Garden Designers & Landscape Gardeners
Garden Buildings in South & East England

This deck and bench are used for socialising and changing around a hot tub. Our clients in The Hot walled Garden use it whilst changing or drying off. Clothes are left on the bench while they enjoy the water. The richly coloured Sapele hardwood used is often seen on Moroccan or Asian furniture and gives a softer and warmer surface than stone for bare foot walking and sitting on.

Top and below left - we curved all aspects of this roof terrace around one circle to soften the small size and square shape of this roof in the Steep Terraced Garden. The curving worktop provides space around the gas barbeque which is set into the hardwood. The cupboard doors below - also curving, allow for storage of the gas bottle and cooking equipment beneath.
Right all - by creating seating all around the edge of the terrace it can sit 12 people before even placing table in the centre of the deck.  

Curving hardwood seat

Left - The arches under this bench in The Hot Wall Garden accomodate shoes, folded clothes and cooled bottles of wine or champagne that need to be kept out of the sun. We try to introduce different styles and decorative details into all parts of the garden, inlcuding furniture like the Moroccan or Moorish arches under the seat, which contribute to the appearance of the garden rather than using straight functional leg supports.
Right - The shape, size and position of this seat in the Bush House Garden is designed so that it is an integral part of the deck and the design of the whole garden. It is the same length as the whole side of the deck and so maximises the seating potential there. Its shape is curved to match the end of the deck so that people sitting on it are facing slightly inwards, giving an intimate feel and atmosphere to socialising here.

Left - The seat is part of the decks structure; its heavy timber legs are a part of the deck's sub frame and each board flares out in a wedge shape that is thicker in front of the seat than at the opposite end of the deck. The boards are cut to fit around the base of the seat's legs, giving a seemless finish between the two elements. 
Right- The curve of the deck leads the eye from inside the house, steering your attention away from the high fence and on to the plants in The Bush House Garden. The seat forms the same curve and so reinforces this effect, setting off the curve of the stepping stones beyond. By visually being part of the whole garden's structure, the seat contributes far more to it than a few individual chairs placed around a table.

Top left - this pair of 'slab' benches in the Tropic of Henstead are made to our primitive minimal design whereby we take a large piece of timber in as natural a state as possible and fix it to 2 heavy legs. The simplicity of this design allows the beauty of these slabs of oak which still have the shape of the outer edge of the tree, to be the central attraction of the design.
Right - a heavier slab of Oak overlooking the large pond in the Tropic of Henstead framed by a pair of Trachycarpus fortunei.
Below left - seats in the Thai Pavilion made from Elm. We used the boards in their rough wavy edged state to echo the rustic feel of this countryside setting, you can see the differernt curves in the backrest. The angled leg brackets make the space feel larger than vertical legs supporting the front edge of the seat.

The primitive simplicity of this bench fitted the character of the primeval Tree Fern Valley. It is one of a pair, with the other one opposite in a similar 'alcove' in the valley wall.

Top left - curving hardwood Sapele benches on each side of our star patio in The Carribean Home From Home. Wedding receptions have been held in this garden with 15 or 20 people seated on the 4m wide patio, something that would not have been possible with seating around a table in the centre alone.
Right - the seat on the top deck at the highest point in the Carribean Home From Home in a south facing position in the dappled shade of a Eucalyptus and Acacia copse.
Below left - the angle of the backrest is designed for prolonged lounging in one of the best spots in the garden furthest away from the house, with the sound of a stream rushing from under the deck

The benches around  3 sides of this deck can acommodate 12 people without the need to bring chairs to the back of the garden. During frequent parties hosted by our clients in The Garden Of 5 Arches there are people sitting right around the edges and more standing in the central open space of the deck. During quieter family times children can play in the central deck space while mums sit comfortably close to them around the edge. 

The curving benches in the City Colour Therapy Garden tie in with the geometrical form of the paving and the repetition of their design brings continuity to this small space which could easily have looked cluttered. By building permanently fixed seating into gardens we make it more likely that the garden will be used and for longer because there is no effort required to put chairs out or store them for the winter. These benches are simply there all the time, inviting you to sit.