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Relaxing Retreat

Client Brief:
Create an outdoor space for a couple to entertain guests and to relax. The clients wanted to extend the existing patio under the house’s deck into the garden to accommodate a hot tub and an outdoor shower, while reusing the existing concrete pavers. The design brief also included an outdoor fire feature to create a cozy atmosphere in the spring and fall and a water feature to generate white noise. A relaxed, informal planting scheme was requested to soften the overall layout.

Design Solution:
Views from the home’s elevated deck reveal the garden’s geometry, where the patio’s formal, rectilinear lines are softened with the swaths of planting organized in sinuous curves and the soft tapestry of ornamental grasses. Sculptural elements, like the boxwood globes and the water feature’s basalt columns provide visual interest when the garden is seen from above. The site’s sloping topography was retained and used to delineate the outdoor spaces while minimizing costs of regrading. The generously sized, sunken patio gives the garden dimension and depth and with its low surrounding wall and furnishings form a cozy outdoor living room. Bluestone seat-walls wrapping around the patio offer additional seating and seamlessly integrate the spa area with the patio. The spa’s pergola echoes the house’s deck architecture and provides a feeling of enclosure. The spa’s cable-railing opens the spa area and preserves the views, while carefully placed trees and hedges ensure privacy. The patio’s bluestone paving in a full-range colour palette was selected to complement the tones of the reclaimed concrete pavers that were repurposed for pathways. The curved garden path tapers to a narrowed section surrounded by trees and hedges that conceals the view, creating a passage that makes the garden seem bigger and invites visitors to journey further into the garden.

Locale: North Shore

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