While you may not yet have the house and rolling garden of your dreams, there are a variety of ways to make a little garden appear and feel bigger with a few simple design ideas and possibly a little DIY.
Smoke and Mirrors
Think theatrical, think illusions, and forced perspective of the painters of days gone by. Consider creating a pathway that disappears into the horizon or to a hidden spot under a trellis. Anything that attracts your eye through a place helps to give the impression that it is bigger.
Mirrors will quickly make your outside space feel bigger, just like they do inside your home. You can create the illusion of doubling your garden in size by adding a row of mirrors to the fence or wall. They can also be used to throw light into the dark corners of your garden. You can create the illusion of a gorgeous window or entrance into another location with the correct frame and surrounding vegetation.
Create Outdoor Rooms
Creating zones with screens and specific planting techniques can ensure you can’t see everything at once. The mystique of not knowing where the garden stops will make it appear larger. Divide your outdoor space into “rooms” or “zones”. The clever organisation of the space helps the garden to appear larger.
When picking furnishings, consider bistro furniture or cafe chairs instead of bulkier furniture that takes up more space. Think multipurpose with pieces like outdoor benches that can easily be moved around into different zones. Some options have storage space built into the design. When choosing your outdoor furniture set, consider poly rattan or pallet sets that give the impression of movement and space. These can also be easily “refurbished” by adding different cushions or throws.
Think Vertical
Make the most of the vertical space in your garden. Because small gardens generally lack floor area, it’s a great idea to look up. Plant taller trees and add greenery to your fences and walls. Climbers on a trellis or even a living wall can give you extra ground-level space to do anything you want.
The big problem, especially in smaller gardens, is that you have limited horizontal space. When you go vertical, you get to both use more plants and make the garden look much larger. Vertical racks are very useful for this purpose. They let you place medium-sized and small-sized planters. The best option is to use plants that will stay small so they do not end up interfering with one another.
Mood, Colour, and Lighting
You can be as creative as you like in setting a mood in your garden. Lighter colours reflect more, allowing natural light to enter your outdoor space and giving it a more expansive sense. Dark tones (of wood) and paints can make your garden feel more enclosed so why not paint your fence a light grey, cream, even dusty pink, or sky blue.
Outdoor lighting is often overlooked as a means of creating depth and space. You may choose to “up-light” certain plants so that the furthest elements are highlighted or use lighting to enhance architectural details. You may also utilise strip lighting to create a sense of depth around your perimeter. Outdoor lighting has the added advantage of providing extra safety. Candles and fairy lights are popular choices to use in garden zones.
Create Shelves In Your Garden
You can so easily use shelves for some of your plant containers and not take up valuable ground space in the garden. There is always the option of asking a professional to install them for you but you can also go the DIY route if you want to. Regardless of what you opt for, remember that mounting shelves into walls is almost always the best idea. This is because garden fences cannot usually handle shelf weight. Whenever in doubt, simply ask a specialist to help you out since they can offer important advice to take into account. You wouldn’t want to ruin your garden simply because of miscalculating weight.
Build A Garden Wall
The use of a garden wall is a highly effective way to make the garden seem larger. Basically, this is perfect for the idea of the vertical garden we already highlighted. The garden wall can be created without much effort. You just need to build some sort of a sturdy wall and then install hooks that you would use to hang your planters.
If you do not want to build a new wall, you can take advantage of the walls you already have, like those of your house if it is adjoining your garden. Your wall would then also become a focal point in your garden. Simply add some chairs and you would build a seating area to make the space feel more welcoming.
Create A Paint Backdrop
The use of a quality paint backdrop in your garden is something to take into account. This can draw the eyes of the viewer and will create the wanted illusion of having much more space available and extra height.
Just look for doing a treatment with the use of two-tone colors. This instantly expanses garden fencing and you can finish the project in a few hours. You can even use dark color backdrops if you are interested in the creation of a good statement effect. Also, the use of dark colors is something to take into account from a design point of view as it will compliment the green leaves. Choose the color of the backdrop based on the effect you want to achieve but seriously consider lighter ones whenever possible to create the illusion of space.
Place Planters Under Your Windows
If your window faces the garden, it is a very good space you can use to add some smaller plants. Some planters can be placed right on your windows or you can build shelves under them. Just make sure to use smaller plants because the use of larger plants will create exactly the opposite desired effect. In addition, larger plants are going to block your views, which is not what you most likely desire.
When faced with a small garden, there are several easy ways to create the illusion of space. The options above will surely help you.
