|
|
|
|
|
Design Principles for Creating Garden Rooms
When you bring all principles of garden design together to create a harmonious cohesive space you have achieved unity. Paying attention to all of the guidelines and staying consistent throughout your design will help you bring your perfect garden to life.
DESIGN THEORY
Garden and Landscape Design
Are you ready to improve your garden design? Do you love the idea of adding beautiful and meaningful garden accessories to your outdoor space? If so, you may have a million ideas, but be unsure how to get started.
Without a plan, there is no question that landscape design can get overwhelming, but don’t worry. Here you can find several tips that will help you use garden decor and accessories that will enhance your space and give you the look you really want.
Organic is Best
When you start looking for the perfect garden accent, wall decor, or sculpture, remember that unadulterated is the best option. When you do this, you will find unique garden decor that works with your landscape, rather than something that sticks out like a sore thumb.
Choose items that will blend in with your outdoor area. This may seem difficult at first, but choosing things like natural stone, wood, and similar materials will help ensure that you get the desired results.
Find a Flow
If you have a larger landscape or garden, you need to take steps and use elements that will create a sense of flow through the space. By doing this, you can ensure you are creating an organic and livable environment.
For example, you can create a pathway that leads through your garden. This is a great way to move through the area and enjoy the decor items, such as planters, urns, statutes and birdbaths that you have added.
Don’t Go Overboard
If you overcrowd your outdoor space with too much decor or even too many plants or greenery, there’s a good chance you won’t be happy with the end result. It is best to try to achieve a more nature-based landscape. Also, if you overcrowd your plants, it will eventually cause them to die or to take over your whole garden. Also, too many decor and accent items can make your outdoor area appear cluttered rather than lavish.
Use Lines
Lines that come from your edging or home will help to create a nice look in your garden. The roof line of your home is usually a line that will lead your eye to something nice when it ends. You can use the same concept of lines to create a flow for your eyes.
Add a Theme for More Charm
Even though you don’t have to choose a certain theme through all your garden decor, you need to look for things that are similar to one another. For example, if you decide to put a white metal table beneath your trees to create an area to rest and relax, be sure you find chairs that will go with it. It may also be smart to add a white picket fence or other pieces that match. This will help tie all the different areas of your garden together.
Maintenance is Key
Adding various garden accents and decor to your space is great. It will help add character and personality; however, to keep these elements looking amazing, maintenance is key. While you may head outside to weed your planted beds regularly, when is the last time you washed the white garden accents in the space? Did you bother to replace a broken planter or urn? If you fail to handle this type of maintenance, there is a good chance your garden will begin to look drab.
Garden Decor and Accents Should Reflect You
The area outside of your home is an extension of your personal style and personality. As a result, you should choose garden accents and decor that highlight these things. Take some time to find the garden elements that suit your tastes and preferences and that will enhance the area.
In most cases, it is going to require you to find a quality company that provides an array of quality products. Being informed and knowing what to consider and look for is the best way to ensure that you get the items that will enhance your garden and ensure you get the look and style you really want for the space.
Don’t Rush In
When it comes to your garden and outdoor area, there are more than a few factors that you should consider. While the information here is going to provide help and guidance along the way, you have to figure out what works best for you. By doing this, you are going to find items that suit what you want and the great looking garden that you deserve.
When visiting your local garden decor provider, keep this information in mind. It will help ensure you get the desired look, no matter what you want to do with the space. Being informed is going to pay off and help you get the best outdoor elements for design.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Significant Enclosure
The principle of significant enclosure states “the vertical edge of a space is at least one-third the length of the horizontal space. If the longest side of your space is 15 feet then your hedge, tall grass, etc should be at least 5 feet tall. As the space becomes larger you can use judgement to balance the feeling of enclosure and openness. You wouldn’t want a twenty-foot wall if you had a sixty-foot-long space, but you would want the vertical to be above the average person’s eye level.
The principle of enclosure makes the garden a room that unifies the house and garden into a cohesive living area. Using the principle of enclosure, you create a sense of comfort and safety that comes from an ordered space. A trellis to create a wall, an archway to create a door, a well-defined path, all of these components are used to establish the boundaries and flow of the garden.
