A stylish townhouse garden. Central London.
This is a stylish contemporary London garden by James Innes Design that sits as both a mid-20th century work of art and an intimate place to socialise with friends. Inspired by the cleint’s love of modern abstract art, this design utilises angular curves to create a garden that is calm and minimal, with tailored spaces to enjoy time with friends.
The Masterplan
At the heart of the design, the client wanted an intimate and impressive seating area for entertaining.
Inspired by the client’s love of mid-20th Century art, the bespoke seating area takes its form from the shapes of artist, Alexander Calder. This intimate space will be fitted with a bespoke teak bench, facing towards a central brass fire pit.
The space will be surrounded by structural evergreen planting and will be illuminated by custom lighting to create a place to go to throughout the year.
The Planting
The client wanted simple textured planting with a minimal palate of green and white. They also wanted something that would deliver all year and be easy to live with.
An evocative old olive tree, beloved by the clients, sets the scene. Calm evergreen planting is provided by Elaeagnus x ebbingei and Pittosporum tobira 'Nanum’. Clean whites will unfurl seasonally, including Astrantia and Narcissus, with an old rambling rose as the star.
The Materials
The site is dominated by the yellow London stock brick of the adjacent houses. The client wanted clean, light, and stylish materials that worked with the recently reworked interiors of the house.
We worked with the best suppliers to source the right materials to match the interior and exterior of the house. These included
A high quality six-side sawn French limestone that had sufficient yellow tones to work with the brick, and enough white tones to work with the interior of the house.
Sustainably sourced teak for the completion of the bespoke bench.
Light brushed brass for fixings, fitting, and lighting, that brings everything together.