Garden Room (Part Two)

​Now that you’ve evaluated your site and put some thought into your needs,
​what’s next?

Two Purposes: relax & dining up to 6 people

​1. Start with a purpose:  What do you want to do in this room?  Just like a house, you eat in the dining room, fix food in the kitchen, sleep in the bedroom -- you get the point.  Think about how you'd like to use your outdoor space.  Now that you have your evaluation done, get specific with realistic uses based on your property, time, energy and budget. Your garden room can have more than one use.  Your purpose  influences the next steps.

​2.  Define the boundaries:  What will make up the floor, walls, & ceiling?  Think of your outdoor room like the interior of your home. On paper, the layout may seem one dimensional.  But the space is three dimensional.  Select flooring which best meets your intended use.  For example, you might want to consider an even, solid floor like concrete or pavers for safety while entertaining.  For a private, reflective space, crushed limestone, grass or ground cover are suitable choices.  Similar to a home renovation, you may want to consider the vertical element in the landscape:  Are there walls you want to take down or rebuild? Vertical elements in the garden can create openings or close them..  Lastly the ceiling of your garden can enclose, shade, or open the view of the sky or a neighbor’s window above you..   Read below for guidance on creating your own outdoor room: 

​Floor: pea rock, stone 
Wall: hedge
Ceiling: tree

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​Entrance:  How will you welcome guests and pull their eyes into the space? Garden gates, arbors, selectively placed focal points, and specimen plants greet your guest, create a mood, and draw the eye and your guest through the landscape.  Your “halls” or paths also direct views and movement of the eyes and feet. Place fragrant plants at entrances and seating areas.  If you or family members are allergic to bee stings, place the plants the bees favor away from gathering areas.  Bumble bees sting, honey bees do not.  Both are considered beneficial insects.  Bees only sting when harassed, become entangled in folds of clothing, or when something steps on their nests.  However, bee allergies are life-threatening, and should be considered in your design.  For more information about bees, inviting them to your property, or reducing sting risk, visit www.pollinator.org.

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Paver defines where to walk.

​Floor:  Your goals for the space dictate the material for your floor.  If you have children, you may want a grassy area.  If you want a stable and sturdy foundation for dining, pavers may be your best bet.  For casual seating areas and fire pits, gravel or natural stone set into slag or sand may be appropriate.  Today the myriad of choices for pavers can be overwhelming.  Visit paver supply centers and look at their displays and consider how the colors and style will blend with your home’s exterior.

Inset stone subtly identifies a seating area.

Wood and stone separate use areas. Wood balances the space and absorbs light reflection from white stone.

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​The floor can be divided into rooms and halls (paths).

​Halls “Paths”:  Whether grass, stone, gravel, or pavers, they all convey a pace and theme.  More formal paths (like your front walk—main entrance in a house) may be wider so two people can approach at once.  Main or primary paths are typically wider and accessible.  Secondary paths are informal like the halls in your home.  They cause people to slow, walk singularly, and guide the movement and eye through your garden space.

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Outdoor Lounge

Formal Seating with Subtle Water Sound to mask Urban Noise

Borrowed View

​Rooms: Are there areas where you will perform an action (such as potting plants or snipping kitchen herbs?)  Enjoy a view? Listen to a bubbling fountain or birds? Watch wildlife? Relax, eat, or entertain?  The floor in your garden room is decided based on your style (formal/informal) and use.   For example, a private seating area can be gravel; a dining area for family can be cut bluestone; and a play area can be mulch or grass.

Herb Garden Room

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Wall: Are vertical elements in your landscape.  They can be permanent or moveable, evergreen or deciduous, living or manmade.  These vertical elements define seating or dining areas, and manage views from within and outside your home.  For example, looking through an arbor frames a view like a picture frame.  Just make sure you’re not “framing” your neighbor’s garbage cans.
 
 Ideas for vertical elements include the obvious -- like a hedge of trees or shrubs or a fence.  Other ideas include:

• Trellises with clematis grouped in a row with alternating evergreens.
• Mixed border of grasses and large shrubs.
• Awning curtain shade.
• Effective positioning of potted plants.
• Espaliered fruit tree.

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Ceiling:  Consider the function of your ceiling.  Is it to borrow a view in the horizon like a city line, mountain or lake? Screen a neighbor? Or to shield against the elements?  The ceiling can be natural or created.  The sky is a nature’s “ceiling”. Or the canopy of a mature tree offers shade in the summer and sun in early spring and fall.  Some more obvious ceilings include roofs, awnings, pergolas and umbrellas.  The key to deciding the most suitable roof for you is to consider the sun’s location and its effect on the use of your space.  Kids’ play areas may need to be out of direct blistering sun.  You may want the sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon.  Moveable umbrellas make your space flexible.

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Entrance focal point: Yellow attracts attention

Herb garden serves as focal point

​Focal Points:  Are great for distracting from eye sores and keeping a view within the confines of a space.  NEVER decorate an eye sore.  Instead, use a focal point to direct the eye away from it.  Like art work, focal points greet guests, provide visual pleasure, and allow the eye to pause.  Any inanimate object in the landscape causes the eye to pause — a rock, statue, planter, bench etc.  On the other hand, some inanimate objects are just unattractive: gas meters, air conditioner units, garbage areas.

Invitation to enter space with a bench. Pots and trees frame the view.

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​Heat, Air and Light:  Consider the temperature, time of day and season you plan to use your space.  You might extend the seasonal use of your garden room by installing outdoor fans, heaters and accent lights or candles.

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​Finishing Touches:  Once the major work is done, (once the “carpet is in, walls are painted and furniture placed”) make the space your own.  Customize by adding the last layer:  your unique style.  Try adding a whimsical statue, formal urn or a paver made by your grandchild.  Remember that these finishing touches often serve as memorable focal points for your garden guest.
 

This two-part blog lays the “groundwork” for you to plan your very own Garden Room.  Don’t be surprised if it becomes the favorite room in your house!

Check out more garden rooms and their elements on Pinterest.  There are so many pictures I want to share!

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