Pro Tip: Make your vertical boundaries using the principle of significant enclosures
The Regulating Line
This is an element of the space from which everything else it built out. Create an imaginary line from the corner of the house, the corner of the pool, or a prominent tree to organize and connect the design. Observing the regulating line will guide your placement of plants and garden decor.
Pro Tip: Establish the regulating line first then build your design off of it.
The Golden Ratio
The ratio of 1:1.6 has been used in architecture throughout time to create balanced and ordered design. Extended, this becomes the golden rectangle in which the ratio of the short side to the long side is equal to the ratio of the long side sum of both sides (a/b = b/a+b)
Pro Tip: Use the golden ratio and rectangle to size flower beds, patios, etc. To give your design a feeling of balance and cohesion.
Selecting Size
Put simply...GO Big!, if you are deciding between two widths, shorter or taller, longer or shorter in a design element choose wider, taller, or longer. Don’t go ten feet when you are thinking of two, but definitely go four feet.
Pro TIp: If you are indecisive choose a little bigger, longer, wider and you will be pleased with the outcome.
Shape and Form
The shapes you create impact the mood of the garden. Geometric shapes feel more formal while organic curves feel more informal. A rectangular outer boundary with straight paths that intersect at ninety-degree angles will feel very formal. This layout is more congruent with Classic or Victorian style garden accents. You can easily imagine this layout with a large fountain as the central focal point.
A rectangular outer boundary with the corners rounded off by flower beds and flowing curved pathways will feel quite informal. This layout is more in tune with country or early American style accents. You can visualize a wall fountain, statues of animals, and interesting wall ornaments in this design.
Pro Tip: You can use wall ornaments to accent the outside boundaries of your garden room
Framing
Creating a “window” with plants or garden accents directs the view to a focal point. You can frame a view inside the garden with plants or garden decor, or from inside the house out into the garden. Take into consideration the view from inside doorways and windows from the house into the “garden room”. Well planned designs will make windows and doorways feel like works of art that you can enjoy throughout the year.
Pro Tip: You can use large urns on either side of a focal point to create a frame.
Entry
The first impression of your garden is the entry and hints at what is to come. Additionally, entries direct your guest to what you want them to see and begin creating the feel you wish to create. A vined archway with solid looking wooden gate establishes a certain feel, while a white picket gate with planters on each side generates a completely different experience.
Pro Tip: A well-defined entry establishes experience for your guests.
Focal Point
A garden accent positioned to draw the attention of the viewer. Statues, closely packed flowers in multiple heights, a fountain, a singularly unique wall accent, all can be made into a focal point. A focal point visually organizes the area and gives the space an overall feel and direction. Framing is often used to enhance your focal point.
Pro Tip: Don’t skimp on the main focal point because it sets the overall feel of the garden
Light
View your space at different times of the day. See where sunlight enters the garden in the morning and the path it takes across the space until it slips into the night.
Pro Tip: Use natural light to highlight different areas of the garden
Texture
Use the texture of plants and accents for variety in your garden. Plant leaves are usually the best source of organic texture. The texture of your garden decor pieces also add texture to your space. Metals can be smooth and slick, hand hewn wood gives a rough and rustic texture, stone can be rough or smooth, regardless of the organics and materials you use to bring textures into your design.
Pro Tip: Repeating textures throughout the garden will give a feeling of balance and unity.
Form
Or in simpler terms, shapes should be evident in your garden. Strong contrasting shapes create rhythm in your space. Shapes serve to create and delineate different spaces within our design. Spherical in various sizes against a wooden privacy fence evokes strength and stability.
Pro TIp: Use strong contrasting forms to manage the rhythm in your garden
Scale
The relative size of the space and the accents should match. A six foot urn in a four by four condo patio is out of scale, but the same planter on a twenty by thirty patio is in scale.
Pro Tip: Select accent pieces that are in scale with your space
Balance
Symmetry is important in design. Symmetrical (more formal) design is balanced across a central axis point in the space, the front door, a tree in the yard, something that somewhat evenly divides the space you are designing. Asymmetrical (more informal) design is balanced by having similar mass on both sides of the dividing line. A large fountain on one side can be balanced by several planters on the other side of the dividing line. Their size isn’t similar, but the mass is.
