Garden Tile Design Ideas

If you have a small space then it’s time to get clever! You’ll need to decide what is essential for you, is it a lounge space, a dining area or perhaps just plenty of greenery. Once you’ve decided on your key areas it’s vital to plan how to create those zones and then a flow between them.

In a smaller garden we’d suggest creating a hard landscaped foundation of muted outdoor tiles and then you can build your zones around them. It could be a flowing water feature that connects your different spaces or simple, low maintenance planting.

A lot of new builds come with a basic shaped plot which lends itself to a modern aesthetic. In terms of a patio or any hard landscaping, you want to avoid anything too rustic as this will detract from the modern feel. If you still want a raw, natural feel then balance the rustic nature of this look with sleek, straight edges and a muted colour palette.

A conservative stone effect outdoor slab would like great next to a sleek rendered wall. The key here is in the furniture and the planting, you want simple, contemporary designs in your seating and dining and then a limited colour palette in your planting, go for taller, structural planting so it doesn’t feel too country cottage.

A courtyard can either feel really modern or country twee, the style you choose is up to you, but it’s often dictated by your style of home. As a courtyard is a small hard landscaped area it’s key that it flows nicely from your indoor living space, acting as an extension of your home.

Potted plants are a great way to crowd the space, so it feels abundant, without have the hassle of plants growing too large for the area. It’s also a great idea to introduce an element of water into the design, we’ve seen some amazing ‘wet walls’ that create movement between the home and garden.

If you’re going down the more countrified route, go for a stone effect outdoor floor tile that feels more rustic and leave a gap in between each slab for some neutral toned gravel. Remember to lay down a weed suppressor if you don’t want it to look too natural over time.

Leading on from our courtyard ideas, if you’re lucky enough to have a bigger country garden then start to introduce other textures. Inspired by the kitchen gardens of the great historic houses, you can fake those ornate brick walls with wall tiles like Hartley, simply plant some box hedging in front and no one will ever know the difference!

Cottage planting centres around variety in the greenery, this not only means in the colours of plants used but also their structures and heights. Layers are key to creating the perfect country garden as it must look rustic, worn and well loved.

For your seating area, opt for a flagstone inspiredoutdoor tile, and you can plant bushy herbs in between the slabs for that rustic, overgrown aesthetic.

A sloped garden is always going to be tricky, however the best way to mitigate the landscape is to create steps, this could be literal steps made from outdoor tiles but also layers of planting and different surface finishes that gentle step upwards rather than a daunting slope.

Play into the theme and think of those beautifully rustic European streets that are built on seemingly never-ending hills. Terrazzo originated in Italy, made from chips of leftover marble and other materials bound together, used to pave the streets. You could also introduce Mediterranean style planting if your soil and garden aspect allowed.