A wonderful couple who are approaching their best years through, soon to be, retirement, decided to call upon Soul2Soil Landscape Design to invest in an outdoor space that they can enjoy all year round.

This space had great potential but first things first, some things needed to go. The timber deck was collapsing under foot, there were brick walls enclosing both ends of the deck, creating a suffocating space, functionality was missing and it was confusing as to where the front door access was.

The top of the design brief list was "make my home arrival pleasing and enjoyable". This was achieved by removing the visual barriers that were situated near the front entrance door and on both sides of the existing deck. Garden beds were introduced with layered plantings which introduced colours, textures and movement as you approached the front door.

Open space with visual ques were created by understandable outdoor rooms which interconnected, however remained independent, allowing for a compartmentalised relationship between all the spaces.

Although all the children have grown up and left the family home, our client wished to have a space where they could come together to socialise whilst also allowing for intimate small gatherings. An area was also designated for quite retreat opportunities when the morning sun streams through creating the perfect time for a coffee and newspaper in hand.

The design needed to align with the existing garden surrounds which are of a natural setting of native plantings, timbers and rock. Without creating a divide between the two, existing hardscaping was followed through into the new space whilst adding natural materials to complement the existing environment.

A cohesive design approach resulted in a well integrated outcome.