A large country garden design accommodating a new modern extension designed by Glyn Owen at The Designworks Studio. The challenge was to design a series of patio spaces set out over changing levels that serve different areas of the house, working together in one large composition to create a multi-functional garden. The style ranges from formal, contemporary around the house to an open, traditional, informal layout in the lower garden with a meandering path running downhill towards the pond. A modern outdoor room with a hot tub is the perfect fit to enjoy watching the sun go down in those warm summer evenings.
Outdoor patio living at it's best with a purpose built rendered wall enclosure that harbours a microclimate for lush evergreen planting to thrive. Inside is a large area for barbequing and dining with composite timber decking surrounded by black limestone paving and granite setts. A secluded seating area is located off to the side with an outdoor fireplace where you can keep warm after sunset.
Garden Design and Build Project with Dunn Landscapes
A large country garden just outside Belfast with plenty of space including an orchard and two large ponds but lacking any kind of shape or purpose. The design focused on the main patio area directly outside the house by creating a multi-functional series of interacting spaces to provide the very best of outdoor living and entertainment. Luxury features such as a hot tub swimming machine, bar area, outdoor kitchen with dining area, and sunken seating area with firepit were incorporated into the design. The view towards the rest of the garden is what really makes it and with a few alterations to the ponds and the surrounding space - the garden can become a landscape to explore with a garden folly focal point sitting at the top of the hill drawing you out towards it.
A new side entrance from the house opens onto a natural stone patio with composite timber seating and cantilever bar table. This entertainment area stretches out through a raised granite sett walkway looking onto a modern outdoor studio - accessed via a curved ramp made of Exposa concrete. This architectural feature cuts through a sea of grasses which flood the foreground creating a sense of movement and rhythm - highlighted further through the bold backdrop of the three overlapping walls.
A large garden design project for a contemporary dwelling designed by Glyn Owen at The Designworks Studio. The design concept looked to compliment the architectural style of the new building by replicating the bold geometric outlines into the landscape. This was achieved with block rendered walls and modern timber fencing which extend out from the house, carving out individual spaces. A series of beech hedging and lime trees reinforced this concept with a balance of soft and hard boundaries that collectively make up a patchwork layout. The strong sweeping curve of the driveway meanders through each space breaking through the boundaries and creating an opportunity for movement and circulation between each space.
A sunken courtyard garden built with retaining block walls and faced in reclaimed Belfast brick has created a micro-climate and sun trap for planting to thrive. The client can relax on the sandstone patio surrounded by low brick piers which run along the edge of the lawn and into the rustic oak pergola where there is a custom built barbeque with it's very own Belfast sink.
Garden Design and Build Project with Dunn Landscapes
A very sensitive project considering the local heritage associated with the site and it’s central location off the ever busy Lisburn road. This lovingly restored listed Victorian Gothic style gate lodge which used to serve Methodist College required a multi-functional garden that could also serve as a driveway. The shape of the garden is dictated by very sharp diagonal lines of granite sett bands cutting through the open space drawing your eye to the front door. This pattern resonates with the diamond pattern of the original windows and the inside of each diamond is paved in either natural stone flag or setts making up an irregular patchwork, typical of the Arts and Crafts period.
The garden is made up of two distinct styles: a traditional layout for the front garden and a contemporary design for the back to accommodate a modern extension.
The front garden incorporates a curved gravel driveway with granite edging which wraps around the house. The curve is reinforced by a beech hedge which borders the drive, broken into sections allowing restricted views into the garden such as the feature specimen tree and lavender bed located by the front door.
The back garden is made up of a series of small spaces created by strong structural elements such as the contemporary timber pergola and box and beech hedging that help divide up the garden. An open lawn forms the largest space, followed by three areas of natural stone patio connected through smaller pockets of natural stone setts. Planting is made up of colourful herbaceous perennials mixed with waves of ornamental grasses.
The landscape design had to incorporate three brand new timber glamping pods into a new holiday park within the grounds of an old stone walled enclosure in County Louth, Ireland - including an area for vehicle access with parking bays, private patios with hot tubs and a communal seating enclosure with putting greens. The key was to create private spaces for each pod that also received the most sun throughout the day.
Landscape Design and Build with Nature At Work
A garden transformation from what was a very steep unusable space to a multi-level landscape with a contemporary black limestone patio area with curved white rendered block walls in the upper garden. These walls combined to make up a series of architectural terraced planters laid out in a radial pattern along with the steps which descended onto the lower garden.
