Case study: Decking the ideal solution for this garden in Brentwood.

Decking is one of those materials that is often considered in or out of fashion. And of course whilst it's great to keep up with developments in style and look when creating new gardens, for us garden design involves balancing the look of the finished product with practical elements.

Our designs seek to find this balance and leave clients with a garden that looks great but one that can be used everyday for years to come. Materials are an essential part of the decision making process when looking at a new design. Materials need to work in tandem with the design to help create the overall picture of the garden.

 

But again the practical side of things also plays a part in choosing the right materials. The garden featured in this article is a good example of how the practical and emotional elements can be married. The back garden of this property is reached by a set of double doors leading out from the kitchen/diner. The level of the garden is almost two metres underneath the kitchen floor level.

The original garden featured a set of steps leading out from the doors to a number of small sized patios and decked areas which eventually led to ground level. This left the new owners with a series of spaces none of which were big enough to use and in a range of materials that neither worked alone or together.

So the biggest job in this design solution was to solve the drop in level and create a space that could house a table and chairs and enough room for other furniture. On top of that it also had to look great!

Through discussions with the client we arrived at the decision that decking would provide the ideal material for this design. Whilst we could have used retaining walls and paving this would have required a lot more intrusive landscaping and upped the budget.

Decking provided a relatively simple route to create one  large, level area and two simple sets of steps leading to the lawn level. We also decided at the start to go for a clean and simple look, almost scandinavian letting the wood do the talking but adding a number of details to add some contemporary finishes such as lighting and wire balustrades.

So the finished design and build resulted in a new space that could be enjoyed froma  practical point of view with plenty of room for dining, relaxing and partying! Plus it satisfied the clients emotional needs for a clean, natural looking area with unspoiled views to rest of the garden.

Construction begins on the new platform and steps leading out from the house with the steps having an open construction rather than being boxed in to retain the light look to the deck. And the choice of wire balustrades helped continue this theme:

  

 

Keeping the sets of steps in line with each other maximised the size of the main deck and kept the nice clean lines. The front face of the deck was simply clad in treated timber. Wire balustrades from S3i added a nice modern twist to the job.

    

 

The new deck really starts coming to life now as the clients add their own furniture and really start to think about the value of this new space.