, investing in an attractive garden room offers a simpler and more cost-effective way to personalise and extend their living spaces. At this time of year, in particular, when we are looking to spend more time outside, customers are seeking out our bespoke service to maximise the unused corners of their gardens.”
For a quirky take on outside rooms, Raj Tents may not be as permanent but win in the style stakes. The Indian version of a traditional marquee, the tents are made from textiles that use traditional Rajasthani skills, such as hand block printing and embroidery. The brand, and many other innovative companies, will be exhibiting at next month’s Grow London, the contemporary garden fair, on at Hampstead Heath (24-26 June, www.growlondon.com).
This Image: metal chairs in chappell green and churlish green full gloss, from £22, Farrow & Ball
