A London Interior Designer Reflects on Magical Garden Designs - Entrances and Exits

When interior designers say the words "garden design", they are crossing an invisible boundary - from interior to exterior. Historically, interior designers have focused exclusively on what lies within the home. But today some of London's most prestigious interior design teams are starting to apply their wealth of knowledge and experience to garden schemes. The resulting whole-estate approach means that top interior designers can now offer homeowners full-service comprehensive expertise that covers every possible need. London is a splendid city in which to work as an interior designer who also focuses on gardens because it is so easy to find fabulous garden furniture, plantings and exterior illuminators from the many outstanding garden centres and wholesalers across the home counties.


If your London home is not far from a well-lit urban street, your interior designer may recommend more intense illuminators to create the designer impact you crave for your garden. By contrast, in the countryside outside London, moonlight may sometimes be sufficient to allow residents and guests to wander safely, but a touch of supplementary light may still be essential to brighten up an entrance or exit. Many interior designers recommend tungsten halogen illuminators, which guarantee the most real-looking colour and are suitable for most buildings. However, I would note that if your home is particularly large, a warmer light source, such as sodium, may be advisable. Metal halide illuminators tend to be very cool and they are therefore best for buildings in London's most urban areas - this type of crisp snow-coloured light can prove highly dramatic in such settings. (If used in the countryside, guests may feel that the effect is slightly too cool and unfriendly.)


Just as entrances prepare us for the interiors to come, so exits should herald a tranquil slide into the garden without. Zones that lie just outside French windows, such as terraces, require first-class mood lighting. Your London Interior Designer will recommend this approach not only for practical reasons but also to guarantee a gentle, atmospheric transformation as your guests move between house and garden. Professional interior designers know that if lights are too bright indoors, reflections on windows will render any garden lighting almost invisible from inside. As a consequence, it is essential to have easy controls to dim down the lights next to an exit or adjacent to your windows that enter onto a terrace. By softening these lights with a dimmer, your interior designer can heighten the intensity of the lighting outside and set the scene for the perfect London garden party.


With the next article in this series on how interior designers create magical garden designs, I will focus on how to illuminate garden pathways.



London Renovation Company - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design and renovation services.