A secluded town garden with an elevated summer house overlooks a sunken granite sett seating area hidden from the main house by a low brick wall with a raised circular lawn. The large open space was divided into two smaller areas connected via an opening through a double box hedge and single row of multi-stem Birch trees. The summer house is accessed by climbing up composite timber steps onto a new concrete base which cantilevers out over the edge.
Garden Design and Build Project with Dunn Landscapes
A large contemporary garden design in South Belfast follows a geometric pattern of squares and rectangles which overlap to form large stone patio areas and small delicate areas of planting. The lawn has a large raised square, central to the whole garden. There are many examples of architectural features being used all over such as the tall corten steel pergola which leads onto the outdoor kitchen.
A large country garden to accommodate a brand new dwelling. The driveway was designed with strong curves which wrap around the house. A timber pergola ran from the garage to the patio doors which led onto a sandstone patio with an outdoor fireplace. A traditional Victorian glass house along with raised brick planters and water feature were located on the opposite side creating a large kitchen garden.
A stylish front garden with an asphalt driveway bordered with granite sett bands and low evergreen planting. A clever vista runs from the side to the back garden through a perennial border with box and concrete cubes - on through a bespoke metal pergola which leads to an existing large Acer tree. The minimal styled back garden has porcelain paving which extend out from the modern extension.
Garden Design and Build Project with Dunn Landscapes
A small back garden design project accommodating a new kitchen extension designed by Glyn Owen at The Designworks Studio. The impact of the new extension would see the garden cut through the middle, carving it up into smaller spaces. The solution was to work with the problem and create three small black limestone patios that rotate around the extension connected by a diagonal path paved in charcoal brick. Low rendered block walls of raised planters and seating will occupy the positive space coming off the boundary, helping to create an angular layout of sharp divisive lines. This however is softened by pockets of lush evergreen planting that weave through the garden creating a perfect balance.
Design and build for large back garden outside Comber.
A country garden design project accommodating an extension and new interior layout designed by Glyn Owen at The Designworks Studio. The design challenge was to create a garden that required vehicle access to the existing garage around the back which generates a whole set of problems. The key however was to make the back look like a garden and not a driveway which was achieved by a series of small interlocking hard areas that individually work as patio spaces but together make up a driveway surface. The side garden incorporates a large outdoor kitchen unit and raised stone patio which leads directly off the new patio doors. A new driveway entrance allows an opportunity to create a large open lawn bringing a sense of balance to the front garden.
A steep side garden has a raised porcelain patio coming out from the kitchen offering a stunning view across the landscape. It drops down a set of reconstituted stone steps onto a formal lawn which leads to another set of steps under the canopy of a large birch tree. The design incorporated cladding the side of the house in composite timber to improve and integrate it better into the landscape.
A small garden design project for a back garden patio hidden away at the foot of Slieve Donard, separated only by a wall and steps. The concept was to reconnect this dilapidated patio to form a link between the house and the surrounding Mourne mountains set among the background. The design took on a simple contemporary form of overlapping squares and rectangles, pivoting around a central tree feature with low evergreen planting. The old wall and steps would be cladded with varying widths of vertical and horizontal hardwood timber boards which compliment the rugged appearance of the surrounding mountainous terrain. One option also looked at installing a bespoke metal handrail to make an architectural feature of the steps.
Design and Build Project with Nature At Work
A small urban back garden with a new extension designed by McCann Moore architects. The design incorporated a new porcelain patio matching the interior to create a continuous flow out of the house into the garden. A high wall with porcelain tiles screens out a large shed from the house while making up a main architectural feature of the garden. It is accompanied by a large ornamental Acer tree which will inject some bright natural colour into the space. The reshaped lawn makes up a strong triangular shape which helps widen the appearance of the garden, offset by a granite sett path which reinforces the strong diagonal lines and forms a direct link to the front garden.
A contemporary design for a small front and back garden utilising modern architectural materials such as metal fencing and charcoal brick pavers. The design of the back centres around a hardwood table feature which serves three different areas of the garden and is pivotal to the whole design. Although space is limited the experience of walking through the garden becomes more stimulating by deliberately altering the levels for each surface, so the garden becomes a place to be explored.
The design of the front garden fits a simple formal layout encompassing a large raised square lawn with a single specimen tree. This creates the right balance with the asphalt driveway bordered with granite setts.
Design and Build Project with Nature At Work