Pro Tip: Use symmetry to create a more or less formal mood in your garden
DESIGN THEORY
Garden and Landscape Design
Are you ready to improve your garden design? Do you love the idea of adding beautiful and meaningful garden accessories to your outdoor space? If so, you may have a million ideas, but be unsure how to get started.
Without a plan, there is no question that landscape design can get overwhelming, but don’t worry. Here you can find several tips that will help you use garden decor and accessories that will enhance your space and give you the look you really want.
Organic is Best
When you start looking for the perfect garden accent, wall decor, or sculpture, remember that unadulterated is the best option. When you do this, you will find unique garden decor that works with your landscape, rather than something that sticks out like a sore thumb.
Choose items that will blend in with your outdoor area. This may seem difficult at first, but choosing things like natural stone, wood, and similar materials will help ensure that you get the desired results.
Find a Flow
If you have a larger landscape or garden, you need to take steps and use elements that will create a sense of flow through the space. By doing this, you can ensure you are creating an organic and livable environment.
For example, you can create a pathway that leads through your garden. This is a great way to move through the area and enjoy the decor items, such as planters, urns, statutes and birdbaths that you have added.
Don’t Go Overboard
If you overcrowd your outdoor space with too much decor or even too many plants or greenery, there’s a good chance you won’t be happy with the end result. It is best to try to achieve a more nature-based landscape. Also, if you overcrowd your plants, it will eventually cause them to die or to take over your whole garden. Also, too many decor and accent items can make your outdoor area appear cluttered rather than lavish.
Use Lines
Lines that come from your edging or home will help to create a nice look in your garden. The roof line of your home is usually a line that will lead your eye to something nice when it ends. You can use the same concept of lines to create a flow for your eyes.
Add a Theme for More Charm
Even though you don’t have to choose a certain theme through all your garden decor, you need to look for things that are similar to one another. For example, if you decide to put a white metal table beneath your trees to create an area to rest and relax, be sure you find chairs that will go with it. It may also be smart to add a white picket fence or other pieces that match. This will help tie all the different areas of your garden together.
Maintenance is Key
Adding various garden accents and decor to your space is great. It will help add character and personality; however, to keep these elements looking amazing, maintenance is key. While you may head outside to weed your planted beds regularly, when is the last time you washed the white garden accents in the space? Did you bother to replace a broken planter or urn? If you fail to handle this type of maintenance, there is a good chance your garden will begin to look drab.
Garden Decor and Accents Should Reflect You
The area outside of your home is an extension of your personal style and personality. As a result, you should choose garden accents and decor that highlight these things. Take some time to find the garden elements that suit your tastes and preferences and that will enhance the area.
In most cases, it is going to require you to find a quality company that provides an array of quality products. Being informed and knowing what to consider and look for is the best way to ensure that you get the items that will enhance your garden and ensure you get the look and style you really want for the space.
Don’t Rush In
When it comes to your garden and outdoor area, there are more than a few factors that you should consider. While the information here is going to provide help and guidance along the way, you have to figure out what works best for you. By doing this, you are going to find items that suit what you want and the great looking garden that you deserve.
When visiting your local garden decor provider, keep this information in mind. It will help ensure you get the desired look, no matter what you want to do with the space. Being informed is going to pay off and help you get the best outdoor elements for design.
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
Significant Enclosure
The principle of significant enclosure states “the vertical edge of a space is at least one-third the length of the horizontal space. If the longest side of your space is 15 feet then your hedge, tall grass, etc should be at least 5 feet tall. As the space becomes larger you can use judgement to balance the feeling of enclosure and openness. You wouldn’t want a twenty-foot wall if you had a sixty-foot-long space, but you would want the vertical to be above the average person’s eye level.
The principle of enclosure makes the garden a room that unifies the house and garden into a cohesive living area. Using the principle of enclosure, you create a sense of comfort and safety that comes from an ordered space. A trellis to create a wall, an archway to create a door, a well-defined path, all of these components are used to establish the boundaries and flow of the garden.
