With warm spring days already here and summer entertaining just around the corner, many Brits will be looking to make the most of their outdoor space, whether that’s hosting family barbecues, enjoying drinks in the evening sun, or simply creating a garden that feels like an extension of the home.
For those with smaller gardens, making the space feel open, stylish and guest-ready can sometimes be a challenge. However, with a few clever design tricks, even compact outdoor spaces can feel bigger, brighter and far more functional.
Jade Oliver, garden and interiors stylist at Express Bi Folding Doors has shared her top expert tips for visually expanding a small garden, from making smart use of perspective and layering planting, to choosing colours and layouts that create the illusion of more space.
Five hacks to make a small garden look bigger
- Make use of perspective
With the right visual tricks, it’s very easy to make your garden appear longer or taller than it actually is. For example, by using gradually shrinking circular tiles in a path away from your home, you can create a sense of depth with the illusion of a vanishing path.
For a quicker fix, adding outdoor-rated mirrors at the end of your garden to reflect plants and the sky can effectively feel like you’re doubling the visual space.
- Choose vivid colours
Brighter colours can do wonders for lighting up a dull space, especially in a garden that only receives a limited amount of sunshine over the course of the day.
That’s why it’s always a good idea to choose plants, paints, and shades that are either naturally light or bright, welcoming in plenty of fresh colour. You should also think about incorporating different textures into your choice of garden materials, which will again add further variation to how your garden feels.
- Create social spaces
Naturally, an important aspect of any small garden design is how you choose to use the space you’re given. You can construct a tiled or decked social space at your garden’s far end, one accessed by said winding path or through raised beds. You could even elevate this distant space above your lawn or patio, adding a further sense of height. With your social space it’s also important to scale down the size of your furniture, as smaller pieces are going to prevent overwhelming the space.
Alternatively, installing sliding or bi-folding doors to a room backing onto your garden’s patio or deck, can instantly expand social spaces by opening the doors fully and merging the indoor and outdoor areas into one singular space.
- Make smart use of planting
Be mindful of where you choose to plant flowers. For example, lining your wall with climbers will add a greater feeling of height. And as a rule of thumb regarding plants, you want to avoid planting anything that will outgrow the height of your garden too much, such as a large tree, and bushes as they take up a lot of room for their size.
- Keep your garden de-cluttered
It’s a good idea to keep any clutter in your garden to a minimum. For example, if you have lots of potted plants, you should keep them in a singular clump rather than spread around the garden where they might disrupt the flow. The same goes for your garden furniture as well.
And speaking of furniture, you might want to consider investing in storage space that can double up as a seating area. This is particularly useful if you don’t have room for a shed, and it also acts as a spot to store any simple outside furniture in the winter.
Further tips can be found here: https://www.expressbifolds.co.uk/news/how-to-make-your-garden-look-bigger/
Photo by Thang Nguyen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/serene-garden-with-greenery-and-blossoms-34056749/
