Design Ideas for a Small Space

If these tricks could make over a tiny, paved backyard, imagine what they could do for you

All Ted and Nancy Dobson desire was a simple container garden . But when my partner and I first met with them , we discovered that the Dobsons ’ backyard face more like the bottom of a swimming pool than a patio . It was a small space , with menage and garage walls on one side , a berm - high retaining paries on the other , and a river of concrete in between . The tight dimensions made the yard find closed in , and we could n’t remove the paving material due to drainage issuance . The Dobsons hop , however , that adding several pretty planter would , at least , cushion the expression .

Although it would have been simple enough to install a container garden , we knew that none of us would be rapturous about the result . This attribute presented some enforce challenges , which were beyond the avail of planters . We solved almost every problem at once , however , by ramp up an elevated garden above the pavement and applying a few design proficiency that would improve almost any little space .

Keep it simple

You do n’t need loud colors and lots of ornaments to appeal attention . This Zen - same garden rely on several key focal points to control tempo and make the space visually interesting .

1.Vietnamese planters

2.Water characteristic

3.Dining set

4.Ceramic container with pine tree

5.Torii gate

Design using foliage and bold details

Ted and Nancy chose a visually hushed palette of greens , silvers , and Bourgogne , and they take foliage - centrical plants , which give the garden structure class - circular . As this garden would be their only outdoor sustenance infinite , it was vital to pick out flora that attend as strike in June as they do in October . The planting change subtly throughout the year but include almost no seasonal color from flowers , which would have leave detectable golf hole when they were out of rosiness .

The focus on lush foliage reflects the Dobsons ’ desire for a tranquil outer space . pop of shining , concentrated coloration , which a declamatory garden could easily absorb , would have overwhelmed this little backyard . Like much of the garden , the plantings are inspire by the work of Japanese garden designer who , through the centuries , have understood that a mostly indifferent color palette with contrast texture and forms can make a modest garden engage and assuasive .

People too often clutter small gardens with small objects . For this space , however , we strategically place heavy container to produce a bold , fair tone . Three marvellous , cone-shaped , Vietnamese planter ( # 1 , site plan ) between the deck and retaining wall provide a still focal point , seeable from multiple angle in the garden . The container ’ size and location give them a stiff mien , while their simple , unadorned contour and solid colors give up them to align effortlessly with other elements . The Dobsons further improved the infinite by replacing a group of small pots near the deck with a baronial water feature film ( # 2 ) . add such a large focal full point into a tight quad concerned them , at first , but the feature of speech fell into home dead . It is broad enough to put up alone and tall enough to complement the 6 - invertebrate foot - tall bamboo screen directly behind it . When accessorizing a small space , pick containers , water features , and other ornaments that are too substantial to ignore and yet not so big that they experience shoehorned into position .

Limited space does n’t have in mind you must sink for a cramp seating area . When it come up to spaces for entertaining , map is frontmost . After all , if it does n’t work well , you wo n’t practice it . The Dobsons ’ copious hardscape is both serene and practical . While many small-scale spaces have only a tiny café board with a pair of chair , this ipe pack of cards well seats four ( # 3 ) . The paired problem of oversizing , of class , was a risk of exposure , which is why we left so much breathing room around the ipe deck . At an infrangible lower limit , leave space for people to easily take the air by empty furniture , and make certain that invitee can scoot their chairs out without falling over an bound . Just a couple of feet is often enough buffer to make a seating area inviting .

Enclose the space to block visual distractions

hoi polloi naturally look flop past small space , unless something obstructs or focalise their perspective . determine boundary with fences , gates , screens , or focal distributor point keeps the viewer ’s attention within a small area . Selecting the correct borders can heighten a garden as much as a well - planned seating room area or plant pallet .

In the Dobsons ’ garden , a pair of bamboo screens part two pocket-sized garden way with distinct purposes : a seating orbit and a passageway . The screen door wrap each garden , holding attending inside that outer space . In the entertaining area , the covert supply the final walls of the room , gain it sense intimate while providing a insidious , textural background for Asian - breathe in accent pieces . From within the passageway , the bamboo backdrop keeps visitor ’ aid on their journey along the stepping - gem path . By staggering the sieve , we created a visual barrier from some perspective and a framed view from others . When visitors walk toward the screens on the stepping - rock path , new parts of the garden are step by step but continually give away , drawing visitors into the following space .

At the diametrical destruction of the passage garden , stepping - pit deform around a modeled pine in a big ceramic container ( # 4 ) . Although this feature is far from a solid barrier , it put up a focal point and a optic occlusion at the closing of the path . Without it , care would just accompany the stone track through the torii gate ( # 5 ) and out of the garden . The feature and logic gate , instead , work together to make a striking backdrop for a peaceful little space .

Disguising the Concrete Without Hindering Drainage

The Dobsons’original paved backyard was an unusual start dot , to say the least . Although removing the concrete was alluring , the drain itinerary created by the slightly quint - mold surface was necessary to keep water by from the house . So building over the concrete was our best alternative .

There is no ocular sign today of the concrete subsurface , but the original drainage system go on to work absolutely . diminished , round river rock candy covers the pavement and the irrigation piping while still allowing rainwater to run to the waste pipe . This local river rock is both esthetically beautiful and hardheaded . Due to the rounded soma of the Stone , water runs through them quickly , and because the Stone are without a powdery surface , they do n’t back up the drains with o.k. atom . This crushed rock also has a sheer texture , which makes it stand out , and a light , neutral colouring material , which nicely contrasts with the garden ’s other hardscape elements . Thick basalt stepping - Stone , space 2 to 3 inches apart and mortared beneath for stability , provide a square surface for walk or even revolve a garden cart . We borrowed this idea from Nipponese gardens , which often have narrow-minded , noncontinuous path that make visitor move slow and intentionally through a place , looking down at the path to place their step carefully and up again to chance on fresh views of the garden . This narrowing of focus enhance the experience of travel through the Dobsons ’ passage .

Rebecca Sams and her partner , Buell Steelman , own Mosaic Gardens , a landscape painting design / flesh troupe in Eugene , Oregon

Photos : Buell Steelman ; Ann E. Stratton ; courtesy of Ted Dobson . Illustrations : Beverley Colgan

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Consider the view at eye level.This ipe deck floats above the river rock, just high enough so that those seated at the table look directly at the plantings, not at the retaining wall.

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Consider the view at eye level.This ipe deck floats above the river rock, just high enough so that those seated at the table look directly at the plantings, not at the retaining wall.