Outdoor garden rooms

Quick. Which is the most expensive room to decorate? If you answered the kitchen, you're not alone. But, if you're like me and you just spent $750.00 this past weekend at Summerhill Nursery (just on container plants!) you are going to consider the possibility that your garden is the most expensive room to decorate. Although a kitchen renovation or makeover is costly the investment immediately begins to amortize. Not the garden. The garden is like a toddler: insatiable, uncontrollable, maddening and often endearing. A garden requires continuous, ongoing maintenance, and year-round renewal. Plus, it makes you do crazy things, like ruin a favourite dress because you couldn't resist the urge to do a little weeding before going out for dinner, or spending $750.00 on container plants.

Since I spend so much time, energy (and money) reining my garden in, you can imagine I want to enjoy it on every conceivable occasion. Creating well-defined outdoor garden rooms allows me to use my garden more often and more effectively. Rather than just plunking some furniture into the garden, I've chosen to create my own private paradise and you can too.

Delineating Garden Rooms

Like interiors, our exterior rooms function better when we carve out specific areas for relaxation, recreation and tasks. Consider the various rooms, which might suit your garden.

Alfresco Dining Room

Even a tiny portion of deck, patio or grass can be converted into an al fresco dining room. Choose an area close to the house, facilitating easy serving and clean up and providing shelter from excess wind. Choose a table that complements the scale of the deck or patio. For example, to accommodate a four-foot-diameter table, a minimum nine- by nine-foot space is required. As with indoor dining, allow 4' of clearance between the table and a wall or railing for major passageways.

Although the majority of outdoor furniture can withstand inclement weather, most will last longer if it is moved to shelter during the winter. For this reason, unless you have an enclosed structure, consider lightweight furniture options such as wicker, resin, and metal frames with woven seats.

Cook Center

More and more outdoor enthusiasts are looking beyond the barbeque to full service cooking centers. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is by purchasing or building a barbeque island. An instant kitchen, the barbeque island might include storage space, warming drawers, and even a small refrigerator, depending on budget.

Thotful Spot

There's no spelling error, but I learned from one little orange bear named Winnie the value of creating a quiet spot for reflection. My Thotful Spot is a humble stone bench, given to me by a favourite gardener, and surrounded by items of personal meaning, such as the raspberry bushes my children insisted, despite my advice, would grow (they were right of course).

To create your own Thotful spot, position furniture arrangements towards the best view, facing away from the house if possible and put as much distance as possible between you and interior distractions such as ringing phones.

If outdoor reading is a priority comfortable seating is essential. A high back chair with arms, whether woven, wicker, or wood, cradles the body and soul, and offers an immediate sense of security. Add a small table to accommodate a tall iced tea.

Add ambient sound such as a trickling water fountain or playful wind chimes to mask city sounds and foster serenity. Consider flower plantings such as rosemary, lilac, and jasmine to infuse surroundings with delicious fragrance.

Play areas

For a lucky few, a swimming pool is the ultimate backyard extravagance. Beyond a pool there are dozens of options for play areas; a hot tub, sand box, croquet court, or trampoline are just a few. Our play area consists of a basketball court, which gets a lot of business at family gatherings. Often the children will disappear at the end of a meal to shoot hoops leaving the grownups to linger over coffee. To protect windows I found a piece of architectural salvage (a leftover bit of grille) at Five 0 Seven Home and Garden Antiques (see photo). Make sure to position any play area away from eating areas to avoid accident.

Steps to creating a garden room

When you devote the same careful consideration to outdoor space planning as you might to indoor space planning the rewards are gratifying. Here is a suggested work order.

1. Space planning. Determine the specific tasks involved in each area before you make any purchases. A landscape architect or garden designer (even some interior designers) can help with decisions.
2. Furnish by function. Prior to purchasing furniture, consider the number of people who will use the area and the time of day it will be used. A comprehensive lighting plan, using a variety of light fixtures, is essential if you plan to enjoy the area at night as well.
3. Add Colour. When decorating interior spaces we rely on fabrics and wall colour to determine a decorative palette. Outdoors we rely on plants and flowers for much of the impact. Again, it's wise to hire a professional or consult a reliable nursery before making any purchases.
4. Accessorize. No room, whether indoors or outdoors, can be considered truly personal without the addition of valued objects. A stone sculpture, a mercury gazing ball, a weathered sundial, or an inviting birdbath increase personal satisfaction within your outdoor oasis.

For anyone who prefers dirt under the nails to a French manicure, or a family barbeque to dinner in a fine restaurant, a well-designed garden room provides a full year of satisfaction in just 15 short weeks.