Contemporary minimalism

Client brief

This West-facing rear garden was exactly what you would expect from a newly built home: a flat expanse of lawn enclosed by bare concrete block walls, with no structure, planting, or sense of purpose. The brief was to transform a compact space into a contemporary, low-maintenance garden that would be as beautiful at midnight as it is at midday.

The boundary treatment was a defining design decision. Warm cedarwood and stone cladding extends along the left boundary and rear walls, creating a rich interplay of texture and tone, giving the garden a sense of enclosure and destination rather than simply a space behind a house. Two original Ronan Butler sculptures — each featuring his signature copper forms set on Kilkenny Limestone bases — were selected to bring genuine artistic presence, ensuring the garden works as beautifully as a curated outdoor room as it does a planted landscape.

A carefully considered lighting scheme of functional and feature lighting turned this garden into a completely different experience after sunset — visible from every window to the rear of the home.

Planting was bold and architectural: Trachycarpus palms, tree ferns, ornamental grasses, and bamboos bring year-round structure. Underneath the egg chair, hostas soften what might otherwise feel like an isolated feature, anchoring it naturally into the ground.