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Modern Garden Ideas for Every Home
Lifestyle
When it comes to personalising your garden, there’s a lot to be said for creating a more traditional and open plan. But if you’re looking for something fresh, or only have limited garden space to work with, then opting for a more contemporary aesthetic might be just what you’re looking for.
Minimalistic in style, low maintenance, incredibly striking, and tailored to your tastes, modern garden layouts allow you to utilise your available outdoor space, however small, to its maximum extent, adding an entirely new dimension and potential social space to your home.
So, to help get you started, explore our suggestions for contemporary garden ideas to see how you can transform your green space into the modern garden of your dreams.
MODERN GARDEN IDEAS FOR LANDSCAPING
To begin with, let’s first touch on landscaping. Whether you’re looking to install new paving stones or slabs, construct a new deck or upgrade an old one, or totally change the dynamic of your garden by levelling it flat or constructing new tiers, there is plenty you can do to modernise your space.
DECKING
When considering modern garden ideas on a budget, the landscaping option that offers you the most flexibility is definitely decking. Versatile enough to be fitted in any garden, it can be used to create a small entertainment space or run the entire length of your home’s rear to form a modern veranda.
Decking also has the added benefit of being easy to paint and stain, making it one of the best modern back garden ideas out there for perfectly matching your desired outdoor aesthetic.
GRAVEL AND STONE PAVING
However, if wood is not what you’re after in your garden design, then stone paving and gravel are another set of materials you can turn to for modern garden inspiration.
Ideal if you want to add more texture to a space, gravel can be used to fill borders or form narrow winding paths between flower beds, while paving can be used to give a natural feel to any seating area or form solid steps along said gravelly spaces. If you have a tiled indoors, you can even use similar-style paving to extend your design outside, with sliding doors or bi-folding doors offering a seamless transition between the two worlds.
Gravel and paving are certainly the right options if you want a material that’s low maintenance, but one that still offers contrast and depth with the materials around it. However, if you’re after small modern garden ideas, paving may not be the best option for you due to space constraints.
LEVELLING AND ZONING
Finally, you have levelling and zoning. As the name implies, levelling areas of your garden requires you to either raise or flatten a space to meet your desired specifications. But levelling in no way means shifting mounds of earth and turf for weeks on end to get your desired outcome.
Instead, a levelling effect can be achieved by adding tiered wooden or stone steps that link open spaces at different levels. This in turn allows you to zone your garden creating spaces dedicated to one specific purpose, such as eating, relaxing, or gardening.
Of course, you don’t have to level anything to zone your garden and can instead use pathways and borders to mark out specific areas, perhaps with a few select pieces of bold wood or metal architecture that is the hallmark of a modern garden aesthetic.
MODERN BACK GARDEN IDEAS FOR PLANTS
While modern garden architecture can often fall into the category of being quite stiff and rigid, especially with its hard lines and solid, inflexible materials, that’s no reason for you to select plants that share these same qualities.
In fact, a looser planting style can often do wonders to enhance a contemporary garden. Flowering plants along your borders can bring a burst of colour during summer, while a careful selection of evergreens means that your garden is never left feeling barren over winter.
Grasses and bamboo are also beautiful choices for those who want to bring a more serene feel to their outdoor space, especially if you’re exploring modern garden ideas on a budget. Looking great all year round, their gentle rustling adds a subtle background noise that completes the whole garden aesthetic.
Finally, if you still have space, you can opt for some smaller shrubs in tactically placed pots, as well as various fence planters at your garden’s edge if you have the space, both of which will attract bees and other wildlife to your home.
MODERN GARDEN COLOURS
Although a splash of vibrant colours can do wonders to bring an otherwise drab garden to life, too much colour can actually detract from the feeling of a contemporary style.
Instead, when it comes to large and small contemporary garden ideas alike, you want to set your sights on cooler hues; ones that are simple and blend well with natural shades – a subtle hint can easily elevate a space and add warmth without getting rid of that modern feel.
Besides splashes of paint and the colour of any outdoor ornaments you have, wooden furniture is another great way to add warmth to a space. It also allows you the option of adding further colour through soft outdoor furnishings, such as cushions and blankets.
One thing to bear in mind with your colour selection, however, is whether or not it will fit with the plants you have chosen for your garden. You want to avoid any colours that will clash with your plants when they’re in bloom, which can ruin the careful time and attention you’ve put into crafting your garden’s aesthetic.
CONTEMPORARY GARDEN LIGHTING
It goes without saying that, when creating an outdoor space with a modern look, the right outdoor lighting is absolutely essential for completing your desired style. Fortunately, finding the right kind of lighting to suit your outdoor space is relatively easy.
If you have the budget, then the addition of lighting in your steps or deckboards can do wonders for creating a sense of refinement and class, and really hammers home the modern style you’re going for.
Of course, if you want simpler lighting, then making use of strategically placed lamps and overhead low-energy bulbs can establish a much more relaxed and chilled atmosphere, one that’s ideal for those long summer days that run well into the evening.
Finally, if you want to get really stylistic, and you have the budget, then why not add in a firepit and torches that guests can relax around while getting nice and toasty?
These are just some of our ideas for how you can make your garden feel that much more modern, and there are plenty of other features you might want to consider adding. But, regardless of how you choose to style your garden, to really capture the modern aesthetic and bring the outside in, you can’t go wrong with a set of bi-folding or sliding doors.
And here at Express, we have over a decade of experience installing bespoke aluminium doors and windows in our customer’s homes. Visit one of our showrooms to see our full product range and speak to our experts, and don’t forget to browse our blog for more interesting articles like this one.
