Everyone should have an outdoors area that they are proud to show off, it’s a staple to a home. Space should never be an excuse to stop you from creating your dream garden. Whether you have acres of land or a small courtyard, you can still personalise your space and make it a nice place to relax and socialise with friends and family.
Step 1 – The Planning
Before you start buying furniture and your favourite plants, you need to sit down and establish your budget, keep this as realistic as possible to what you can and cannot afford. Then you can decide what you want to do with your garden. Have you got children who love to play that you need to consider? Or are you often the host who wants a nice social space?
Once you know the garden’s purpose and budget, you need to look at exactly what space you have to play with, this will help you keep it achievable when building your dream garden. If you are someone who likes visuals, you could use chalks on the concreate to map out different areas, if you have grass/ dirt you could use string attached to pegs to create sections. If you want to get super fancy you could use computer software to mock it up digitally.
With your dream garden now planned, writing a checklist will help keep you on task and organised.
Step 2 – Garden Features
Does your dream garden plan have a garden feature? Having a nice statement piece in the garden will really make it something special and give it that ‘wow-factor’. A garden feature can range from a summerhouse, a climbing frame, statues, gazebos or even something extra like a swimming pool or hot tub. Below we have given a few ideas on what you could add to your garden depending on its purpose:
For Children
If you want to create the dream garden for your little ones, perhaps look into fun things they can do in the garden. A Climbing Frame would be the perfect addition, they come in a variety of sizes and styles so super adaptable for different outdoor spaces. Trampolines also go down a treat with children, tiring them out properly before bedtime.
For Socialising
When entertaining guests in the garden you’re going to want a practical but aesthetically pleasing setup. Think about external factors like the British weather, which has a habit of spoiling things quite often. Something like a Wooden Gazebo would ensure the rain doesn’t cause havoc and cancels plans last minute. Hot tubs always go down well in the evenings, and there are loads of different brands that cater to a whole range of budgets, again a Gazebo over the top provides shelter from the rain.
For Relaxing
If you want to create a dream garden to relax in, think about what makes you calm when outside. Plants are a beautiful way to create peace in the garden, there are hundreds to choose from. A Summerhouse or a Pergola over the top of patio furniture, creates a dreamy setup for you to sit and admire the nature. Water features would also be a good asset to add to your relaxation den, if you have the space and budget perhaps a pond is the way to go!
Step 3 – Garden Buildings
You can keep the garden a practical space by installing a garden building. Whether you’re running out of space in the house or you just simply want another room for activities a log cabin would be a great asset to add. Logs Cabins can be used for many different reasons, ranging from a snug room, a playroom and even to a garden bar. They can cater for near enough anything.
Are you still working from home? Working out of your living room, kitchen or bedroom is not an inspirational setup, a garden building like an Outdoor Office would work perfectly in finding new motivation for your workday. You can have a nice commute to your dream garden every day.
Storage problems can be solved with a Shed, perfect for packing away tools, bikes and other bits and pieces for the night. You can paint them a whole variety of colours to blend in with your garden.
If you’re a gardener a greenhouse might be on the list for your dream garden. There are plenty of styles out there to ensure you’ve got the finest growing setup. Have a look in local garden centres for some greenhouse inspiration!
Whatever garden building you go for, you need to know your boundaries restrictions, some buildings, depending on their size and placement, may require planning permission (luckily most of Dunster House’s do not require any!). If you are unsure contact your local planning authority or use the Planning Portal website for guidance.
Step 4 – Decorations
Once everything is in place and ready to go, a few final touches will really help bring your dream garden to life. Decorations can work to any kind of budget, even a bit of DIY never goes a miss in the garden. Below are some pointers that could help spark some décor inspo!
Plants
Plants are a lovely way to make the garden fresh and colourful. Take a trip to your local garden centre to see what they have, they will also have someone who can answer any questions for plant care.
Lights
A dream garden needs some lights for the evenings. Fairy lights around gazebos, solar panels lights in the flower beds and even bug/ animal themed solar lights (perfect for children) scattered around the garden will bring a sense of warmth and comfort.
Accessories
Go wild bringing your dream garden to life with accessories like cool patterned cushions, funky citronella candles and pretty bunting. This could also be a fun time to let your DIY skills run riot, so get creative!
Toys
They may not be seen as garden décor, but having some fun activities like a sand pit, chalks, a paddling pool or a shaded den are suitable for children. Garden games like Boules, Swing-ball, Cricket and Racket Ball, provide fun for the whole family for those summer weekends.
Creating your dream garden is easy once you know what you want and how you can achieve it. If you purchase a Dunster House product whilst building your dream outdoors space, we would love to see how you have used it, so be sure to send us your photos!
If you have any questions about our products, we are happy to help!
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