Pro Tip: Make your vertical boundaries using the principle of significant enclosures
The Regulating Line
This is an element of the space from which everything else it built out. Create an imaginary line from the corner of the house, the corner of the pool, or a prominent tree to organize and connect the design. Observing the regulating line will guide your placement of plants and garden decor.
Pro Tip: Establish the regulating line first then build your design off of it.
The Golden Ratio
The ratio of 1:1.6 has been used in architecture throughout time to create balanced and ordered design. Extended, this becomes the golden rectangle in which the ratio of the short side to the long side is equal to the ratio of the long side sum of both sides (a/b = b/a+b)
Pro Tip: Use the golden ratio and rectangle to size flower beds, patios, etc. To give your design a feeling of balance and cohesion.
Selecting Size
Put simply...GO Big!, if you are deciding between two widths, shorter or taller, longer or shorter in a design element choose wider, taller, or longer. Don’t go ten feet when you are thinking of two, but definitely go four feet.
Pro TIp: If you are indecisive choose a little bigger, longer, wider and you will be pleased with the outcome.
Shape and Form
The shapes you create impact the mood of the garden. Geometric shapes feel more formal while organic curves feel more informal. A rectangular outer boundary with straight paths that intersect at ninety-degree angles will feel very formal. This layout is more congruent with Classic or Victorian style garden accents. You can easily imagine this layout with a large fountain as the central focal point.
A rectangular outer boundary with the corners rounded off by flower beds and flowing curved pathways will feel quite informal. This layout is more in tune with country or early American style accents. You can visualize a wall fountain, statues of animals, and interesting wall ornaments in this design.
Pro Tip: You can use wall ornaments to accent the outside boundaries of your garden room
Framing
Creating a “window” with plants or garden accents directs the view to a focal point. You can frame a view inside the garden with plants or garden decor, or from inside the house out into the garden. Take into consideration the view from inside doorways and windows from the house into the “garden room”. Well planned designs will make windows and doorways feel like works of art that you can enjoy throughout the year.
Pro Tip: You can use large urns on either side of a focal point to create a frame.
Entry
The first impression of your garden is the entry and hints at what is to come. Additionally, entries direct your guest to what you want them to see and begin creating the feel you wish to create. A vined archway with solid looking wooden gate establishes a certain feel, while a white picket gate with planters on each side generates a completely different experience.
Pro Tip: A well-defined entry establishes experience for your guests.
Focal Point
A garden accent positioned to draw the attention of the viewer. Statues, closely packed flowers in multiple heights, a fountain, a singularly unique wall accent, all can be made into a focal point. A focal point visually organizes the area and gives the space an overall feel and direction. Framing is often used to enhance your focal point.
Pro Tip: Don’t skimp on the main focal point because it sets the overall feel of the garden
Light
View your space at different times of the day. See where sunlight enters the garden in the morning and the path it takes across the space until it slips into the night.
Pro Tip: Use natural light to highlight different areas of the garden
Texture
Use the texture of plants and accents for variety in your garden. Plant leaves are usually the best source of organic texture. The texture of your garden decor pieces also add texture to your space. Metals can be smooth and slick, hand hewn wood gives a rough and rustic texture, stone can be rough or smooth, regardless of the organics and materials you use to bring textures into your design.
Pro Tip: Repeating textures throughout the garden will give a feeling of balance and unity.
Form
Or in simpler terms, shapes should be evident in your garden. Strong contrasting shapes create rhythm in your space. Shapes serve to create and delineate different spaces within our design. Spherical in various sizes against a wooden privacy fence evokes strength and stability.
Pro TIp: Use strong contrasting forms to manage the rhythm in your garden
Scale
The relative size of the space and the accents should match. A six foot urn in a four by four condo patio is out of scale, but the same planter on a twenty by thirty patio is in scale.
Pro Tip: Select accent pieces that are in scale with your space
Balance
Symmetry is important in design. Symmetrical (more formal) design is balanced across a central axis point in the space, the front door, a tree in the yard, something that somewhat evenly divides the space you are designing. Asymmetrical (more informal) design is balanced by having similar mass on both sides of the dividing line. A large fountain on one side can be balanced by several planters on the other side of the dividing line. Their size isn’t similar, but the mass is.
Pro Tip: Use symmetry to create a more or less formal mood in your garden